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Ofsted back on attack over teaching about same-sex relations in Charedi schools

School told there is 'gap' in children's education because it does not discuss sexual orientation

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Another Charedi school has been told it is failing to meet independent  school standards by avoiding talking about LGBT equality.

The leaders of Talmud Torah Cinuch Norim, an independent school for boys from two to 13 in Salford, did not help pupils “to appreciate, in a way that matches their age. either gender reassignment or sexual orientation,” Ofsted reported.

Pupils were therefore not prepared well enough for life in British society and had “a gap” in their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

Grading the school as one that “requires improvement”, Ofsted said leaders of the school were trying to improve its educational provision.

But while pupils achieved well in reading and were getting better at writing and maths, they did not do as well as they should, the inspectorate found.

Last month, Ofsted’s attitude towards faith schools was criticised by the think-tank Policy Exchange, which said the inspection service was going beyond Department for Education guidance on same-sex relationships.

At the annual conference for Jewish headteachers last week, Pajes, the Jewish Leadership Council’s schools’ network, reported that of 23 Charedi schools inspected by Ofsted since September, nine had experienced problems only because of their omission of LGBT-related issues.

But two Chasidic secondary schools in the past week have bucked the critical trend by achieving a good Ofsted rating.

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