Faith school(s) and sex segregation

[ArabellaScott]

https://www.secularism.org.uk/news/2025/04/leader-of-faith-school-that-sex-segregated-pupils-and-staff-banned

'The National Secular Society has welcomed a ban on a school proprietor whose school segregated staff and pupils according to sex.
Zafar Iqbal Khan, former proprietor of Rabia Girls' and Boys' School, has been prohibited from managing independent schools, academies and free schools, according to a notice published by the Department for Education today. He is also barred from serving as a school governor at maintained schools.
Rabia Girls' and Boys' school was an Islamic independent school in Luton. It closed in 2021 after failing Ofsted inspections for seven years.
In 2016, Rabia was referred to the Equality and Human Rights Commission for sex-segregating staff. Women were forced to sit in a separate room during staff training, with sessions broadcast to them. During a meeting with inspectors, the school "insisted" on using a dividing screen to separate male and female staff.'

Seems a bit more than just segregation going on, this is clearly discrimination, too.

https://schoolsweek.co.uk/head-of-faith-school-which-segregated-staff-banned/

'The proprietor of a faith school that segregated staff by their sex and prevented girls from studying certain subjects has been banned from managing schools.
Zafar Iqbal Khan, chair of the Muslim Rabia Boys and Girls School, has been disqualified from taking part in the management of independent schools – including academies or free schools.

The school, in Luton, was accused of “actively undermining” British values by ex-Ofsted chief Sir Michael Wilshaw in 2016.
Inspectors found male and female staff divided during training sessions, and two years earlier found girls could not study certain subjects.'

It's not so much the sex segregation (how is it different to a girls' school with all female staff and a boys' school with all male staff?) but the fact that the girls received a lesser education and the female staff received lower quality training. I don't recall whether there was disparity between female staff and male staff in pay, progress and staff areas, but I would expect these issues to also be relevant.

Some more info.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0kxn35zl3jo

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-36150082

'Sir Michael has written to Education Secretary Nicky Morgan advising her that for the initial meeting with inspectors "the school insisted on segregating men and women through the use of a dividing screen across the middle of the room".
"This meeting was not carried out in a religious setting but in a classroom."
Sir Michael said inspectors, visiting the independent school earlier this month, "gathered evidence that male and female staff are segregated during whole-school staff training sessions".
"Male staff sit in one room and the session is simultaneously broadcast to female staff in another part of the school," he said.
Inspectors were so concerned, they told the school's proprietor "the school would remain in the inadequate category despite improvements being made elsewhere", said Sir Michael.
Such gender division is against equalities regulations and the requirement for "fundamental British values", he said.
Sir Michael said this requirement is being "flouted" by some independent schools.
"Any form of segregation, without a good educational reason, is likely to lead to an inadequate inspection judgement for leadership and management."'

'A Department for Education spokesman said "It is completely unacceptable for women to be treated less favourably than men, and the advice note we have received from Ofsted on Rabia Girls' and Boys' School is extremely concerning.'

As well as discrimination, the sex segregation was different from single sex schools in that it segregated staff. While there are a few ways in which you can legally limit particular jobs to one sex, you would need LAPA to segregate staff within work facilities.