Female teachers at Islamic school 'made to sign contract agreeing to wear headscarf even if they're NOT Muslim'

Female staff at Al-Madinah School, Derby, say they have been told to sign new contracts which force them to wear the hijab



Employees say they are 'concerned' by its practices including forcing female pupils to sit at the back of the class away from boys

Non-Halal food and unacceptable jewellery also banned, it is claimed



As a free school it operates outside local authority control but still qualifies for government funding



National Union of Teachers are 'very worried' about the school



Claims: A Muslim member of staff from Al-Madinah School. Some other members of staff are claiming they have been asked to wear headscarves

Teachers at an Islamic school have complained that they are being ordered to wear the hijab – even if they are not Muslim.

Employees at the Al-Madinah free school say they are ‘concerned’ by its practices, which include banning non-halal food and forcing female pupils as young as four to sit at the back of the class away from boys.

Female members of staff, some of whom are not Muslims, say they have been told to sign new contracts which force them to wear the hijab.

These also ban them from wearing jewellery or bringing non-halal food on to the school’s premises in Derby.

One woman, who had been interviewed for a position, claimed she was told she was not allowed to shake hands with male teachers to avoid ‘insult’.

Another staff member, speaking anonymously to the Mail, said the school was ‘like being in Pakistan’.

She said: ‘Girls are treated very separately from boys, the girls sit at the back of the classroom.

‘Boys go and eat first at lunchtime and then the girls are allowed to go.

‘It is like being in any school in Pakistan. That is why it was founded, that is the idea.’

The decision to make all female members of staff, regardless of religious beliefs, wear the Islamic headscarf – which covers the head but not the face – was apparently introduced over the summer.

But some female members of staff have been spotted removing the headwear immediately after stepping out of the school building during their lunch hour.

And around half a dozen teachers at the free school, who could face losing their jobs if they refuse to comply with the rules, are now seeking legal advice from the National Union of Teachers.

Regional NUT officer Nick Raine said: ‘We are very worried about the school and the education of the 200 children there.

‘There are worries over practices concerning the discrimination between male and female pupils in the school, with the girls being told to sit at the back of the class regardless of whether they can see the board properly.'

He added: ‘It’s one thing to have a dress code which we can challenge and quite another to build it into a contract.

Allegations: The National Union of Teachers have said they are concerned about the school, the Midland House campus of which is shown above

THE HIJAB: 'A SYMBOL OF MODESTY'

A hijab is typically worn by a Muslim female beyond the age of puberty in the presence of adult males - it covers the head and chest, but not the face. It not only refers to the physical body covering, but also a state of mind, where al-hijab refers to ‘the veil which separates man or the world from God’.

Hijab can also be used to refer to the seclusion of women from men in public.

Most often, it is worn by Muslim women as a symbol of modesty, privacy and morality. If differs from a burqa, a veil that covers the entire body head and face, and the niqab which covers the entire head and face except for the eyes.

Sue Arguile, branch secretary of the Derby National Union of Teachers, said the new demands stem from the Al-Madinah’s free school status. She said: ‘We have always had a number of concerns about this school ever since it was first set up, as essentially they can do what they like.

‘There is no buffer between them and the state and no protection for staff and pupils.

‘Free schools set their own rules, curriculums and dress codes, and so long as pupils and staff are aware of them before joining, then there is no upset.

‘But forcing people to agree to contractual changes or face being out of work could breach employment law.’

Former head teacher Andrew Cutts-McKay, who left after less than a year in the post, previously said the school would ‘honour all faiths’.

However he admitted that he thought at least half of the school’s pupils would be Muslims.