State-Funded Islamic Primary School Reported to EHRC Over Hijab Policy

A newly state-funded Islamic primary school in north London has been reported to the Equality and Human Rights Commission over a uniform policy listing the hijab for girls from around the age of seven.

Shadow education secretary Laura Trott and shadow equalities minister Joy Morrissey have asked the regulator to investigate Barnet Hill Academy and Barnet Council, arguing that the school’s policy may breach equality and human-rights law.

The EHRC has not found that either the school or council has acted unlawfully.

Barnet Hill Academy became a voluntary-aided state school at the beginning of September, bringing it into the state-funded sector while retaining its Islamic religious character.

Its published uniform policy lists a white hijab among the uniform items for girls in Years 3 to 6.

The school says its uniform and Islamic dress code are “closely aligned” because pupils participate in daily prayers, Quran recitation and other acts of Islamic worship.

Its website now also states explicitly that the hijab “is not a requirement for any non-Muslim students attending the school.”

Who has to wear it?

That distinction is at the centre of the complaint.

Trott and Morrissey argue that the policy appears to impose a different uniform requirement depending upon a pupil’s religion, with non-Muslim girls specifically exempted while Muslim girls may be required to wear the hijab.

They have also questioned what happens when a Muslim girl or her parents do not want her to wear one, and argue that boys face no equivalent requirement.

Barnet Council has given a different description of how the policy operates.

The council told the Telegraph that the school does not insist that Muslim girls wear the hijab except while participating in acts of worship.

That appears to leave a question over how the council’s description fits with the school’s published uniform page, which lists the hijab as part of the girls’ uniform, says pupils are expected to wear the prescribed uniform and specifically exempts non-Muslim pupils from the hijab requirement.

State funding brings legal obligations

Department for Education guidance states that school governing bodies must ensure uniform policies comply with the Equality Act 2010 and Human Rights Act 1998.

Schools must consider their obligations concerning protected characteristics including sex and religion or belief, while the guidance recognises that schools may need to accommodate religious clothing and other manifestations of belief.

The dispute therefore goes beyond whether an Islamic faith school can retain a religious character.

The question now being put before the equality regulator is whether a publicly funded faith school can impose a religious dress requirement on pupils specifically because they are Muslim, while expressly exempting pupils who are not.

For Barnet Hill Academy, the immediate issue may be simpler: establishing exactly what its hijab policy requires.

Sources

• AOL / The Telegraph – EHRC complaint and responses from the school and council
• Barnet Hill Academy – Uniform and Islamic dress policy
• Department for Education – School uniform guidance