Row erupts after Church of England school 'taught children Islamic prayer' in Religious Education lesson
A group of seven-year-olds at a Lincolnshire primary school was allegedly shown a video of people kneeling on prayer mats facing the direction of Mecca while reciting a prayer to Allah.
A row has erupted after a Church of England school allegedly asked children to participate in a Muslim prayer during a religious education lesson.
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A group of seven-year-olds at a Lincolnshire primary school was allegedly shown a video of people kneeling on prayer mats facing the direction of Mecca while reciting a prayer to Allah.
The teacher then reportedly told the kids to try this for themselves.
A furious father wrote to Richard Tice, Reform UK’s Deputy leader and MP for Boston and Skegness, saying he was shocked to learn of what his daughter was shown at school.
“We did prayers to Allah yesterday,” she allegedly told him as he put his child to bed.
He claimed the daughter was then effectively told: “OK, let’s all have a go now… we all need to do the performing of the prayer”.
The teacher then allegedly encouraged them to take off their shoes and take part in “the full physical prayer process”.
The angry Christian dad said the school, which is in Mr Tice’s constituency and is not named in a report by The Telegraph, did not ask parents for permission ahead of time or offer students the choice to opt-out.
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He has since reported the incident to Lincolnshire Police.
The Diocese of Lincoln has defended the school and denied the claims made against it.
“During the lesson, which began following the relevant lesson plan, pupils were invited to demonstrate some of the movements associated with Muslim prayer,” a spokesman for the Diocesan Board of Education said.
He added: “Although this was outside the lesson’s intended approach, it was not an act of worship – no prayers or religious words were spoken and no child was required to take part. No mats were used and pupils were not asked to face any particular direction.”
The spokesperson said that the school acted swift following the complaint and vowed to “undertake appropriate reflection to ensure future lessons continue to align fully with the intended non‑confessional approach of RE”.
Mr Tice has now reportedly written to the new Archbishop of Canterbury, Dame Sarah Mullally, over the allegations.
“This matter has understandably caused significant concern among parents and clarity on the Church’s position would be greatly appreciated,” he wrote.
A spokesman from the Diocese of Lincoln’s educational board said: “The school’s RE curriculum does not involve children taking part in acts of worship from any faith. It follows the diocese’s approved, non‑confessional RE programme, which teaches pupils about how different religious people pray through academic exploration and discussion, and is part of a wider sequence including Christian, Jewish and Sikh prayer.
“[The] school follows Department for Education guidance, including the promotion of British values, teaching pupils to show respect and tolerance towards people of all faiths, races and cultures while understanding that all are subject to the law in England, and it remains fully compliant with the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 and all related statutory guidance on Religious Education, delivering a robust and balanced RE curriculum developed with diocesan subject specialists to ensure alignment with legal requirements and best practice.”
This comes after Reform UK leader Nigel Farage called for all mass religious observances to be banned following objections to a Ramadan event in London's Trafalgar Square.
Nick Timothy, shadow justice secretary, who described the Trafalgar Square Iftar as an "act of domination and division."
Defending Mr Timothy, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has said her party wants to see religious observances in public places like Trafalgar Square but they must be "inclusive and also respectful of British culture".
"This is a country that believes in freedom of religion... this debate which Nick is having is not about freedom of religion, it's about how religion is expressed in a shared public space and whether those expressions fit within the norms of British culture," she said.
During Prime Minister's Questions last week, Sir Keir called for Mr Timothy to be sacked.
"I've never heard her party call out anything other than the Muslim events," he said. "It's only when Muslims are praying. The only conclusion is the Tory Party has got a problem with Muslims."