Primary school that 'forces girls as young as seven to wear hijabs' accused of breaking human rights laws

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Barnet Hill Academy, an Islamic faith school in north London which has recently become state-funded, has faced backlash over its requirement for female pupils to wear the Muslim headscarf once they begin Year 3.

Hitting out at the policy, Conservative Shadow Education Secretary Laura Trott branded it “outrageous” and said “there are serious questions for Labour-run Barnet council about whether it breaches the law”.

“No one should be telling girls to cover their hair, least of all a school”, she said in a video posted to X.

“We, the Conservatives, are campaigning to make sure that this, which we believe breaches various rules and possibly the law, is overturned”.

The party is now calling for the public to sign a petition - titled ‘ ‘No Compulsory Hijabs in Schools’ - to change the uniform policy.

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Speaking to Nick Ferrari at Breakfast, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said she is in support of schools setting their own uniform policies, adding the government typically doesn’t intervene in such cases.

"I'm in support of schools having school uniform and setting their own school uniform policies, as long as they're fair and affordable.

"We'll of course intervene if there's unfairness in that policy.”

When pressed on whether girls should be required to wear a hijab, Ms Nandy failed to deliver a decisive answer.

She told Nick: “Well, it depends on the school uniform policies of that school.

“I'd have to look at that individual school and see whether it's fair or inclusive,” she said, admitting that she doesn't "know the detail of the school".

She said most schools have school uniform rules, and "they're normally done in consultation with parents".

It comes after Education Secretary Lucy Powell said on Monday she had been in “close touch” with the school, which she said clarified that hijabs were “not compulsory”.

The school has since added a note to its uniform policy stating that the hijab was “not a requirement for any non-Muslim students attending the school”, after it faced growing backlash over the policy.

The school and Barnet council have also been reported to the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) over human rights concerns and fears it could discriminate against girls and non-Muslims.

Shadow equalities minister Joy Morrissey and Ms Trott have also called for both the school and Barnet Council to be investigated by the EHRC.

In a letter to the court, they wrote:  “The hijab remains compulsory for every girl the school regards as Muslim, from the age of seven, with no element of choice for the child or her family.

“Second, the exemption turns on the school’s classification of each child’s religion, so that a girl’s uniform obligations are determined by her religious identity.”

They added there is no equivalent uniform requirement for boys at the school, warning the policy risks non-Muslim classmates receiving [preferential treatment compared with Muslim girls who do not wish to wear the face covering.

They claim the rules could breach the rights of secular parents to raise their children without religion, and a child’s right to personal autonomy.

The National Secular Society has also previsouly called on Labour MP Paul Waugh and the Education Secretary to "prevent all state-funded schools from compelling or pressuring pupils to wear hijab, or conform to any other sexist religious dress codes".

It wrote in a joint letter: "All schools have a duty to 'actively promote' individual liberty, to ensure young people leave school prepared for life in modern Britain," the letter says.

"In our view, forcing a child to wear the hijab is entirely at odds with this fundamental British value and with wider human rights norms on children's rights, including their right to freedom of religion or belief, their developing autonomy, and their right to equal treatment regardless of sex."

The letter is signed by 12 groups and individuals including Fiyaz Mughal, the founder of Faith Matters which launched the anti-Muslim hate crime watchdog Tell MAMA; and former Labour councillor Amina Lone.

NSS head of campaigns Megan Manson said: "We are alarmed that Barnet Council and the Secretary of State for Education approved these faith schools to convert from independent status to state-funded, despite these sexist, divisive and regressive dress codes.

"At a time of rising concerns around misogyny and ideologies promoting violence against women and girls in schools, forcing girls to wear hijab and enforcing religious 'modesty codes' in schools sends entirely the wrong message.

"We therefore call on ministers to ensure education policy empowers girls and upholds their human rights."

Barnet Council recently moved to grant publicly funded status to Barnet Hill Academy, which was formerly independent.

A Barnet Council spokesman said: “As part of the due diligence process, Barnet Council discussed the uniform requirements with the school. Barnet Hill Academy was clear that this does not apply to non-Muslim pupils, and this has been made clear in its online uniform policy.

"The uniform policy is in line with other faith schools in Barnet that set uniform requirements informed by religious practice. The school is also clear that it does not insist Muslim girls wear the hijab apart from during acts of worship. When council officers conducted visits to the school it was evident that not all Key Stage 2 girls were wearing hijabs during class activities.”

The spokesperson added: “We pride ourselves on the diverse nature of our school landscape, offering a wide choice when parents are selecting a school for their children.“At the last census (2021) 12 per cent of Barnet residents indicated that they were of Muslim faith, the third largest faith group in the borough after Christian (37 per cent) and Jewish (15 per cent). Those of no faith numbered 20.2 percent at the last Census.

"Barnet already has 15 voluntary-aided Church of England schools, 14 Catholic schools, 22 Jewish schools and one Greek Orthodox school (out of 134 schools in total). This is the first voluntary-aided Muslim school in the borough.

“Its proposal and application to become voluntary-aided was promoted by the school’s governing body and the representations received during the formal four-week statutory proposal period were all overwhelmingly in support. We received no objections from residents.”