Jewish school 'put child safety at risk'

A Jewish school in Sydney's east broke basic child protection rules, used an unaccredited teacher and was headed by a man now deemed unfit to run a school, a tribunal has ruled.

Yeshiva College Bondi's registration appears set to be formally cancelled in the next four weeks, forcing about 56 students from kindergarten to year nine to consider schooling elsewhere, after a NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal decision this week.

The college, whose historical practices were subject of criticism in 2016 during the institutional child abuse royal commission, had been under the microscope since 2019 when the NSW Education and Standards Authority uncovered multiple compliance issues.

Despite NESA's increased attention, the school repeatedly fell short of basic requirements, such as ensuring staff had valid working with children check clearances.

One person taught Jewish studies classes despite lacking NESA accreditation and a WWC clearance while another teacher didn't have their WWC clearance verified until their fourth week at the school.

These failings indicated that the school had until July 2021 been "putting the safety of children at risk", the tribunal found, upholding NESA's decision to cancel Yeshiva's registration.

Meanwhile, annual child protection training at times referenced outdated laws and almost half of the 25 staff members involved in child-related work in 2021 missed the training.

The decision made no mention of children actually being harmed.

Following the NCAT decision, Education Minister Sarah Mitchell will now review NESA's recommendation and take steps in the next four weeks to formally deregister the school.

The department will help students find new schools.

In a statement, NESA said all non-government schools must comply with the registration requirements of the Education Act.

Yeshiva has operated in different forms since 1956, offering Sydney's Jewish Chassidic Orthodox community a Torah-centred education.

Financial issues in 2012 led property billionaire Harry Triguboff to step in to clear millions in debt, leading the school to name a building after him.

Rabbi Dovid Slavin told AAP in a statement on Wednesday the school was "very much so" disappointed by the NCAT decision and is discussing future plans for teachers and students "as we consider our options."

Asked if the school agreed its child protection breaches put the safety of children at risk, the rabbi said: "We reserve comment".

One inspector gave evidence to NCAT that in her six years at NESA and the Board of Studies, she had never observed such a widespread and continuing failure by a school to address compliance concerns raised by NESA.

The tribunal noted the school's practices improved in late 2021 but not to the required standards.

It accepted Rabbi Slavin was not a fit an proper person to be a responsible person for the school, having found he lacked understanding of the registration requirements and was unable to provide sound financial management.

He also failed to take action when his business manager revealed himself in December 2021 as a recent bankrupt, the tribunal found.

Rabbi Slavin said those findings were disappointing.