Avigdor Hirsch Torah Temimah Primary School
Voluntary aided Haredi boys’ primary school in Dollis Hill, Brent (URN 131916)
| Avigdor Hirsch Torah Temimah Primary School
| |
|---|---|
| Type | Voluntary aided primary school |
| Founded | Independent school 1989; became voluntary aided 1 April 2000 |
| Location | Parkside, Dollis Hill, London NW2 6RJ |
| Key people | Mrs Lucinda Glasser (headteacher) Rabbi Ephraim Pearlman (menahel) |
Avigdor Hirsch Torah Temimah Primary School (also Torah Temimah Primary School) is a one-form-entry voluntary aided Haredi Jewish boys’ primary school with nursery at Parkside, Dollis Hill, London NW2 6RJ, in the London Borough of Brent. Ofsted URN 131916; DfE number 304/3603; UKPRN 10075178. Age range 3–11; capacity 204. The latest GIAS record (last confirmed 12 October 2026) gives 199 pupils, five of them (2.5 per cent) eligible for free school meals; an earlier GIAS extract gave 193 pupils. Religious character: Jewish. Headteacher recorded on GIAS: Mrs Lucinda Glasser. In September 2026 the school website named her as acting headteacher; by October 2026 it named her as headteacher, with Rabbi Ephraim Pearlman as menahel (principal of Jewish studies). Telephone 020 8450 4377; email office@ttps.org.uk. Website: torahtemimah.wordpress.com (statutory information only).[1][2][3][4]
The school describes itself as a single-form-entry Orthodox Jewish maintained voluntary aided school serving the Jewish communities of north-west London; its ethos is guided by the senior rabbis of the north-west London Orthodox community, and it uses the internet only where there is no effective alternative, keeping its website to a minimum.[3]
History
The school opened as an independent school in 1989. GIAS records a predecessor establishment, the independent Torah Temimah Primary School (URN 101392, DfE number 302/6100), at Park Side, Dollis Hill, with an age range of 3–12, Rabbi E. Klyne as headteacher and the local authority recorded as Barnet; it closed on 31 March 2000.[5] The present school became a maintained voluntary aided school on 1 April 2000 (reason recorded: former independent).[1]
A visitor information sheet for 2019–20 named Rabbi E. Klyne as principal and menahel and Rabbi Yitzchak Freeman as headteacher. It described the school as one of three Orthodox Jewish maintained primary schools in Brent and said its pupils came mainly from the Golders Green, Hendon and Edgware communities in the London Borough of Barnet, with only a few living in Brent; it reported about 50 first-choice applications for 25 nursery places.[6]
A Brent internal audit of the school’s financial controls for 2015/16 was reported to the council’s Audit Committee in September 2016 (limited-assurance reviews are reported to that committee as a matter of course).[7]
Religious ethos
The school calls itself Chareidi (strictly Orthodox) and states that it is aligned with the Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations. It says a Va’ad Hachinuch (rabbinic board) rules on how Torah values apply to the school and that the governing board and senior leadership follow its directions in all matters. The board is named as Rav S. M. Winegarten, Rav Y. D. Knopfler, Rav R. Goldblatt and Rav I. Halberstadt.[8] The school lists itself as a member of the Brent Schools Partnership, the National Association of Jewish Orthodox Schools, Chinuch UK and the Partnership for Jewish Schools.[9]
None of the sources consulted links the school to the Biala or any other Hasidic dynasty.
Inspections
Ofsted
Ofsted has judged the school Good at successive inspections. Its most recent full report, from 13–14 June 2023, rated overall effectiveness, quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision all Good. At that time there were 202 pupils on roll, the chair of governors was Benjamin Gordon and the headteacher was Michael Coleman. The previous inspection, on 6–7 October 2021, was carried out under section 8, and the report noted significant changes to the governing body since then.[1][2][10] GIAS notes that since September 2024 Ofsted no longer makes overall effectiveness judgements for state-funded schools.[1]
Section 48 Kodesh inspection
The school chose to have its Kodesh (Jewish studies) provision inspected under section 48 of the Education Act 2005 on 24–25 May 2022 (23–24 Iyar 5782). The inspector was Rabbi Nathaniel Lieberman. The judgements were:[11][4]
| Area | Judgement |
|---|---|
| Overall effectiveness | Good |
| Leadership and management | Outstanding |
| Quality of Jewish education | Good |
| Intent (curriculum design) | Outstanding |
| Implementation (teaching and assessment) | Good |
| Impact (achievement) | Good |
| Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development | Outstanding |
| Personal development | Outstanding |
| Behaviour and attitudes | Outstanding |
According to the report, there were 207 boys on roll, with a waiting list. Kodesh lessons took up more than half of the timetable, and pupils attended for seven to eight hours a day as well as on Sunday and bank holiday mornings. About 19 per cent of pupils were on SEN support and one had an education, health and care plan. The previous section 48 inspection had been in January 2015. Earlier in 2022 the school's computer records had been hacked, and the inspector took account of the files that could not be recovered. He credited the long-serving menahel and his deputy with marked improvements in teaching, curriculum and behaviour since that inspection, and said the governing body gave rigorous oversight of the Kodesh department, with individual governors giving time and money to new projects. He did not rate the school Outstanding because it had no Kodesh SENCo and because its new Kodesh assessment system was not yet used across all classes and subjects.[11]
The report also recorded that pupils had raised money for farmers in Israel observing the shemitta year, for the Kids Meal Appeal and for Ukrainian refugees.[11]
Governance
The school's website says that the governing board was reconstituted in September 2015 with 12 governors. Seven are foundation governors appointed by the trustees of the school; the others are the headteacher (ex officio), two parent governors, one staff governor and one local authority governor. Non-voting associates may be co-opted, and the menahel, Rabbi E. Pearlman, sits as one. The same page still names Rabbi Benjy Gordon as chair, and lists committees for curriculum and education, finance and premises, staffing and pay, headteacher performance management, and admissions.[12]
The governing-board document for September 2026 names the body that appoints the foundation governors as "JEF: Foundation Trust", and states that none of the governors sits on the governing body of another school.[13] No charity or company of that exact name was found on the registers. The registered charity and company Jewish Education Fund Limited (charity 1046994; company 02999139) has objects to advance the education of the pupils of a Jewish primary school for boys by providing facilities and infrastructure. Companies House records two satisfied charges it gave over the synagogue and land at Parkside, Brent (title MX286905), one of which describes the property as "now known as Torah Temimah Primary School". Its registered office, 5 North End Road, London NW11 7RJ, is also the Charity Commission address of the school's fundraising charity.[14][15][16]
Current governors (September 2026)
| Name | Category | Appointed by | Term | Responsibilities and declared interests |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rabbi Mordechai Chalk | Parent | Governing board / parent election | 11 November 2024 – 10 November 2028 | Safeguarding lead; education committee |
| Zvi Freedman | Foundation (parent governor until 10 November 2024) | JEF: Foundation Trust | 11 November 2024 – 10 November 2028 | Co-chair of governors; chair of staffing and pay; health and safety; reading |
| Mrs Lucinda Glasser | Headteacher | Ex officio | — | |
| Miss Abigail Jacobson | Staff | Staff election | 1 February 2024 – 31 January 2028 | |
| Moishe Jay | Parent | Governing board / parent election | 11 November 2024 – 10 November 2028 | Chair of finance and premises |
| Yeshaya Kramer | Foundation | JEF | 20 March 2023 – 19 March 2027 | |
| Rabbi Gary Liss | Foundation | JEF | 7 June 2025 – 6 June 2029 (previous term 7 June 2021 – 6 June 2025) | SEND; headteacher performance management committee; declared business interest: teacher at a school that some pupils go on to attend (school not named) |
| Yonoson Sacher | Foundation | JEF | 17 November 2025 – 16 November 2029 | |
| Aaron Schauder | Foundation | JEF | 9 July 2025 – 8 July 2029 | |
| Emmanuel Tannen | Local authority | Local authority / governing board | 20 March 2023 – 19 March 2027 | Co-chair of governors; chair of education committee |
| Rabbi Ephraim Pearlman | Co-opted additional member | Governing board | 3 April 2024 – 2 April 2028 | Menahel |
Source: governing-board document.[13]
GIAS gives a different picture. It lists Emmanuel Tannen as chair of governors, elected by parents, from 1 September 2026 to 31 August 2029, as well as a local-authority governor from 20 March 2023 to 19 March 2027. It records Kramer as "Shaya Kramer" and Glasser as an ex officio governor from 21 May 2025, and it does not list Liss, Sacher, Schauder or Pearlman. It records Benjamin Gordon as chair from 20 March 2023 to 31 August 2026.[1]
Recent past governors
| Name | Category | Term (governing-board document) | Other recorded term |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rabbi Benjy Gordon | Foundation | 20 March 2023 – 31 August 2026 | |
| Michael Coleman | Ex officio (headteacher) | 1 September 2021 – 1 December 2025 | |
| Yoel Calitchi | Foundation | 1 September 2025 – 4 December 2025 | 1 September 2021 – 31 August 2025 |
| Dr Simon Freilich (Shimon in the governing-board document) | Foundation | 23 December 2024 – 31 July 2025 | 23 December 2020 – 22 December 2024 |
| Zvi Freedman | Parent (now foundation) | until 10 November 2024 | 22 December 2020 – 21 December 2024 |
| Chaim Halvieim | Foundation | 30 August 2023 – 9 July 2025 | |
| Simon Adam Levinson | Parent | 22 December 2020 – 11 November 2024 | 22 December 2020 – 21 December 2024 |
| Mrs Sara Specterman | Staff | 12 April 2022 – 31 January 2024 | |
| Akiva Hackenbroch | Foundation | 5 July 2022 – 30 March 2023 | |
| Uri Kaplan | Foundation | 12 July 2019 – 1 January 2023 | |
| Richard Kaufman | Foundation | 20 November 2018 – 19 November 2022 | |
| Mrs Chayelle Hur | Staff | 17 November 2020 – 11 April 2022 | |
| Rabbi Yitzchak Freeman | Headteacher | until 31 August 2021 | |
| Benny Emanuel | Foundation | 28 June 2019 – 27 June 2023 | |
| David Goldberg | Foundation | 11 November 2016 – 26 July 2019 | |
| Mrs Philippa Gubbay | Parent | 10 May 2016 – 9 May 2020 (served until 22 December 2020) | |
| Yehuda Neuberger | Associate | 1 September 2017 – 26 July 2019 | |
| Mrs Leah Seliger | Staff | 6 September 2019 – 3 November 2020 | |
| Rabbi Eliezer Zobin | Foundation | 1 September 2016 – 3 August 2020 |
Source: governing-board document.[13] The document notes that during the COVID-19 pandemic, parent governors whose terms had ended carried on serving.[13]
Funding vehicles
Funds for the school are also applied by the charity Torah Temimoh Primary School (charity 1000146; spelling as on the Commission register). It was registered on 20 August 1990 under a trust deed of 1 August 1990, removed from the register on 9 March 2011 as not operating, and re-registered on 27 June 2011. Its objects are the advancement of education, in particular by providing and maintaining a school for young people under 18, and its stated activity is to raise funds, collect donations and apply the funds and income of the charity for the running of the school known as the Torah Temimah Primary School. Its main way of working is grant-making.
Year to 31 August 2024: income £814,250 (almost entirely donations); expenditure £693,463. Year to 31 August 2025: income £802,597, all from donations and legacies; expenditure £891,878. One unpaid trustee, Adrian Heller. Reporting on time. No trading subsidiary. Its Commission address is 5 North End Road, Golders Green, London NW11 7RJ.[16][17]
Jewish Education Fund Limited holds the Parkside site described above.[15] Its directors at Companies House are Marc Rogoff and Michael Wulwick, both appointed on 28 August 2023. Adrian Heller was a director and the secretary from 1994 to 2023, and Uriel Sholom Kaplan was a director from 2011 to 9 February 2026. The Charity Commission still lists Kaplan as its only trustee.[18][19]
Kaplan and Michael Wulwick, under the same Companies House officer records, were also directors from 2009 to 2023 of TTLK Ltd (company 03957031). That company was incorporated on 27 March 2000, has primary education as its registered business, and has its office at 135 Leeside Crescent, Golders Green. Its current directors, all appointed on 30 August 2023, are Chaim Yehuda Rahamin Halvieim, Yeshaya Kramer and Zev Lawrence Wulwick.[20]
Trustee links
The Charity Commission lists the school charity's sole trustee, Adrian Heller, as a trustee of five other charities: Slabodka Yeshiva Trust (256600), Nosson Tittain Foundation (1113755), Helenslea Tzedoko Limited (1095125), Alglen Limited (287544) and the North West London Chevra Kadisha (1212433).[17] At Companies House, an Adrian Heller born in November 1955 is listed at the same address, 5 North End Road, NW11 7RJ. Under that officer record he was a director and the secretary of Jewish Education Fund Limited, and he has been secretary of B H Gur Limited (company 03235469; charity 1062929) since 8 August 1996.[21] B H Gur Limited is a charity that maintains and runs a synagogue. Its name refers to Gur (Ger), and one of its trustees, Sheldon Morgenstern, is also a trustee of the Gur Trust.[22] These are appointments held by an individual trustee, and none of the sources describes any affiliation between the school and Ger.
People
| Name | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Mrs Lucinda Glasser | Headteacher (school site, October 2026; acting headteacher on the site in September 2026); headteacher on GIAS | BSc, QTS, NPQH |
| Rabbi Ephraim Pearlman | Menahel | Named on school website (from 2023); co-opted additional member of the governing board |
| Michael Coleman | Former headteacher | Named in the June 2023 Ofsted report; ex officio governor 2021–2025 |
| Rabbi Yitzchak Freeman | Former headteacher | Addressed in Ofsted short-inspection letter, 28 September 2016; headteacher until 31 August 2021 |
| Rabbi E. Klyne | Former principal and menahel | Named in 2019–20 visitor information; head of the predecessor independent school on GIAS |
| Mrs Margulies | School manager | Named on school website |
| Miss Weisz | School secretary | Named on school website |
Earlier Pikuach inspection
Before the 2022 section 48 inspection, the school was inspected by Pikuach on 28–29 November 2011. The report judged overall effectiveness outstanding (grade 1) and said the school "provides an excellent standard of Jewish education". It recorded a boys' school of 204 pupils aged 3 to 11, with Mr U. Kaplan as chair, Rabbi Yitzchak Freeman as headteacher and Rabbi Ephraim Klyne as menahel.[23]
Ofsted's initial (section 8) inspection of 6–7 October 2021 made "no change to this school's overall judgement of good", but said the evidence "suggests that the inspection grade might not be as high if a full inspection were carried out now".[24]
Commentary
In October 2026 the writer Nate Bear published an article on his Substack newsletter ¡Do Not Panic! arguing that more than half of the UK's mainstream Jewish schools say they teach children to "love Israel", and that this was "possibly breaching UK government rules against the promotion of partisan political views in schools".[25] Bear included Avigdor Hirsch Torah Temimah in his list of 26 schools.[25] He wrote that "All but one of these are mainstream Jewish and modern Orthodox", naming Broughton Jewish Cassel Fox Primary School as the strictly Orthodox exception, and gave no evidence specific to this school. Avigdor Hirsch Torah Temimah is a strictly Orthodox boys' school (see Religious ethos above).
See also
- Jewish Schools in the UK
- Brent
- Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations
- Jewish Education Fund Limited
- Torah Temimoh Primary School
External links
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Department for Education, Avigdor Hirsch Torah Temimah Primary School URN 131916, accessed 9 September 2026 and 27 October 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Ofsted, Avigdor Hirsch Torah Temimah Primary School URN 131916, accessed 9 September 2026.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Torah Temimah Primary School school website, accessed 9 September 2026 and 27 October 2026 (homepage text also supplied by David).
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 School information, Torah Temimah Primary School website, accessed 27 October 2026.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Department for Education, Torah Temimah Primary School URN 101392 (closed), accessed 27 October 2026.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Avigdor Hirsch Torah Temimah Primary School, Information for Visitors 2019–2020, accessed 27 October 2026.
- ↑ London Borough of Brent, Audit Committee public reports pack, 22 September 2016, Internal Audit Report – Torah Temimah Primary School.
- ↑ Our ethos and values, Torah Temimah Primary School website, accessed 27 October 2026.
- ↑ Links, Torah Temimah Primary School website, accessed 27 October 2026.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Ofsted, Inspection of Avigdor Hirsch Torah Temimah Primary School, 13 and 14 June 2023 (copy on school website), accessed 27 October 2026.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Rabbi Nathaniel Lieberman, Avigdor Hirsch Torah Temimah Primary School: Section 48 Kodesh Studies Inspection, 24–25 May 2022, school document (copy also supplied by David), accessed 27 October 2026.
- ↑ Governing Board, Torah Temimah Primary School website, accessed 27 October 2026.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 Avigdor Hirsch Torah Temimah Primary School, Governing board information: September 2026, school document (copy also supplied by David), accessed 27 October 2026.
- ↑ Charity Commission, JEWISH EDUCATION FUND LIMITED: governing document charity 1046994, accessed 27 October 2026.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Companies House, JEWISH EDUCATION FUND LIMITED: charges company 02999139, accessed 27 October 2026.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 Charity Commission, TORAH TEMIMOH PRIMARY SCHOOL charity 1000146, accessed 9 September 2026 and 27 October 2026.
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Charity Commission, TORAH TEMIMOH PRIMARY SCHOOL: trustees charity 1000146, accessed 27 October 2026.
- ↑ Companies House, JEWISH EDUCATION FUND LIMITED: officers company 02999139, accessed 27 October 2026.
- ↑ Charity Commission, JEWISH EDUCATION FUND LIMITED: trustees charity 1046994, accessed 27 October 2026.
- ↑ Companies House, TTLK LTD: officers company 03957031, accessed 27 October 2026.
- ↑ Companies House, Adrian HELLER: appointments, accessed 27 October 2026.
- ↑ Charity Commission, B H GUR LIMITED charity 1062929, accessed 27 October 2026.
- ↑ Pikuach, Avigdor Hirsch Torah Temimah Primary School: inspection report, inspection of 28–29 November 2011, pikuach.org.uk, accessed 1 November 2026.
- ↑ Ofsted, Avigdor Hirsch Torah Temimah Primary School: inspection report, inspection of 6–7 October 2021, accessed 1 November 2026.
- ↑ 25.0 25.1 Nate Bear, "Majority Of Jewish Schools In The UK Teaching Kids To 'Love Israel'", ¡Do Not Panic!, 27 October 2026, accessed 1 November 2026.