Earlier this month, the BBC was given rare access inside a Jewish school in Hertfordshire, where pupils and staff operate under tight security, amid heightened concerns about antisemitism.
Spencer Lewis, the executive headteacher of Yavneh College, said that security was an “innate part” of his role.
“When you come in in the morning, there are high gates, high fences, lots of security cameras. We have four full-time security staff. And it sort of just becomes part of what you do,” he said. “We think about it a lot.”
Staff and pupils told the BBC they have become so used to these measures that they barely notice them anymore.
Lock-in – or “in-vacuation” – drills for dealing with intruders have become second nature, even to the youngest pupils.
“It’s a bit scary sometimes, but you know you’re safe,” said Livi, a Year 6 pupil.
“It’s sad that we can’t be equal to everyone else, but people don’t like us just because of the way we are,” added her classmate, Sadie.
A group of a dozen older pupils who spoke to the BBC said that while they feel safe inside school, hearing about antisemitic attacks in the UK, including reports of pupils at other Jewish schools being harassed on their commute and at sports fixtures, has left them feeling targeted.
Some said that they were reluctant to wear skullcaps or necklaces featuring the Star of David – a Jewish symbol – outside school.
“Other religions get to be out and wear their necklaces and be proud – I don’t get why Jewish people can’t do it as much,” said Year 9 pupil Ilan.
In response to the recommendations, the government is also expected to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA)’s working definition of antisemitism, although it cannot make it compulsory.
The definition is supported by mainstream Jewish organisations and has been adopted by 47 countries, including the UK, as well as most British universities.
However, some of the IHRA definition’s examples of antisemitic behaviour have proven controversial.
The Board of Deputies of British Jews said that adopting the IHRA definition would provide schools with a tool “to deepen understanding of contemporary antisemitism”.
In a statement, a spokesperson told the BBC: “Treating antisemitism in schools as a safeguarding issue will have the benefit of creating an explicit duty on all schools to address this as they would any other threat to children’s safety, and will strengthen accountability.”
He added: “We have advocated these measures be accompanied by other steps including improving education about Jewish life and ensuring schools maintain their duties in relation to political impartiality.”
Bell, who is now vice-chancellor of the University of Sunderland, heard evidence from pupils, teachers, governors and parents across state and independent schools, as well as from community organisations.
The Department for Education has declined to comment before the review is published.
