A group of Newham councillors have penned a letter slamming St Stephen’s Primary School’s policies on the hijab and fasting, saying it sets a “dangerous precedent” for a crackdown on religious freedoms in education.
The group call on the school to reverse their ban on pupils under the age of eight wearing a hijab and stop discouraging fasting on school days.
They say there has been a “toxic atmosphere” between parents and the school since headteacher Neena Lall was featured in last weekend’s Sunday Times talking about the policies, which she argues will better integrate pupils into British society.
The letter, titled “we must trust parents,” has been jointly signed by Cllrs Mas Patel, Salim Patel, Idris Ibrahim, Firoza Nekiwala, Zuber Gulamussen, Winston Vaughan, Susan Masters, Jose Alexander, Mukesh Patel and Harvinder Singh Virdee.
“Whilst the Council has little or no power to directly intervene we feel it is important that we, as local representatives, speak out and ensure that a resolution is quickly found,” the letter said. [Newham Recorder] Read more
