Jewish headteachers devote more time to security than education, review finds

Headteachers of Jewish faith schools in England are devoting more of their working hours to security arrangements than to educational leadership, according to an ongoing government-commissioned independent review into antisemitism in schools and colleges, whose findings have revealed what its author described as a "shocking" extent of prejudice directed at children and young people. Sir David Bell, the former Ofsted chief inspector and senior civil servant at the Department for Education who is leading the review, told the BBC that he had been struck by how many leaders of Jewish schools had reported that security was their primary concern, with educational matters sometimes taking second place to the imperative of keeping pupils and staff safe. The review, which is due to be published in the autumn and has examined the experiences of Jewish pupils and staff in both faith and secular schools and colleges across England, is likely to recommend dedicated training for all teachers and improved education about antisemitism for pupils, the BBC has been told.

Speaking for the first time about his findings, Sir David said that Jewish children and young people were facing a pressure, and indeed a crisis, that was not the experience of other communities in the country, with pupils subjected to "regular harassment and abuse". The BBC spoke to several headteachers and staff at Jewish schools, all of whom requested anonymity due to concerns over their security and that of their institutions, with one headteacher describing how security had become an "overwhelming priority" to the extent that approximately 90% of his time had been spent on security-related matters in some weeks. He added that security concerns were among the things that kept him awake at night, a sentiment echoed by another headteacher who had led a different Jewish school for 13 years and said he had never spent so much time and energy dealing with security issues, talking to governors and parents, and making daily decisions about how to ensure the safety of children in his care. This, he said, had prevented him from working on educational priorities and improving the school, with his focus instead consumed by security measures that should, he argued, be a given for every child in the country.

The Bell review has drawn evidence from a bespoke survey of 5,000 children conducted by Ucas, the universities and colleges admissions service, which found that approximately 20% had experienced or observed antisemitic behaviour in schools and colleges. Sir David noted that while many people assume antisemitism is directed primarily at adults, the extent to which it is encountered by children and young people had been quite shocking. Recent figures from the Community Security Trust (CST), an organisation that provides security for the Jewish community, showed a spike in antisemitic incidents at schools, with the first half of 2026 recording the highest level ever for any six-month period, jumping by 59% from 112 reported incidents in the first half of 2025 to 178 in 2026. Dr Dave Rich, director of policy at the CST, welcomed the review as timely and expressed hope that it would lead to practical recommendations to help educational institutions tackle antisemitism effectively.

One teenager who gave evidence to the review, Jonathan Frisher, a sixth-form student from Cheshire who was the only Jewish pupil at his school, described his experiences of antisemitic bullying, including being told he should be in a gas chamber, with swastikas drawn in classrooms and Nazi salutes becoming widespread. He said that a single lesson about modern-day antisemitism had led to immediate changes in attitudes and apologies from his peers, and he has since campaigned for antisemitism education to be made compulsory, with a petition he started gaining nearly 40,000 signatures. Education Secretary Lucy Powell described the review as a "vital piece of work" and stated that she would "carefully consider the conclusions and recommendations to ensure we do what is necessary to prevent antisemitism in our schools and colleges," adding that antisemitism had no place in society or the education system and that Jewish children and staff should never face hatred or prejudice.

Sir David said that the majority of the 700 people who had responded directly to his "call for evidence" were Jewish parents and pupils at non-faith schools, and the evidence had led him to realise that many schools do not record antisemitic abuse, in part due to a lack of understanding about how to recognise it. When his report is published, he is likely to recommend a standardised approach to reporting and recording antisemitic incidents. Pupils travelling to and from Jewish schools, including those aged 12 and 13 at one London faith school, were found to be subject to regular abuse on their school journey and on public transport, a very different experience to that faced by the vast majority of children and young people in the country. Teachers at Jewish faith schools also reported that going out on school trips had become more hazardous, with one teacher at a Jewish primary school describing how security had been stepped up since a spate of arson attacks against Jewish sites and the stabbing of two Jewish men in Golders Green earlier this year, with a security presence patrolling both outside and inside the school at all times. The teacher said that her car was searched with an under-car mirror upon entering the car park each morning, and that recent incidents had contributed to a "heavy" atmosphere, with parents reporting antisemitic comments made while pupils were walking to school and children being booed at music and sporting events, including one incident where a comment was made about "big noses". She said that while staff did what they could to shield the children, when one pupil asked her, "Why do people hate Jews so much?", it was a difficult question to answer, showing what they were internalising.