This England

[Gob]

Britain's first Muslim free school is controlled by religious hardliners who ban children from singing or reading fairy tales and force staff to wear headscarves - according to the former head teacher and deputy who claim they were forced to leave.

Andrew Cutts-McKay resigned from his role as head of al Madinah School in Derby in August, two months after deputy Suzanne Southerland stepped down from her post.

Both allege they were 'bullied and sidelined' by members of the school's trust, which is predominantly Muslim. The school strongly denies the pair's claims.

But earlier this week, concerns were raised by teachers who complained they were being ordered to wear the hijab – even if they are not Muslim.

Now claims have been made that alongside the strict dress code, the school's 200 pupils are banned from playing stringed instruments, which are forbidden in the Islamic faith.

Singing is also forbidden unless it involves Islamic faith songs, while youngsters are not allowed to read fairy tales as these are 'non-Islamic'.

A staff member told The Sunday Times: 'When teaching children the alphabet, you could not associate the letter 'p' with pig.'

They added: 'We were told that we couldn't read the children a story about a witch because it's seen as being non-Islamic.'

Other staff have highlighted ‘concerns’ over the school's 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 on 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’.

[Joe Guy]

Other than the singing, fairy tales, stringed instruments and clothing constraints, what's the problem?....

[oldr_n_wsr]

The way I read the headline I thought the school was going to be "free of Muslims" ("Muslim free") and was wondering how they could get away with no Mulims allowed.

[Big RR]

Isn't promoting religious orthodoxy what religious schools do? Indeed, isn't it why they exist? I had friends who went to catholic schools who had similar indoctrinations--separations of genders, religious costumes on the teachers (usually nuns) and worn by students (plaid jumpers for the girls, ties with the school's name on it for the boys, and usually a crucifix around the neck); no meat in the cafeteria on Friday; no secular Christmas carols; book reports on the biographies of saints; etc.

A moslem school run by religious moslem hardliners? Shocking!

[Econoline]

The way I read the headline I thought the school was going to be "free of Muslims" ("Muslim free") and was wondering how they could get away with no Mulims allowed.

Me too!

[Lord Jim]

That's the way I saw it too...

It seemed puzzling to me that they would be insisting on all these Muslim customs in the first school in Britain that was actually Muslim Free...

[dgs49]

Unless their religious customs are overtly antithetical to the government (or the culture, I suppose), who cares? My guess is that that is exactly why the parents are sending their little aspiring terrorists to that school.

That didn't come out exactly right.