Yeshiva College Bondi ordered to shutdown after the school put ‘the safety of children at risk’

A Jewish school in Sydney has closed its gates after an investigation found it failed to meet education standards, employed unaccredited teachers and broke basic child protection rules. 

Yeshiva College, a non-government school in Bondi, was found to be non-compliant in curriculum, governance rules and teaching. 

NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) found the college used unaccredited teachers, did not meet minimum primary and high school curriculum requirements and did not provide a ‘safe and supportive environment’ for students. 

Senior member of the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal Dr Juliet Lucy released a scathing report on Wednesday which backed NESA’s recommendation to formally cancel the school’s registration.

‘The applicant remains non-compliant with some of the registration requirements, including in the areas of curriculum and governance,’ Dr Lucy wrote. 

‘I cannot be satisfied that it is compliant with requirements concerning child protection.  

‘The purpose of those requirements is to ensure that children receive the education to which they are entitled, that the school is governed effectively and ethically and that the students’ welfare and safety is protected.

I consider, as a matter of discretion, that recommendations should be made to the Minister not to renew and to cancel the school’s registration. Accordingly, I have confirmed NESA’s recommendations.’ 

The report found Yeshiva put ‘the safety of children at risk’ after a number of teachers lacked a working-with-children clearance.  

One person taught Jewish studies classes despite lacking NESA accreditation and a working-with-children clearance, while another teacher did not have their clearance verified until their fourth week at the school. 

Almost half the 25 staff members in child-related work in 2021 missed their annual child protection training – which at times referenced outdated laws. 

Nine members of the teaching staff, some of whom are part-time, are accredited teachers but other staff members, who are referred to as Jewish studies teachers, are not accredited, the report found. 

The college’s registration appears set to be cancelled in the next four weeks, forcing about 60 students enrolled from kindergarten to year 10 to find schooling elsewhere. 

Parents at the school contribute about $1,500 a year in fees and other contributions while the state and federal governments provide about $18,000 in funding per student.

The tribunal found the school’s chief executive, Rabbi Dovid Slavin, who has served in the role since 2012, was not a ‘fit and proper person to be responsible’ for the school.   

‘Rabbi Slavin failed for many years to ensure that the school complied with the registration requirements and was often slow to respond when NESA identified areas of non-compliance requiring attention,’ the report said. 

Rabbi Slavin told Daily Mail Australia that he was disappointed by the decision and is ‘weighing up options’. 

The college lodged an appeal of the decision after inspections conducted by NESA found the school was not meeting its compliance with curriculum and teaching rules. 

However the tribunal remained firm in its recommendation to cancel the school’s registration.     

‘The decision to refuse and cancel the school’s registration is based on ongoing non-compliance with the requirements for school registration, namely issues relating to governance and curriculum,’ an NESA spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia. 

Yeshiva College has operated in different forms since 1956, offering Sydney’s Jewish Chassidic Orthodox community a Torah-centred education.

In 2012, the college faced near collapse due to financial issues, however, billionaire property developer Harry Triguboff stepped in to clear the school’s debt – prompting the college to name a building after him. 

The tribunal noted the school’s practices improved in late 2021 but not to the required standards.