Why is Ofsted doing the secularists’ bidding?
by Giles Fraser, UnHerd:
On Monday, I visited the Yesoday Hatorah Senior Girls School in Stamford Hill, where staff and pupils were preparing for the end of term and the coming Passover holidays. Their light, open and modern building was opened by Tony Blair in 2005 when the school became voluntary aided. A number of voices in their community warned against any accommodation with the state, that this association would compromise their desire to maintain their distinctiveness. But nonetheless, the school established an excellent reputation.
And it is little surprise why. As I wandered around the corridors, the atmosphere was quiet and studious, calm even. None of the girl’s school lockers was locked, despite containing their valuables. Stealing is unheard of here. Even the local Sainsbury’s waives the usual two at a time rule for schoolchildren when it comes to Yesoday Hatorah girls. The girls know to stand respectfully as visitors enter the room, and they listen to their teachers. A few years after opening the new building, the school was the top of the Department of Education’s league table for value-added student progress.
But this is a Haredi school serving the Haredi community and seeking to reflect Haredi values. And Haredi values are different from mainstream secular values, not least when it comes to sex education. Modesty is an important virtue for the Haredim and that is reflected in their dress – no trousers for women, white shirts and black coats for the men – and also in their desire to protect their children from what they see as early sexualisation. And that means, for example, that the school redacts GCSE textbooks so that references to sex are not shown. It was one of these textbooks that got picked up by the secular campaigning organisation Humanists UK, who then complained to Ofsted.
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