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Certificate of Religious Practice

Following the adverse judgment in the Supreme Court Jewish schools have again been forced to adopt a religious practice test for 2012 admissions.

We understand that in some cases the schools will be asking you to complete a Certificate of Religious Practice (CRP), which includes verification of synagogue attendance. Please be aware that although most of the Jewish schools have similar CRP requirements, it is essential that you contact each school to which you are intending to apply to obtain their CRP form. In some cases it is possible that Shul attendance alone will not be enough to qualify you as a "Priority Applicant".

We are therefore asking that everyone, whether a member or not, who wishes to have their attendance at synagogue verified for school admissions purposes complies with a set procedure (see below), which includes:

1. Pre-registration of attendance

2. Making oneself known to an authorised official when attending. Desks for registration will be available at the following locations and times.

In the Main Shul foyer, or just outside, which from the start date (probably 7th May but to be confirmed) will be available from 10.15am to 11.00am on Shabbat mornings only.
On weeks when there is a service in Yavneh College, the desk will be in the lobby by the main staircase and will be open at the same times as Croxdale Road. Please note that cards will only be made available at Yavneh to those who have requested them in the online CRP system.
On weeks when there is a Hashkama service, cards will be available for collection in the service from 8.00am until 8.30am. CRP cards will be available at the Hashkama service until the end of July.

You will be handed a personalised card which you will need to keep until the end of the service when you will be able "post" it back in the box which we will provide. In line with other United Synagogue Shuls, we will not be recording attendances on Friday nights.

3. Receiving a signed CRP only if attendance has been verified.

NOTE: Attendance will only be recorded on those Shabbats as detailed in the Schools' Admissions procedures and will not include any Yom Tov, including Yom Kippur 2011.

Those requiring us to record attendance will be required to stay until the end of the service.

This is a task that we would much rather we were not being asked to undertake. However, we wish to provide assistance to our Jewish schools as they have been placed in an incredibly difficult situation forced upon them, because, and only because, of the Supreme Court's decision. It is important therefore to point out that this process does not confirm Jewish status.

If you have any questions in relation to this process please EMail .

I look forward to welcoming you to our synagogue and hope that by following this simple procedure we can minimise the disruption and discomfort that this process will create.

Anthony Arnold, Chairman
March 2011