Shul suspends unregistered Charedi school after video shows teacher striking child
'Deep concerns' over BBC footage of incident at Southend and Westcliff Hebrew congregation.
A synagogue has suspended an unregistered school operating on its premises after BBC video footage showed a teacher striking a young child.
The Board of Deputies spoke of its “deep concern” about the issue in a statement on Tuesday morning, after Southend and Westcliff Hebrew congregation suspended the “home school” in the video.
The video, filmed from an adjacent building, appears to show a Charedi teacher striking and man-handling a young Jewish pupil, who is shown cowering from the man.
The law says any school teaching five or more children for at least 18 hours a week must register, but the synagogue said on Tuesday that it fell short of the registration requirements in terms of hours of operation.
A spokesman for the Board of Deputies said: “Anyone watching will have shared our deep concern at the images shown. We call on those involved to cooperate fully with authorities and take urgent action to address this.”
He added: “There are a number of unregistered schools in Charedi communities which operate in an environment which presents health and safety concerns for the pupils and an education which is narrowly focused.”
He continued: “We would certainly not condone any lawbreaking and fully support efforts to bring schools into the regulatory framework. However, it is important to note that the vast majority of Charedi schools not only comply with regulations but are high achieving and provide an excellent education.”
Children’s Commissioner Anne Longfield reviewed the footage and told the BBC that there were “huge safeguarding issues,” adding: “Any parent watching that would be very, very worried about what was going on.”
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
