Jewish school teaching pupils 'women's only role is to clean and cook' in north London, Ofsted says

Stamford Hill boys school found to be prioritising the 'ethos of its faith' over educational standards

Beis Aharon School in Stamford Hill where pupils are taught women's only role is to 'look after children, clean the house and cook' (Google Street View)

A Jewish boys’ school has been criticised by Ofsted after it discovered pupils share a “universal view” that a woman’s only role is to “look after children, clean the house and cook”.

Beis Aharon School in Stamford Hill, north London was visited by inspectors from the education watchdog who found it did not meet the required standards for an independent school.

The school, which charges annual fees of £2,860, was found to be prioritising the “ethos of its faith” over educational standards and not preparing children for life in modern British society.

The report said: “In discussions, the majority of pupils still express views about the roles of women and men that indicate that the school does not prepare them for the reality of life in modern British society.

“Pupils universally consider that the role of women is to ‘look after children, clean the house and cook’, while men ‘go to work’.”

Inspectors said pupils were also unable to show mutual respect and tolerance to people of different faiths and found their knowledge of different religions and cultures was “very limited”.

The report also found that the school continues to allocate just one hour a day to secular education, which fails to conform to the school’s own policy of a “broad and balanced curriculum”.

Inspectors also reportedly found a reading book used in a Year Four lesson with the word “Christmas” crossed out, the London Evening Standard reported.

The school was given a list of 34 points from The Education (Independent School Standards) Regulation 2014 to make sure they improve.