Beis Rochel d'Satmar Girls' School

Beis Rochel d'Satmar Girls' School is an independent, Hasidic school for boys and girls aged from 2 to 19. It is run by the Bais Rochel Dsatmar Charitable Trust (charity Number: 281371).

People

Trustees

Name	Role	Date of appointment	Other trusteeships	Reporting status of other trusteeships
Solomon Berkowitz	Trustee	11 May 2020	Yeitev Lev Eretz Israel Ltd, Just Kidding, Talmud Torah Torah Veyirah D'Satmar London Limited	All received: on time
Abraham Schreiber	Trustee	11 May 2020	None on record
Victor Langberg	Trustee	?	None on record
Jacob Frankel	Trustee	?	Friends of Yeshiva Luzern, Nextgrant Limited, Vyoel Moshe Charitable Trust	All received: on time

Talmud Torah Torah Veyirah D'Satmar London Limited runs the Beis Rochel D'Satmar School which is a boys school.

Ofsted reports

The most recent Ofsted investigation in November 2022 found that, “Leaders do not ensure that the PSHE and relationships education programmes comply with statutory guidance and equip pupils for life in British society. Pupils do not gain an awareness of a wide range of family structures and the legal rights and responsibilities regarding equality (particularly with reference to the protected characteristics as defined in the Equality Act 2010) and that everyone is unique and equal.”

In 2015, The Times of Israel published an article which highlighted that “A Satmar Hasidic school in a London borough apologized for using the term “goyim” on worksheets following a newspaper report that its preschoolers were being taught that non-Jews are evil.
 An article published Tuesday in the Independent newspaper, a major British daily, focused on a worksheet on the Holocaust used by the young students at the Beis Rochel D’Satmar Girls’ School in Hackney, in northeast London, in which Nazis are referred to only with the term for non-Jews that some deem offensive.

The worksheet is in Yiddish, and the newspaper received an independent translation of the worksheet. The first question reads: “What have the evil goyim (non-Jews) done with the synagogues and cheders [Jewish primary schools]?” The answer in the completed worksheet reads “Burned them.”
 “The language we used was not in any way intended to cause offense, now this has been brought to our attention, we will endeavor to use more precise language in the future,” a school spokesman told the newspaper. The spokesman told the London Jewish Chronicle that the term goyim explicitly meant Nazis.
 “The leaflet that the Independent refers to was handed out on the 21 Kislev, when the Satmar Jews celebrate the rescue of their founding rabbi from Bergen-Belsen,” the spokesman, Shimon Cohen, told the Chronicle.
 “The questions were only talking about the specific event, but there is no Yiddish word for Nazis. The suggestion that children are being taught that non-Jews are evil is nonsense and simply false. They are being taught that Nazis are evil.”

Sex segregation and the 2019 split

In November 2018 Ofsted judged the school to require improvement and found that leaders "segregate pupils by sex, without legal justification, which is in breach of the Equality Act 2010". The school then applied for a material change to split into two separate establishments "to meet the requirements of the Equality Act 2010". When inspectors arrived in November 2019 they found that the split had already happened, and they concluded that the school did not meet the standards relevant to the change. They also reported that leaders "did not allow inspectors to talk to pupils on their own". The report named the proprietor as Jacob Farankel and the chair as Rabbi Samuel Lew. The boys' school that resulted is Beis Rochel D'Satmar School (URN 147296), which opened in January 2020.

Recent inspections

In September 2024 Ofsted judged the school to require improvement, with outstanding behaviour and attitudes, and found that it did not meet all the independent school standards. It described four sites: the main site in Amhurst Park for Years 4 to 11; Cazenove Road, N16, for the early years and Year 1; Warwick Grove, E5, for Years 2 and 3; and Rookwood Road, N16, for the sixth form. The school is registered for pupils aged 2 to 19, and "boys are admitted only when they are aged between two and three years". The report named the proprietor as the Beis Rochel d'Satmar Charitable Trust and the chair as Rabbi Samuel Law, and said that fees "are variable, depending on the ability of parents to pay". A progress monitoring inspection in March 2025 found that not all the standards checked were met. The Department for Education's register records 1,354 pupils on roll against a capacity of 1,475. The school is linked to the Satmar Hasidic community in Stamford Hill.

Inspection history

Date	Inspectorate and type	Outcome
26 March 2025	Ofsted, additional (progress monitoring) inspection	Not all independent school standards checked were met
24 to 27 September 2024	Ofsted, standard inspection	Requires improvement
15 to 17 November 2022	Ofsted, standard inspection	Requires improvement
6 November 2019	Ofsted, material change inspection	Does not meet the standards relevant to the change
6–8 November 2018	Ofsted, standard inspection	Requires improvement
14 July 2016	Ofsted, additional (progress monitoring) inspection	Independent school standards checked were met
2–4 June 2015	Ofsted, standard inspection	Inadequate
20 January 2015	Ofsted, emergency inspection	Not all independent school standards checked were met
19 November 2012	Ofsted, additional (progress monitoring) inspection	Satisfactory progress on action plan
25 June 2012	Ofsted, additional (progress monitoring) inspection	Not all requirements met
7–8 February 2012	Ofsted, standard inspection	Good
13 January 2010	Ofsted, additional (progress monitoring) inspection	Action plan judged unsatisfactory
25–26 November 2008	Ofsted, standard inspection	Good
26 January 2004	Ofsted, standard inspection	Met all requirements under section 5 of the regulations with one exception

The full list of reports is published by Ofsted.

Charity finances

The Bais Rochel Dsatmar Charitable Trust (charity number 281371) was registered with the Charity Commission on 8 January 1981. It describes its activities as: "Running Hasidic school for pupils aged 2 to 19 years of age." In the financial year to 31 December 2024 it reported income of £6,976,785 and spending of £6,963,520, compared with £4,647,266 in the year to 31 December 2020. It reported 378 employees. The trustees listed on the register are Jacob Frankel, Victor Langberg and Abraham Schreiber (appointed 11 May 2020).

General information

• Address: 51-57 Amhurst Park, London, N16 5DL
• Local authority: Hackney
• Headteacher: Mrs Leah Jacobovics. Previous headteacher Elka Katz
• Age range: 2 to 19
• School type: Other independent school
• Gender of entry: Mixed
• ID: URN: 100293, DfE number: 204/6296 UKPRN: 10014855
• Proprietor’s name: Beis Rochel Dsatmar Charitable Trust
• Open date: 3 January 1978

Funding

Grants to the school's charity recorded in other charities' accounts include:

• Lakechance Limited: £13,000 to Beis Rochel D'satmar Charitable Trust (281371), year to 31 March 2010.

See also

• Jewish Schools in the UK