North Cheshire Jewish Primary School

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Voluntary aided Orthodox Jewish primary school in Heald Green, Cheadle, Stockport

North Cheshire Jewish Primary School

Type Voluntary aided primary school, Jewish religious character
Registration ID URN 106113; The North Cheshire Jewish Primary School Trust, charity number 1140801
Headquarters St Ann's Road North, Heald Green, Cheadle, Cheshire SK8 4RZ (Metropolitan Borough of Stockport)
Key people Michael Woolf (headteacher); Naomi Hornby (chair of governors, 2024)
Website https://www.ncjps.org.uk/

North Cheshire Jewish Primary School (NCJPS) is a mixed voluntary aided Jewish primary school for pupils aged 4 to 11 in Heald Green, Cheadle, in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport. The Department for Education records a Jewish religious character, a capacity of 210 and 173 pupils on roll. Its headteacher is Michael Woolf.[1] Pikuach describes it as having "a strong Zionist ethos" and teaching "with a traditional centrist Orthodox approach to Judaism". It is the only Jewish school in the south Manchester area.[2]

Ethos

The school's home page says it is "proud to be fully committed to Halachah – Jewish Law and Tradition and are unashamedly Zionistic in our outlook". It adds that "we value knowledge of other religions and faiths" and that the school is linked with St Monica's Catholic Primary School.[3] The same page says Jewish Studies lessons aim to "instil a pride and self-confidence in our children of their Jewishness, and of the Jewish Homeland – Israel".[3]

The school's vision statement begins: "At North Cheshire Jewish Primary School, we nurture our children's pride in their Jewish identity and love of Israel."[4]

Communal rabbis and Chabad

The 2024 Pikuach report said the school welcomes "the participation and input of its communal Rabbis and the Chabad (Chassidic sect) Rabbi emissary". The rabbis take turns leading assemblies, and one told inspectors: "90% of the pupils at school come from our Shuls."[2] For Chabad-run schools in the UK, see Chabad Lubavitch schools in the UK.

Governance

Ofsted named Naomi Hornby as chair of governors in 2024.[5]

Charity Number Trustees Latest year
The North Cheshire Jewish Primary School Trust 1140801 Ginette Carrie Esterkin, Philip Isaac Hodari, Andrew Jeremy Joseph Year to 5 April 2025: income £294,709, spending £118,649[6]
North Cheshire Jewish Nursery Education Trust 1119430 Victoria Jessica Dale, Sara Lisa Miriam Crane, Jessica Saknaee Fox, Jeremy Bolchover, Penelope Toubkin Year to 31 August 2025: income £439,105, spending £402,209[7]
North Cheshire Jewish Nursery Property Trust 1110468 Ginette Esterkin, Philip Hodari, Anthony Wagner Year to 31 August 2025: income £30,001, spending £34,250[8]

The school trust's objects include "to advance the Jewish religion through Jewish education".[6] The nursery education trust's objects are to provide education "in an Orthodox Jewish environment to children under statutory school age".[7]

Israel

  • The 2024 Pikuach report said: "the school emanates Jewishness and Zionism. Displays across the school show evidence of a strong connection with Israel". It quoted the school's aim "To give children confidence and pride about their Judaism and have a strong identity regarding their own community and the State of Israel", and said the school describes itself as "steadfast in its Zionistic outlook".[2]
  • The same report said some pupils "shared how meaningful it was to them that they were able to raise money for Israel".[2]
  • On 9 April 2019 @ncjps posted that Year 6 pupils had held a charity bake sale “in aid of the JNF Soup Kitchen Project – ensuring that the poorest communities in Israel do not go hungry.”[9]

Intake

The 2024 Pikuach report recorded that 23 pupils (12%) "are not of the Jewish faith" and said non-Jewish pupils "follow the same curriculum as all pupils".[2]

Inspections

Date Inspectorate and type Outcome
15–16 May 2024 Ofsted, full inspection Good in all areas[5]
6 March 2019 Ofsted, no formal designation inspection Governors did not fulfil their statutory responsibility when choosing the section 48 lead inspector[10]
8–9 April 2024 Pikuach (section 48) Overall effectiveness good (grade 2); leadership and management outstanding[2]

In March 2019 Ofsted made an unannounced visit that looked at how governors had arranged the school's section 48 inspection of November 2018. The inspector found that governors had considered inspectors "including those named on a list supplied by the prescribed body", but "did not follow the section 48 protocols and consult with the prescribed body", which meant "there has been a contravention of the section 48 protocols".[10] The full inspection history is published by Ofsted.[11]

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".[12] Bear listed North Cheshire among the schools he described in this way, quoting its mission statement on "love of Israel" and a "strong identity…regarding the state of Israel".[12]

Funding

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

See also

External links

Notes

  1. ↑ Department for Education, North Cheshire Jewish Primary School (URN 106113), Get Information about Schools, accessed 1 November 2026.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Pikuach, North Cheshire Jewish Primary School: inspection report, inspection of 8–9 April 2024, pikuach.org.uk, accessed 1 November 2026.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Home, ncjps.org.uk, accessed 1 November 2026.
  4. ↑ Vision, Ethos & Values, ncjps.org.uk, accessed 1 November 2026.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Ofsted, North Cheshire Jewish Primary School: inspection report, inspection of 15–16 May 2024, accessed 1 November 2026.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Charity Commission, THE NORTH CHESHIRE JEWISH PRIMARY SCHOOL TRUST - 1140801, Register of Charities, register data extract of 28 October 2026, accessed 1 November 2026.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Charity Commission, NORTH CHESHIRE JEWISH NURSERY EDUCATION TRUST - 1119430, Register of Charities, register data extract of 28 October 2026, accessed 1 November 2026.
  8. ↑ Charity Commission, NORTH CHESHIRE JEWISH NURSERY PROPERTY TRUST - 1110468, Register of Charities, register data extract of 28 October 2026, accessed 1 November 2026.
  9. ↑ North Cheshire Jewish Primary School (@ncjps), post, 9 April 2019, accessed 6 November 2026.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Ofsted, North Cheshire Jewish Primary School: no formal designation inspection, inspection of 6 March 2019, accessed 1 November 2026.
  11. ↑ Ofsted, North Cheshire Jewish Primary School (URN 106113), Ofsted reports, accessed 1 November 2026.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Nate Bear, "Majority Of Jewish Schools In The UK Teaching Kids To 'Love Israel'", ¡Do Not Panic!, 27 October 2026, accessed 1 November 2026.
  13. ↑ The Steinberg Family Charitable Trust, Trustees' report and accounts for the year ended 5 April 2025 Register of Charities, Charity Commission for England and Wales, charity number 1045231, accessed 2 November 2026.
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