Shul attendance once again counts towards certificate for Jewish school entry

Attending shul services can once again count towards points needed to go to Jewish schools.

The change was announced by the United Synagogue and Office of the Chief Rabbi, who have updated rules for its Certificate of Religious Practice (CRP) process.

Those applying for a Jewish nursery, primary or secondary are required to obtain a CRP to prove they are eligible to attend, which is done by completing activities to gain points.

Because shuls were closed last year, physical attendance was not included as a way of gaining points for 2020.

It has has been added as communities begin to open up once more, but guidance states that Covid-19 may still limit the “opportunity to attend in a Covid-safe context”, so additional methods of point-scoring have been included.

For the first time, online service attendance at events like Kabbalat Shabbat will contribute to getting a CRP, as well as going to Jewish educational events, voluntary communal, charitable or welfare activities, or completing an online course run by Tribe, its youth wing.

Tamar Berman, United Synagogue’s Head of Schools Strategy, said: “It has been a very challenging year for our young people and so we have changed the Certificate of Religious Practice (CRP) process again to offer more opportunities to collect CRP points.

“We recognise that with government Covid restrictions still in place, it may not be possible to collect all your points from shul attendance alone and so a range of alternative options have been offered to ensure that all applicants can collect the CRP points they need. We’ve also extended the collecting window to make more time available for gaining points.”

A spokesman for the Office of the Chief Rabbi said: “Nothing is more sacred to us than the Jewish education of our children and therefore, once again, our focus for the CRP has been on how to work with schools to make it as straight-forward as possible for pupils and their families to collect points in the current circumstances.”

Applications to nurseries and primaries are filled out by parents and children. Students fill out secondary applications alone.

Full details of how to collect points can be found via: www.theus.org.uk/crp

A short informational film has been produced here: