“Prejudiced” parents are pulling their children from Religious Education classes because they don’t want them learning about Islam, teachers have warned.

Mothers and fathers are abusing their right to withdraw children from the classes, and this is hampering schools' attempts to "prepare a child for life in modern Britain", the Association of Teachers and Lecturers’ annual conference heard.

Delegates have agreed a resolution urging the Government to take steps to prevent parents from selectively withdrawing their children, specifically from the teaching of individual religions.

Proposing the motion, Richard Griffiths from the union's Inner London branch, said that RE today has developed into a subject "that allows for critical thinking, big questions, allows children to explore their own and other religious beliefs and non-beliefs".