British values are still testing for Charedim

DAME LOUISE Casey, in her review on social integration in Britain for the government, last week recommended putting greater weight on teaching “British values” in schools.

How that pans out in practice we must wait and see but it will be watched closely within the Charedi community, where the schools have frequently been criticised by Ofsted over their delivery of British values.

The latest crop of inspection reports shows there is still a problem. Returning to one of Stamford Hill’s most conservative schools, the Satmar-run Talmud Torah Yetev Lev, Ofsted found it “promotes the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect”; taught boys about different cultures and religions; and had replaced books where images of women had been altered or erased.

But the lead inspector also noted that the school’s religious ethos pre- vented it dealing with equality issues which related to “gender or sexual orientation”.

For Charedi schools, the stickingpoint has been Ofsted’s belief that they should be talking about samesex relationships. The schools argue it should be sufficient to teach the general principle of respect for others without going into detail about different lifestyles. But inspectors, or at least many of them, take the line that you can’t advance equality without referring to people who are LGBT.

Another Stamford Hill school, Vishnitz Girls, which Ofsted visited recently, also failed to meet independent school standards in this area.

Meanwhile, at the more modern Charedi school, Torah Vadaas, in north-west London, Ofsted said pupils were taught about democracy and the rule of law, but not enough about different cultures and religions in Britain. “They have limited opportunities to visit different places of worship to widen their understanding of religious diversity.”

If Ofsted imagines Charedi children are going to be taken out to tour churches and temples, inspectors clearly have a lot to learn.