Trustees and Members
School Governance
The Leeds Jewish Free School is an ‘academy school’ directly funded by the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA). The School is a charitable company limited by guarantee and is legally refereed to as an “Academy Trust”. It is required to comply with charity and company legislation, the school’s foundation document (referred to as the funding agreement) issued by the Secretary of State for Education as well as regulations issued by the ESFA in the Academies Financial Handbook. The Funding Agreement and Financial Handbook specifies the governance structures required within the academy and how the persons charged with controlling the academy are expected to carry out their responsibilities. There are two classifications of people who over see the governance of the school; Trustees and Members. (In the context of an academy school trustee, company director and governor are all interchangeable terms.)
Trustees
Trustees are accountable to parents, the wider local community, the ESFA and the Department for Education for:
- Clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction of the school.
- Holding senior executive leaders to account for the school’s academic performance.
- Overseeing financial performance and that money is well spent.
There are currently ten trustees serving on the Board of Trustees. The Board meets regularly to implement the responsibilities listed above. Trustees support and challenge the academy’s senior managers to deliver high quality teaching and learning, ensuring pupils are kept safe, ensure value for money, all within a Jewish ethos and the strategic direction they have set. Brief biographies of the trustees and are shown below.
Members
Members who have a similar role to shareholders of a company limited by shares.
As responsibility to conduct the trust’s business sits with the trustees, members are ‘eyes on and hands off’ and avoid compromising the board’s discretion. However, members are kept informed about trust business so they can be assured that the board is exercising effective governance. This include providing the members with the trust’s audited annual report and accounts. A list of the current members is shown below.
Governance Structure
The Board of Trustees have delegated some of there responsibilities to committees of Trustees. These are:
- Teaching, Learning and Inclusion Committee
- Finance and Resources Committee
- Community Engagement Committee
These committees report back to the Trust Board at each meeting. A fuller discussion of the academy’s governance arrangements is available in the most annual report and financial statements. Annual Reports and Financial Statements
Our Trustees
Cllr. Dan Cohen (Chair)
Dan is a Trustee and member of Leeds Jewish Free a director of Friends of Brodetsky, and a governor at Brodetsky Primary School. He is also a governor at two other local schools. He has over 25 years’ experience of working with schools and school governance.
Dan is a father to four young children, and is fully committed to ensuring that the young people of the Jewish community in Leeds have access to high quality local Jewish education.
In 2001 Dan was elected as the Leeds City Councillor for Alwoodley, the ward in which LJFS is located. He is the Shadow Cabinet Member for Leisure, Culture and Skills.
Dan is the trustee responsible for performance management, inclusion and attendance, race equality, he also sits on the teaching and learning committee.
Contact details: Email admin@LJFS.org clearly marking your message for the attention of Mr Cohen
Alex Abrams (Vice Chair)
Alex is a Trustee and Member of Leeds Jewish Free School and has been since its inception. Up until July 2023 he was Vice-Chair of governors and is currently Chair of the Teaching, Learning & Inclusion Committee.
He is also the Quality & Facilities Manager at Scattergood & Johnson Ltd, and previously was Director of Youth Services at BHH Synagogue, and a leader of a local Beaver troop
Originally from Birmingham, Alex has lived in Leeds for the past 25+ years. Alex has been married for 25 years to Louise and has two children Zack & Georgia, who both attended LJFS in previous years. Zack has now graduated university and Georgia is now in an apprenticeship.
Henry Cohen
Henry is a Trustee of LJFS, a Director of Friends of Brodetsky as well as being a governor of Brodetsky Primary school. He has been involved in many major community projects over the years. He is a life patron of Leeds Jewish Welfare Board, a patron of St Gemma’s Hospice, a patron of Brodetsky and an honorary life vice president of the Zone.
Now enjoying retirement, Henry chairs the LJFS’s Finance and Resources Committee and is a member of the Brodetsky Finance committee.
Rabbi Jason Kleiman
Rabbi Kleiman is a Trustee at the Leeds Jewish Free School as well as Chaplain at LJFS and Brodetsky Primary School.
Rabbi Kleiman has served congregations in Reading, Catford, and Ilford and was the Headteacher of the Hebrew Schools in these communities. He is currently the Minister of the Beth Hamidrash Hagadol Synagogue in Leeds.
Rabbi Reuven Cohen
Rabbi Reuven Cohen is a Trustee of Leeds Jewish Free School, and Director of the Chabad Lubavitch Youth Organisation since 1980. As a community Rabbi he has over 40 years’ experience in the delivery of informal and formal Jewish education, and pastoral care within the Leeds community.
Rabbi Cohen is the Trustee responsible for Limmud Kodesh.
Dr Jason Broch
As well as a Trustee and member of LJFS, Jason is a partner in a busy GP practice, which covers a wide range of patients from all sections of the community. He Chairs the board of an NHS Clinical Commissioning Group. He has additional strategic roles in the public sector in Leeds. Jason is also Chair of the Brodetsky Primary School Governing Body.
At LJFS, Jason is the Trustee responsible for child protection and safeguarding.
Emma Wisnia
Lisa Baker
Richard is a great member of the community and forms part of the teaching and learning work completed at the school.
Our Members
Alex Abrams
Dan Cohen
Jason Broch
Alan Dunwell
Louisa Simons
Paul Gross
Colin Glass