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A Birmingham school is unlawfully segregating boys and girls - with boys given privileges and treated more favourably than girls, according to a critical Ofsted report.

Inspectors who visited the fee-paying Redstone Educational Academy last month found the Islamic-faith school teaches boys and girls in separate classes, despite being told over a year ago that doing so defied equality legislation.

The school, in Balsall Heath, was also openly favouring boys by giving them first choice of work experience options and by barring girls from some sports, claims the report.

Boys and girls take separate school trips, with the girls having to wear school uniform on those trips while the boys did not.

"University is not for females"

One group of pupils told inspectors a member of staff, who has since left, had told them: "University is not for females."

The report concluded: "Leaders are aware that segregating pupils by gender is unlawful and that they are in breach of the Equality Act 2010.

"They recently applied to open a separate girls’ school on the same premises but were unsuccessful."

The school's head Saadat Rasool disputed Ofsted's findings and defended the segregation practices, which he said were in line with the Muslim faith of parents.

(Image: Birmingham Live)

He said the school has formally applied for permission to operate separate girls' and boys' schools on the site but its application was still under review by the Department for Education.

"We have operated for 12 years without issues, and we hope our application will be successful. But if it is not we will of course comply with the law.

"We provide equal and fair education for boys and girls."

He added: "We have gathered together a team to turn the school around so that it can reach its full potential and successfully serve its pupils and meet the expectations of the parents.

"We have already started work on an action plan to make huge improvements in the education we provide."

A nearby Muslim primary school also led by Mr Rasool, Greenfields Primary , in Small Heath, is set to ending segregation for upper year pupils from tomorrow (Tuesday, Jan 7)) after being criticised by Ofsted on the same grounds in 2018.

"We have no intention of breaking the law," added Mr Rasool.

"Boys enjoy school more than girls..."

In the damning opening to its report, Ofsted inspectors ruled: "Pupils say that they feel safe in school, but they are not. Procedures are disorganised. Leaders do not ensure pupils get the help they need.

"Boys and girls are unlawfully segregated by sex for all school activities, except for weekly assemblies.

"Boys enjoy school more than girls. This is because they are treated favourably and have more privileges. Boys have more opportunities to play sport. They get to choose the places to go to for work experience first. Some of the girls told us that they do not like this. They said that this was not fair and they feel disadvantaged."

The school is also accused of barring children from sitting GCSEs if they are not guaranteed high grades in a move designed to boost their academic profile, with Ofsted reporting:

"To make sure this happens, only those pupils who are likely to gain a strong pass can complete their GCSEs in subjects such as English literature, history and Arabic. Pupils told us that they were unhappy about this because it limits their options for college."

(Image: Birmingham Live)

The criticism keeps coming, with the school blamed for "providing an inadequate quality of education."

The curriculum is narrow, lesson plans disorganised, and pupils are not challenged or helped sufficiently. From Year 9 there are no artistic opportunities in the school day, and all pupils study the same subjects to GCSE.

The report adds: "At the beginning of Year 11, pupils take tests in some subjects. If they do not pass the test, they are removed from the course. The removal of pupils from examination courses suggests that leaders are trying to make the GCSE examination results look better, without considering what is in pupils’ best interests."

School leaders could not identify if any of the pupils had special educational needs (SEND) and there are no SEND policies or plans in place.

The report continues: "There is a heavy emphasis on passing examinations. Teachers give pupils tips on how to score marks in their exams, for example by using specific words rather than checking that the pupils know what the words mean."

And while all pupils study Islamic studies, they learn little about other faiths, including about festivals celebrated by other religions common in the local area.

Read the Department of Education'sguidance on separating children by gender in mixed schools

In its report, the inspectors also reported an exchange with a group of pupils: "A member of staff had told them that ‘university is not for females’. This member of staff has since left the school."

Careers advice is confused and children are not prepared for their futures, the report adds.

The school is also, damningly, found to be ineffective in safeguarding pupils.

"They are not keeping pupils safe and are not actively promoting their wellbeing. Leaders’ work is disorganised and sloppy."

Specific criticisms include:

* Some pupils are taught in a classroom on the second floor, and there is no means of escape in case of a fire. Leaders have been aware of this risk for some time but have not done anything about it.

* Some pupils with serious allergies do not have care plans or the medicine they need to keep them safe.

* Some pupils with serious medical issues do not have access to the medicine they would need in an emergency.

* Medical logs do not record the action taken following accidents, and the medical room is unlocked and unsupervised.

* Leaders do not make sure that there are appropriate risk assessments in place, or that the school’s policies are updated as regularly as they should be.

The school was previously inspected in May 2017, when it was judged inadequate but was praised for the quality of its teaching, with a follow up inspection in May 2018.

Redstone Academy's response in full:

"Firstly, let me say that it is truly unfortunate that Ofsted found the education that Redstone Academy has to offer to be inadequate.

"Since the Ofsted visit, we have gathered together a team to turn the school around so that it can reach its full potential and successfully serve its pupils and meet the expectations of the parents.

"We have already started work on an action plan to make huge improvements in the education we have provide.

"Redstone Academy has applied for registration as two schools: Redstone Academy for Boys and Redstone Academy for Girls through the process of de-amalgamation which is reflected on our website.

"Application for the separate schools was made in September 2018.

"We were still waiting for formal approval of deamalgamation as we had met the necessary standards from Department for Education when Ofsted arrived for its inspection on 14th November 2019.

"So, since we had not yet received formal approval, Ofsted considered the Boys' School and the Girls’ School as one entity.

"For that reason, they stated that “the school unlawfully segregates boys and girls.”

"We believe the idea that boys are "given favourable treatment and more opportunities than girls” is just not accurate, as all the previous Ofsted reports have noted that provision for boys and girls has been equal and fair — and nothing contrary to that has ever been highlighted previously.

"We work very diligently to offer the best to both boys and girls at our school — and both are given equal opportunities to be successful in whatever they choose.

"I think it is hard for Ofsted inspectors to truly appreciate the efforts private faith schools in inner-cities expend in educating young people on a very limited budget and resources.

"It is also inaccurate to state we have been “unsuccessful” in our application to register a Girls’ School since we have not received any communication to that effect from the DfE.

"However, if it turns out that our application for a separate Girls’ School is formally refused, then we have absolutely no intention to “defy the law” in any way."

Who runs Redstone Academy and Greenfields Primary?

The academy is led by head teacher Saadat Rasool and its listed proprietors are Redstone Educational Services Ltd, whose directors are listed as Ozak Cicek and Shabeer Majid.

The academy is also linked with and has overlapping personnel connected to Greenfields Primary School, a Muslim day school for boys and girls, which is registered for 159 pupils aged five to 11.

The primary school opened as Salafi Independent School in September 2002 before changing its name in May 2017. Mr Rasool is currently acting head teacher at the school, whose proprietors are listed as Nigel Francis, Abdul Ahad Choudhury and Mr Rasool.

At its last inspection, in January 2018, Ofsted found that Greenfields pupils were taught in mixed-sex classes in Years 1 to 4 - but boys and girls were taught in separate classses for academic lessons in years 5 and 6.

About the author: Jane Haynes Politics and People Editor Jane Haynes aims to show how political decisions made in the council chamber or Parliament affect people and communities across Birmingham and the West Midlands. Got a story you want me to investigate, or want to tell me how the proposals or decisions of politicians are affecting you? Let me know, in complete confidence, by emailing jane.haynes@reachplc.com, or send me a Tweet @janerockhouse. You should also sign up for our weekly politics newsletter, which you can do here. Twitter: @janerockhouse Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/565979940870645/ Email: jane.haynes@reachplc.com Read more by Jane Haynes HERE

In that report, Ofsted said the following:

"In 2017, the Court of Appeal affirmed that segregation by sex in schools...is direct sex discrimination, contrary to section 13 of the Equality Act 2010. Nevertheless, the Secretary of State for Education has been clear that schools which engage in unlawfully discriminatory sex segregation should be given time to make their practice lawful.

"...(Greenfields) breach of the Equality Act 2010 in respect of segregation has not been taken into account when determining the inspection judgements...but Ofsted intends to write to the Secretary of State and to suggest that he commissions a further inspection of the school in or after September 2018. From September 2018, Ofsted will take any ongoing breach of the Equality Act 2010 arising from sex segregation into account in relation to key inspection judgements made."

No further inspection has been carried out but Mr Rasool said the school was now fully integrated, with joint classes from tomorrow (Tuesday) following building work and reorganisation.

BirminghamLive has contacted the Department for Education for a comment.