Ofsted head sparks race row over clampdown on Islamic face veils

Sir Michael Wilshaw gives 'full support' to schools that 'decide to take a stand against inappropriate wearing of the veil'

Ofsted chief inspector warns that English schools face a "brain drain" (PA)

The head of Ofsted has sparked a race row by allowing schools to clamp down on pupils and staff wearing Islamic face veils.

Sir Michael Wilshaw, the chief inspector of schools in England, has instructed his officials to fail schools and colleges that allow them to be worn if they are a “barrier to learning”.

Institutions face being downgraded to “inadequate” and placed in either a “special measures” or “serious weaknesses” category, meaning frequent further inspections until they are no longer deemed to be failing. In addition, senior managers and teaching staff can be dismissed and the governing body may be replaced by an appointed Interim Executive Board.

In a statement on Tuesday Sir Michael gave his “full support” to schools which “decide to take a stand against the inappropriate wearing of the veil”.

He said: “I am concerned that some heads and principals who are trying to restrict the wearing of the full veil in certain circumstances are coming under pressure from others to relax their policy.

“I want to assure these leaders that they can rely on my full backing for the stance they are taking. I have also made clear to my inspectors that where leaders are condoning the wearing of the face veil by staff members or by pupils when this is clearly hindering communication and effective teaching, they should give consideration to judging the school as inadequate.

“I am determined to ensure that discrimination, including on the grounds of gender, has no place in our classrooms.”

The new policy, which would apply to all state schools in England, follows Sir Michael’s comments last week that wearing the veil was “possibly” stopping teachers and pupils from communicating properly, based on reports from Ofsted inspectors.

There are around 140 Islamic schools in the UK of which 23 are state-funded. Since the first state funded Muslim school opened in 1998 there has been a rapid increase to accommodate demand with 14 new state funded schools having opened between 2007 and September 2015.

Education Secretary Nicky Morgan has previously backed schools that want to ban Muslim girls from wearing face veils and suggested teachers should also be barred from wearing the garments. However, she has also said that uniform policy is “very much up to the schools” and head teachers have the right to decide if they want to ban the veil.

Sir Michael said Ms Morgan was right to support schools and other institutions which “insist on removing face coverings when it makes sense to do so”, but his announcement on Tuesday that they could be failed is a much tougher stance than the Education Secretary has taken.

The Muslim Council of Britain hit back and said Ofsted did not need to resort to the “megaphone of the media to show that it is flexing its muscles”.

Calling for “accommodation” over wearing the veil, a spokesperson said: “It is a shame that the niqab - the full face veil that a minority of Muslim women wear - has become a polarising issue when it need not be.”

Kevin Courtney, Deputy General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, also criticised Ofsted for threatening schools. “Effective communication between pupils and staff is essential to effective teaching and learning,” he said.

“However, Sir Michael Wilshaw once again has chosen to issue punitive diktats to threaten schools through the use of ‘inadequate’ Ofsted judgments, rather than enabling them to develop their own sensible and appropriate policies on the wearing of religious clothing at school.

“Rather than assisting school leaders, this will have the effect of alienating many staff and pupils.”

A Department for Education spokesman said it “fully supported” Sir Michael’s statement. “It is also clearly right that if the wearing of the veil is interfering with education in schools that should trigger action from Ofsted,” a spokesperson said.

David Cameron has also said he would back institutions that have “sensible rules” over Muslims wearing full-face veils. But the Prime Minister ruled out of imposing a French-style ban on full-face veils in public as part of a drive to build community integration and counter extremism.