‘Shared Responsibilities: Day Schools, Synagogues and Youth Movements’

Ground-breaking Seminar bridges Movements
to share educational resources

Leo Baeck College hosted an innovative seminar entitled ‘Shared Responsibilities: Day Schools, Synagogues and Youth Movements’ on October 5th 2010. The seminar was attended by over 60 key professionals and leaders in Reform, Liberal and Masorti Jewish Education, Heads of Progressive/Pluralist primary schools plus representatives from JCoSS and UJIA, Movement workers from RSY, LJY and Noam, as well as many congregational rabbis, educators and voluntary leaders.

This seminar was a partnership project of Leo Baeck College and The Assembly of Masorti Synagogues in conjuntion with The Movement for Reform Judaism and Liberal Judaism.

In opening the seminar Rabbi Dr Michael Shire, Vice-Principal of Leo Baeck College and Director of its Department of Jewish Education said, “The growth of the Jewish Day Schools in North West and East London and Manchester has had a major impact on the cheder population in local synagogues. This conference is intended to address the challenges of this impact.”

Suzy Stone, Head teacher of Akiva School highlighted the advantages of time and facilities available to Day Schools in a statutory setting as well as the school community that is established with parents and families. She called for other sectors to engage in greater parent education through quality programming in synagogues.

One participant hailed the seminar as: ‘a much needed opportunity to link the isolated sectors of Jewish Education and to share responsibility for the education and identity formation of all our young people.’

Jude Williams, Director of the Reform Movement’s Youth Department and Jeneration offered a distinctive role for Youth Movements in building voluntary social communities of peers and exemplifying values and ideologies that transform young people.

Rabbi Josh Levy of North Western Reform synagogue provocatively suggested that, “the Synagogue is the place where real community happens; community is defined as intergenerational, lifelong and embracing variety”.

Task forces were established to take forward practical suggestions that would create better communication and collaboration among the three sectors and promote the sharing of resources to complement each other’s provision.