UK's strictest Headmistress taken to school over banning prayers in the playground

[cakeorwine]

Top London school taken to high court over prayer ban | London | The Guardian

I don't believe that schools should have a compulsory act of worship.
However - it seems that there has been a ban on prayer rituals on the premises.

"The prayer policy was introduced in March last year by the school’s founder, Katharine Birbalsingh – frequently described as Britain’s strictest headteacher – when the school found itself the target of abuse and harassment after pupils were seen praying in the school playground by passersby. About 30 students took part, some kneeling on their blazers as they were not permitted to bring in prayer mats, the court heard.
Before these events, the court heard that prayers were not expressly banned at Michaela, though it had no dedicated prayer room. The new policy had the “practical effect of only preventing Muslims from praying because their prayer by nature has a ritualised nature rather than being internal”, the court heard.
The pupil’s lawyer said it was in effect “a ban uniquely on Muslim prayer”, stopping pupils praying “at a time as required by Islam”. In contrast, it would not, she said, prevent a Christian child sitting quietly in the corner of the playground from praying"

I think it seems that prayer mats were banned - and I think it seems they were banned from kneeling on blazers.

If someone wants to pray in the playground voluntarily, then they should be able to. It's not an act of compulsory worship.

I can see why they wanted this kept quiet.

If the majority of the school is Muslim then it would be all the more important for the school to have things in place to allow for prayer to take place.

The more I hear about that woman the more I'm convinced that she shouldn't be allowed anywhere near any child.

She’s not banning private prayer is she? She’s banning kneeling on your blazer in the playground.

Isn't it in the Equality Act that people are entitled to freedom of belief?

I'm a heathen, and sent my child to non-denominational schools but they had a "quiet room" each for prayer and contemplation. It's not hard.

There should be no place for religion in schools. It’s divisive, disruptive, and reduces genuine choice.

That said, the woman is a nightmare and no child of mine would be going to a school she has anything to do with.

I know that she is marmite, but I don't agree with this comment. She runs a highly successful school where the children are happy and make excellent progress. Many parents are desperate for a place for their child.

The new policy had the “practical effect of only preventing Muslims from praying because their prayer by nature has a ritualised nature rather than being internal”, the court heard.
The pupil’s lawyer said it was in effect “a ban uniquely on Muslim prayer”, stopping pupils praying “at a time as required by Islam”.

Islam is definitely not the only religion where prayers have what could be described as a ritualised nature. And it isn´t the only religion with preferred (or mandatory) times of prayer!

However: Preventing pupils to pray - especially during breaks - is imo incredibly cruel.
It would also seem to me that small prayer rooms would be much better than on the school yard / in public. It seems as if the public nature is much more likely to potentially create issues.
And concerns about religious practices putting pressure on other puptils (Surely if devout muslims are praying it puts pressure on the other muslims to follow suit by @Jewishbookwork ) might be lessened if religious practices took place in a more private setting.

Why are Muslim children suddenly praying in a public space?

The CofE Academy near me has prayer mats available for the large number of Muslim children at the school. Only a small number is them but there is a classroom available to them.

It seems because the school wouldn’t provide a private place.

I think it's because now you have second/third generation Muslims who rightly feel they are British and feel comfortable to pray where they need to. as people of all faiths should feel.

Most schools have had a room available for Muslim students to pray in for years now. It's not hard. It's like any other meeting in school.

children also have human rights. they should be able to practice their religion as appropriate.

also it is extremely important for children of different faiths/cultures to be exposed to each other at a young age in order to create a diverse, tolerant society. otherwise people carry their prejudices into adulthood.

Ofsted inspected Michaela School in May 2023 and graded them as still outstanding, how is Ofsted restricting the scope/freedom of her methods?

So how long has this been an issue? The building looks it was built in the 60's and we're only hearing about this now?

the compulsory Muslim prayers require kneeling and bowing. we are allowed to also pray sitting down on a chair if needed (eg. travelling or unwell).

the problem here is that she didn't provide a prayer room (she could easily provide a non denominational one which anyone could use) so pupils had to pray outside which she then also banned (due to islamophobic responses). really if the Muslim students' practicing their faith is leading to islamophobic responses then the school should be supporting them rather than further marginalising them.

The building was, the school is nowhere near that old. But I believe the ban is relatively recent. I just find it shocking that they hadn't provided a room for prayer, like every other school I know. It doesn't have to be a dedicated space that is only for that. It's not hard.

I am supportive of providing a room for students to pray in. We have one at work. No big deal and is part of tolerance in any good school or workplace that appreciates how important prayer is to the Muslim community.

Nope.

It’s an issue for as long as the Head is refusing to make reasonable adjustments. If there where no pupils previously who needed to pray during the day then it wouldn’t have been an issue but as soon as they have 1 school should work with them to make that happen.

Perfect post.

I think you should maybe worry more about pupils using drugs, watching extreme pornography, drinking at an early age, cyberbullying and also influencing other children to do the same rather than 'other Muslim children feeling more pressured to pray' - which they won't.

also by your logic, all children should be protected from being around all religious experiences so as to not feel 'pressurised'. let's start with banning all religious schools (including the Christian and Jewish ones) and then close all mosques/temples/churches/synagogues. finally, everyone should be banned from ever practice any aspect of their religion so that no child feels 'pressurised' to join in.

The same applies to Christian prayers which happen in schools all over the country.

what a load of utter bollocks.