OUR SCHOOL ETHOS: 

Menorah Foundation School is an Orthodox Jewish school built upon the Jewish faith and principles which have an impact on everything we do.

We are a welcoming, co-educational school, imbuing our pupils with a love of Torah and Eretz Yisroel, and promoting British values.

The role and vision of our ethos can be summarised as follows:

• Torah Im Derech Eretz – we will further define this through the project mentioned above.
• We aim for our pupils to realise from an early age that our Jewish ethical and moral principles apply to whatever topic is being studied in every walk of life, so that they are fully prepared for their future lives as Orthodox Jews within a secular integrated society.
• Torah is taught as a way of life and not just an academic subject; it permeates every aspect of school life, into the home and beyond.

There is an expectation on parents, staff and all stakeholders to promote and uphold our ethos.

How we uphold the ethos

• We maintain high standards of conduct. Pupils are expected to speak respectfully to all adults.
• Parents and staff are to set an example in how they speak and behave towards others with clean and polite speech.
• All members of staff should be spoken to with respect and abuse will not be tolerated.
• 40% of learning time is Kodesh with additional time for davening and bentching. Additionally, there is an extended Kodesh learning session on Sundays.
• All food brought into the school must be approved Kosher by a Kashrus authority recognised by the school.
  • Members of staff and visitors may bring non-kosher food onto the premises for personal consumption only, with their own utensils.
• The school uniform incorporates a Tznius (modest) dress code. This applies to all children, staff members, parents and site visitors, male and female, in accordance with the School Uniform.
• Pupils are not to bring mobile phones or internet-enabled devices into the school, and access to the internet and apps at home should be controlled and supervised.
• The curriculum reflects our values and any questions concerning the suitability of any material or suggested activity, must be brought to the Head of Kodesh for guidance and approval.
  • This includes all areas including PSHE, science, music, English and enrichment opportunities.

Parents are expected to support the teachings of the school in their behaviour, and how they run their homes.

Any questions concerning the Ethos and its implementation should be brought to the Head of Kodesh. Matters can be escalated further, as per the appropriate channels (including the school Rov), if required.

Impact

As a result of their time at MFS, pupils will:

• Develop positive middos, a love of Torah, and character development.
• Be well prepared for their transition to Jewish secondary schools.
• Have developed a love of Eretz Yisroel.
• Be aware of how fortunate they are to live in a country that affords them the opportunity to integrate into society whilst being able to practice their religion to the highest level without fear or interference.
• Become advanced independent learners, having been taught skills rather than learning merely by rote with knowledge of as much of the curriculum as possible.