Question from a Reader
With help from Bradley Conway, Gesher’s Jewish Studies Teacher
Gesher is a Jewish Faith school, and the values of the faith permeate the school. The school’s Blueprint has at its heart a commitment to a set of core values, a guiding philosophy (expressed as ‘Hashkafa’) embracing ‘Avodah’ (work and service), ‘Chesed’ (kindness and love between people) and ‘Torah’ (teaching and guidance). We know, of course, that some readers of The Bridge are unlikely to be familiar with the tenets of Judaism – we are bound by a shared interest in education, not a shared faith. However, the universal message for schools is the power of having a unifying set of core values and unity of purpose across a school community.
We received the following question from a reader: We are looking to welcome all types of families and individuals to our synagogue but we’re struggling to come up with the right accommodations. How can we make sure that we’re doing enough? How will we know whether people feel included and welcomed?
That is a great question. To begin with, you can start by making small changes. In order to feel included and welcomed in religion, one needs to be able to feel a connection. It’s only through a connection would one be able to express oneself, engage with rituals, events, and festivals. So it really is about connecting. And the only way that one can do that is by being invited, feeling accepted, and having the opportunity to express themselves in their own way.
We believe that every single person should be valued and accepted. In order to make that possible, different and/or additional reasonable adjustments are necessary. This doesn’t mean making things more difficult. It’s not like we wouldn’t make adjustments for people who are neurotypical. We would. So, we should also make adjustments for neurodivergent community members. By making small adjustments within our provision, this allows people to feel more comfortable, more accepted and welcomed to attend and feel part of the community.
At Gesher, we work with various religious organisations, synagogues and communities to help them create greater awareness about being inclusive of people with additional needs. We show them different ways that they can be more engaging by acknowledging what they do already and making slight tweaks to what they offer, in order to be more accessible and welcoming. We can invite individuals and families who may have children with additional needs or who may themselves have such needs to advocate for what they need which allows them to feel empowered. There are many families who have not necessarily felt accepted but when change happens, even by the smallest margins, they start to feel validated in being part of a community and they feel that their needs are recognised and accommodated like anybody else’s needs. This allows them to feel valued, and accepted just like anybody in the community.
One of the strategies that we employ with our students and also the wider community, is having various options available to promote inclusivity of choice. We developed, for example, the Siddur Lakol alongside the United Synagogue, JWeb, and Kisharon School. The Siddur Lakol is a prayer book with several options for reading and following along. Reading the Siddur Lakol, children at Gesher are able to either connect with the prayers through the Hebrew words, the phonetics of the Hebrew words–transliteration, the translation of the words, or through the pictures. And because a lot of different prayers have very similar words, the students are able to familiarise themselves with those pictures. Those pictures are called Pecs which are a set of accessible graphic icons.
The end of the day, we are all created in the image of Hashem, and therefore, we are all special. We are! We should all be valued! As it says in the Talmud (Shevuot 39a), ‘we are responsible for each other.’ Therefore, we should do our utmost to ensure that every individual feels included in the community. No one should be left out. We all need different things, but we are all human!
Bradley Conway has been Head of Kodesh (Jewish Studies) at Gesher since January 2023. With a Masters in Jewish Education and completing his NPQ in Senior Leadership, he is continuously developing his knowledge and skills, with a specific focus on neurodiversity. He believes it is very important for students at Gesher School to engage with their Jewish learning in a fun, interactive, personal and accessible manner.
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