'Dear Colleagues
Re:
Covering of the hair on school premises
–
The content of the letter has been approved by Lord Nash
Until recently, in keeping with our ethos as a faith based school we believed that it was in the best interests of pupils at Al-Madinah School, their parents and the community and that female members of staff cover their hair. The Trust and the Governing Body now realise how this practice could be interpreted and perceived as treating female members of staff less favourably than male members of staff and impacting on the right to freedom of religious and cultural expression. The Trust and the Governing Body would like to make it clear that this was never the intention and would like to apologise for any situation where staff felt discriminated against on cultural, religious or gender grounds.
With immediate effect the Trust and the Governing Body is notifying all employees of a change in policy, that female employees at Al-Madinah School are not required to cover their hair on school premises. This change is in keeping with provisions around gender equality, the right to freedom of religious expression and the right to work outlined in the Equality Act 2010 and will be reflected in the new Staff Handbook which will be published and distributed to all staff on November 1st 2013.
Furthermore, alongside all other School Policies the new Staff Handbook will clearly outline and explain our Internal Complaints Procedure through which staff may seek to remedy situations in
which they feel discriminated against and or subject to less favourable/unfair treatment. The Trust and Governing Body endeavours to treat all pupils and staff equitably and fairly, and will not tolerate any form of discrimination, or any infringements of Equality Act 2010 Legislation (including on the basis of religion).
We are committed to eliminating discrimination and advancing equality of opportunity and fostering good relations between those sharing protected characteristics and those who do not share such
characteristics' (blah blah)
From almadinahschool.org.uk/files/StaffLetter-LordNash.pdf
almadinahschool.org.uk/files/ParentLetter-LordNash.pdf
Obv there has been a little misunderstanding on this score...
The statement under the heading 'Welcome to Al-Madinah School' (on the school website) makes it abundantly clear that the leadership of the school had only thought in detail about one aspect of what the school was all about -- resisting western influence:
'One of Al-Madinah Schools’ strong characters is the schools [sic] extended services program in which pupils will learn independence, self-control, social skills and community conscientiousness. These skills are vital if our pupils are to become self-regulating teenagers and adults...
...One of Al-Madinah Schools’ distinct features is the offering of an Islamic Studies program, which will include Quran reading with pronunciations (Tajweed), translation of the Quran (Tafseer) and Quran memorisation (Hifz). We will also teach Islamic Jurisprudence (Fiqh), biography (Seerah) of the Prophet Mohammed (SAW), History of Islam, the Oneness of God (Tauheed) and Islamic Beliefs (Aqeedah). Daily prayers and weekly religious assemblies will also take place at the School. The Islamic studies program will have an ‘opt-out’ choice for parents who do not want their child(ren) to be part of it.'
The rest of the paragraphs contain a load of vague waffling about achievement.