Fears are growing within the Orthodox Jewish community that Ofsted may be going beyond government policy in demanding Charedi primary schools teach about LGBT equality.

Recent inspections of two strictly Orthodox primaries in Gateshead  - Keser Girls and Keser Torah Boys - caused particular consternation when they were criticised for omitting the subject.

New guidelines, which were published by the Department for Education last year, were widely understood to make discussion of same-sex relationships optional in primary schools.

In a joint statement with the Gateshead schools, Pajes - the Jewish Leadership Council’s schools network – said this week, “It is our understanding that these schools have met the criteria required of them by the independent schools standards”.

Pajes would be up the matter with Ofsted “on behalf of these schools and in order to further assist other Jewish schools”.

David Landau, chairman of Chinuch UK, which was set up in 2018 to represent the concerns of Charedi schools to the educational authorities, said, “We feel very let down by Ofsted”.

But Ofsted has defended its inspections of the two Gateshead schools,saying it had received "extremely positive feedback from a representative of both schools about how the inspections were conducted".

A spokesman for the inspection service added, "It is important that all children gain an understanding of the world in which they are growingand part of this includes having learnt about different types of relationships and family structures. Both schools are independent schools and are required to abide by the 2010 Equality Act and encourage respect for other people, paying particular regard to those with protected characteristics."

Protected characteristics refer to categories of people protected from discrimination in equality in law.

According to the DfE guidelines, schools were given some flexibility in deciding when topics were “age appropriate”.

The government’s new relationships and sex education policy, which comes into force in autumn, specified that children should be taught about LGBT relationships before the end of their school career.

The then Education Secretary, Damian Hinds, in a JC interview, suggested this should be by the age of consent.

Meanwhile, a Charedi secondary school has received a warning from the DfE that it could face closure or restrictions on admitting new pupils if it does not make changes.

Its main failing appears to be avoiding teaching about LGBT people.

However, the DfE advice last year suggested that the department might not take action against schools if only one or two independent school standards were not met.

In its letter to the school this month, the DfE suggested it take on board “the information from Chinuch UK and other Charedi schools in how they managed to meet the standards…  in particular how you address the teaching of protected characteristics, including gender reassignment and sexual orientation.”

But Chinuch UK has disputed the claim it is in a position to advise on how to teach about LGBT issues.

In a statement circulated to Charedi schools, a representative of the organisation said, “Chinuch UK has no advice to offer… about how your school can successfully meet this requirement, nor are we are of any other Charedi school that can advise you about this. We have stated this to the DfE…”

The statement also offered reassurance that according to DfE policy, it was unlikely to take enforcement action where there were only narrow failings.

Pajes and the Gateshead schools said they were pleased that Ofsted chief inspector Amanda Spielman on Tuesday acknowledged “that a number of issues relating to the Equality Act and protected characteristics remain unresolved”.

They added: “While we recognise that significant progress has been made in this area, certain issues need to be ironed out.”