LGBT advice ‘will not apply to all Orthodox pupils’
STRICTLY ORTHODOX leaders have made clear that guidance issued by Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis last week on LGBT+ pupils applies only to schools under his authority.
In a document unprecedented for Orthodox schools, Rabbi Mirvis said schools should have an explicit policy to protect the welfare of LGBT+ students and have active measures in place to prevent bullying.
But the rabbinic committee
Guidance: Chief Rabbi Mirvis of Chinuch UK, the new campaign group established to defend the strictly Orthodox educational system, stressed they would provide their own directions, in a memo circulated before Rosh Hashanah.
Rabbi Mirvis’s guidance was “relevant only to schools that fall under the authority of the Chief Rabbi,” it stated. Charedi schools have increasingly experienced problems from Ofsted inspectors who believe they should mention samesex relationships in class as part of teaching “British values” of respect and tolerance for others.
But many of the schools argue that they do not address issues of sexuality at all in the classroom.
The rabbinic authorities for Chinuch UK, which represents strictly Orthodox communities in London, Gateshead and Manchester, are grappling with the issue of how to reconcile their religious ethos with the requirements of the secular inspectorate.
A series of briefings for school leaders is planned to take place after the festivals.
While the situation regarding education was “precarious”, the memo said many “constructive” discussions had taken place with Ofsted and the Department for Education.
Discussions were “difficult”, it said. But Chinuch UK remained hopeful of an outcome that would allow schools to continue operating according to their religious values and “within the law”.