Yeshiva College Bondi to close after failing child safety and educational standards

A tribunal found the school had put child safety at risk by using an unaccredited teacher and failing to deliver child protection training to many teachers.  

The NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) will cancel registration for Yeshiva College because the school has failed curriculum, teaching, and governance rules. 

A decision by the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal this week backed a recommendation to cancel registration and endorsed a scathing report which found Yeshiva College was non-compliant across multiple areas, including teachers having necessary experience and qualifications, meeting minimum primary and high school curriculum requirements, and providing a safe and supportive environment for students.

The report said the school repeatedly fell short of basic requirements, such as ensuring staff had valid Working with Children (WWC) clearances.

One person taught Jewish studies classes despite lacking NESA accreditation and a WWC clearance. Another teacher didn't have their WWC clearance verified until their fourth week at the school.

Almost half of the 25 staff members involved in child-related work in 2021 missed child protection training.

The tribunal found the school had been “putting the safety of children at risk”, although there was no suggestion children were harmed.

The NESA report said the school did not meet with requirements that each responsible person for the school was a “fit and proper person” and that non-compliance concerns about the school’s governance were significant and long-standing.

“Yeshiva College has a poor compliance history and that this demonstrates a persistent lack of willingness or ability to comply with the registration requirements in the Act. The school had a reactive approach which demonstrated the inadequacy of its compliance framework for self-identifying and responding to compliance issues, which in turn indicated its inadequacy for ensuring future compliance,” the report said.

The school lodged an appeal of the decision after multiple inspections by NESA in 2019 and 2020 raised a litany of concerns relating to the school’s compliance with curriculum and teaching rules. However, the tribunal confirmed the recommendation to cancel the school’s registration. 

Education Minister Sarah Mitchell will now review NESA's recommendation and take steps in the next four weeks to formally deregister the school.

The department will help students find new schools.

READ MORE
Bondi Jewish school set to close after failing to meet standards (SMH)

Jewish school 'put child safety at risk' (Canberra Times)

Photo: Yeshiva College Bondi (AAP)