‘Keep your child home if you can’
TEACHERS DRAW UP PRIORITY LISTS
SO many parents have asked to send their children to school during lockdown that teachers across the county have been forced to draw up priority lists to decide which pupils are allowed into class.
A number of schools across the county are over-subscribed, which is thought to be caused by the number of parents who qualify as critical workers during the third national lockdown.
A letter, sent to parents and carers of county pupils by Jane Moore, director of children and family services at Leicestershire County Council, has urged them to teach their children at home if they can.
In the letter, she wrote: “Across Leicestershire we are seeing an increasing number of children requiring an on-site school place and, in some places, this is greater than the school’s capacity.
“The key message from government is to keep your child at home if you possibly can, even if you are a critical worker.
“To keep both pupils and staff safe, the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Local Resilience Forum (LLR) have set out a guide for school leaders to ensure that those most in need of a place can access one.”
Critical workers whose children can be prioritised for school places in Leicester and Leicestershire (in no particular order) are listed as:
■ Families with two critical workers or single parent families who are critical workers;
■ Critical local authority and public service workers who cannot perform their tasks from home without their children attending school;
■ Frontline health and social care workers;
■ Officers and staff from the police and fire service;
■ Early Years and school staff. Ms Moore, who sits as the education boss on the LLR, added: “We know that regular attendance at school is good for children’s mental health and wellbeing, as well as for their education.
“Nonetheless, with the current high levels of infection in the community, it is better that there are fewer pupils attending school at this moment.
“School leaders and staff are working exceptionally hard and doing a really good job at not only ensuring children have access to good-quality remote learning but also in providing on-site school places for those children that most need them.”
Prime Minister Boris Johnson recently revealed his intention for pupils to start returning to the classroom from March 8 at the earliest. It is not yet clear whether it will be a phased return, or when all children will be back in school.
Some reports have suggested the school day could be lengthened to make up for lost time or terms could be extended with holiday made up later in the year.
The letter, sent last week and after the PM’s announcement, goes on to praise parents, carers and pupils for their homeschooling efforts.
It reads: “I recognise many of you are feeling the pressure of lockdown, which includes striking the balance of home-schooling, looking after younger children and/or remote working. I am really grateful for everything you are doing, for bearing with us and helping us all get through.
“We know it’s not easy and is harder the longer children and young people are educated remotely.” Ms Moore says she recognises tmore work is being set which can create “additional pressure”. Signing off, she reassured parents and carers by saying: “Whilst it is important for children to keep engaged with learning, you are only expected to do your best and the most important thing at the moment is children are safe, loved and cared for.
“Please don’t let school work put any extra pressure on you when you are trying to do your jobs, earn a living and keep your children safe.”
AS SCHOOLS ARE OVER-SUBSCRIBED
The forum have set out a guide to ensure that those most in need of a place can access one Jane Moore
NESTLED in countryside just off a main road near Hinckley is Hijaz College, a religious seminary that attracts students from across the globe.
The seminary was founded by Sheikh Muhammad Abdul Wahab Siddiqi, a scholar who moved to the area from Lahore in 1972 and became internationally known for his teachings on Islam.
When he died in 1994, 30,000 wellwishers descended on Coventry for his funeral, and memorial services in recent years have seen delegates from the Middle East and national leaders in attendance.
Sheikh Muhammad Abdul Wahab Siddiqi didn’t live to see his dream of a moderate Muslim religious school come to life, but his vision has been kept alive by his sons, Sheikh Faiz-ulAqtab Siddiqi and Sheikh Noor-ulAqtab Siddiqi, who work as the seminary’s principal and vice-principal respectively.
According to the British Pilgrimage Trust, the mausoleum where Sheikh Muhammad Abdul Wahab Siddiqi lies, which is based at Hijaz College, is one of the most significant religious sites of pilgrimage in all of Western Europe.
The Times went to visit the mausoleum, in Watling Street, to find out more about its significance, and see the seminary’s day-to-day operations.
We visited the seminary on a wet and windy weekday morning when restrictions were not as severe as they are now.
Hijaz College is situated just off the busy A5, and if you have never been before, you wouldn’t imagine that the sprawling 62-acre site lies just beyond the main road.
The sound of commuters and lorries thundering up the busy A road slowly fades as we drive up to the entrance of the seminary. The trees open up and Hijaz soon comes into view, as well as the mausoleum, which is the final resting place of Sheikh Muhammad Abdul Wahab Siddiqi, the seminary’s founder.
A global figure, his teachings attracted thousands of people, and locally he worked with religious leaders in the West Midlands to advocate for a multi-faith society.
As we enter into the religious enclave, recordings of the Quran can be heard playing from loud speakers, and students and staff are seen milling around the grounds.
Hijaz was once a boarding school but is now a seminary for professional people to become religious leaders within the Muslim community. There is also a Muslim burial ground called Garden of Blessing based at the site, where people can request to be buried near the founder.
Staff told us that before Covid-19 they may have had up to 100 to 150 people there every day to attend lessons, and currently some of those in training live on-site.
At the moment, the gates are closed as they aim to limit the number of visitors coming on-site. There is also a Muslim Arbitration Tribunal based at Hijaz College, but staff have said it is currently not running due to Covid19 restrictions. As explained to us by staff and on the college website, the Muslim Arbitration Tribunal (MAT) provides viable alternatives for the Muslim community in seeking to resolve disputes in accordance with a court that preserves sacred Islamic law.
When migration trends in the 1950s and 1960s brought more of the Muslim community to the UK, they adapted their practices to the English legal system. But when it came to resolving matters like divorce or inheritance, people were turning to unregulated Sharia courts.
The Muslim Arbitration Tribunal, which is a regulatory body, was then established to stem the growth of these unregulated practices and create an official council that would resolve disputes.
Run by legal professionals, it “operates within the legal framework of England and Wales” and sits in the grounds of the college, working to resolve matters such as inheritance, divorce and marriage.
A special advisor from Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Al Sayed Ali Al Hashmi, had previously visited Hijaz College and praised the Muslim Arbitration Tribunal. The Religious and Judicial Adviser at the UAE Ministry for Presidential Affairs spoke of his ‘great confidence’ in the tribunal, which has used Islamic law to settle hundreds of disputes across the country since it began in 2007.
Known to many as ‘Wali-Allah’ (friend of God), Sheikh Muhammad Abdul Wahab Siddiqi believed in unity among Muslims and other faiths.
Born in Lahore, Pakistan, in 1942, it was quickly realised that young Sheikh Siddiqi was destined for greater things. He was able to recite the complete Quran at the age of four, and was encouraged to pursue education to live a better life.
He moved from Pakistan to the UK in 1972 and it was in Nuneaton where his vision to create an Islamic madrasa (school) of British-educated imams had started. He felt there was a need for more imams from educated backgrounds, as both law-abiding citizens and moderate scholars, to be equipped with both religious and secular knowledge to cater to the needs of changing communities.
He worked alongside Christian leaders such as the Bishop of Blackburn and the Provost for Birmingham Cathedral to encourage more inclusion and understanding across different religions.
We spoke to the founder’s sons Faiz Siddiqi and Noor Siddiqi, who work as the college’s principal and vice principal respectively. “His mission was to unite Muslims of all sects,” Faiz told us. “He wanted his children to have a religious seminary education and a modern science education.”
And speaking about their particular sect in Islam, he said: “We are from the
Sufi tradition,
“We don’t ask you where you come from, we ask what we can do for you.”
Their father acquired the Hijaz site in 1993, but died of cancer in 1994 so never got to see it up and running.
His death led to one of the biggest funerals in the history of Coventry. On March 18, 1994, thousands of people attended the their father’s funeral, which took place in an outdoor sports field adjacent to the Eagle Street Mosque, before he was laid to rest in Coventry.
Four years later, a procession was held to move the founder to Hazrat Siddiqi to the 62-acre site of Hijaz, as he had requested.
The event shut down the city and saw a procession of thousands of people transport the founder to his new burial place at Hijaz College Islamic University.
Faiz added: “He was the most gentlest peaceful person, as a human he is probably one of the best human beings we ever met, a global icon.”
It is surreal to think that such a globally significant spot sits right on our doorsteps here in Nuneaton, and as we enter into the mausoleum where Sheikh Muhammad Abdul Wahab Siddiqi is buried, it is evident how sacred it is to people.
The square building has a bright green dome, and as you walk in you feel as if it could be a monument in Pakistan.
The walls are adorned with intricate patterns and religious scripture, and as you look up there is a striking chandelier surrounded by small windows.
The coffin of the founder is covered draped with a crimson velvet covering adorned with fresh flowers.
The News spoke to Professor John Eade, an expert on Muslim pilgrimage in Britain about the significance of the site.
A professor of anthropology and sociology at Roehampton University, London, his research focuses on the Islamisation of urban space, and how pilgrimage in Britain has been built amongst Hindus and Muslims, and not just Catholics.
He said: “(My research) led me to think, ‘were Muslims getting involved in pilgrimage in Britain rather than going to Mecca (Hajj)’?
“I came across Hijaz College, which finally brought me to Nuneaton and I was fascinated by the devotion around the leader who died in the 1990s.
“I’ve shown pictures of the Nuneaton shrine to people and they ask if it is in Pakistan, this classic traditional style in the grounds of the college is detailed.”
Professor Eade explained that the mausoleum of Sheikh Muhammad Abdul Wahab Siddiqi is commemorated by pilgrims who visit to commemorate his sanctity on the anniversary of his death. He explained that the site is one of the “most active” pilgrimage sites. which is non-judgemental.
He was the most gentlest peaceful person... he is probably one of the best human being we ever met, a global icon. Faiz Siddiqi on Sheikh Siddiqi
A police officers’ representative has branded the government’s decision not to give officers priority for the Covid-19 vaccine “disgraceful”.
Adam Commons, Leicestershire Police Federation chairman, pictured, said the snub was “unacceptable” and left officers, their families and the public they serve at risk.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock told the Downing Street press conference on Monday that officers will not be vaccinated until after groups one to nine, as designated by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), which means they will have to wait for 32 million others to get the jab first.
Mr Commons said: “Our job so often comes down to running into unknown situations.
“Officers are now doing it wearing PPE and facing people increasingly weaponising the virus, spitting and coughing at our protectors, who then have to go home to their loved ones not knowing if they could be passing the virus on.
“There have been examples across the country of face masks being pulled off police officers when they’re struggling with people, because we can’t always socially distance due to the nature of our job.
“This back door announcement by the government is not acceptable – it’s a disgrace.”
The federation, chief police officers, Met Commissioner and the College of Policing had all lobbied for officers to be given the vaccine as a priority
Boris Johnson said last month that police officers should be vaccinated
“as soon as possible”, while Home Secretary Priti Patel told policing to “get ready” for officers to receive the vaccine.
Mr Hancock said: “We have ensured, through the clinical advice we’ve taken, that the vaccine rollout goes through those who are most at risk first.
“So any police officer who is aged over 50 will be part of the initial rollout through the current groups down to what I call the JCVI cohorts one to nine.
“After that we will then look at what order we go next and we’ll consider, for instance, questions of people who are in professions where you might have to be in contact with more people and the impact of the vaccine on transmission and make a decision and publicise it as soon as we’ve made that decision.
“No decision has yet been made in what order we’ll go after the JCVI cohorts one to nine, but we’re looking very closely, including at where police officers should be.”
Mr Commons said: “I am incredibly disappointed in the comments from the Health Secretary.
“I have been very vocal about this from early on, as have my fellow chairmen from other branches and it’s clear we have the support of the public.”
“In Leicestershire our Chief Constable, Simon Cole, has been very supportive of our drive to get this done, as has the police and crime commissioner, Lord (Willy) Bach. Unfortunately, the people that make the decisions in government can’t seem to decide what to do.
“My colleagues have been out there from day one, enforcing the government’s vague legislation, often being publicly crucified for doing so. It’s time for the government to wake up and listen to us.
“I’m tired of seeing the nice compliments of how they think we are doing a fantastic job, only for us to be ignored time and again.
“The support is there, this controversial.
“Stop the rhetoric, get my colleagues on the list and start giving them the protection they need and deserve to protect themselves and by extension their families.”
OFFICERS’ REP CONDEMNS DECISION BY MATT HANCOCK
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