Faith school fails to teach human reproduction in science

An independent faith school is failing to teach pupils about human reproduction in science, inspectors have found.

Shiras Devorah High School, a Jewish faith school in London for girls aged 11-18, was rated "inadequate" by Ofsted after inspectors found pupils' learning in science is "restricted", limiting their future options and personal development.

According to an Ofsted report published on Monday, pupils "do not learn some aspects of the science curriculum relating to human reproduction".

This "reduces pupils' opportunity to gain a qualification in science and/or biology", the report said.

The secondary school curriculum specifies pupils should learn about human reproduction in biology.

Refusal to teach aspects of biology is a common issue in orthodox Jewish faith schools. Last year, Beis Medrash Elyon was penalised for not teaching biology beyond Year 8. In 2013, Charedi Jewish school leaders and advisors criticised plans to include evolution in the GCSE biology curriculum, with one Jewish school found to be have censored GCSE science questions.

The inspection, which took place in June, also found parents had withdrawn their children from sex education following a school consultation.

Mass withdrawal from sex education also occurred last year at a Jewish independent school in Gateshead.

Shiras Devorah's relationships education "does not include teaching about all the different types of relationships that people may have in wider society".

Schools are required to teach about protected characteristics in equality law, including sexual orientation, to secondary-age pupils in an age-appropriate manner. But orthodox Jewish faith schools frequently refuse to teach about same-sex relationships.

The report noted that in advance of meetings with pupils, inspectors agreed with leaders the themes of questions to be asked. Inspectors "were not able to speak with pupils about the protected characteristics of sex and gender reassignment, and about opportunities for pupils to meet people from cultures and faiths other than their own".

Shiras Devorah has had two standard inspections since it opened in 2018, both of which found the school "inadequate".

An inspection report from another independent Jewish secondary school, Beis Hatalmud, was also published on Monday.

The inspection found pupils at the Salford-based school for boys do not learn about LGBT+ relationships, "in keeping with the school's faith and beliefs". This means that pupils "are not fully prepared for life in modern Britain", the report said.

Last year a report from Jewish counter-extremism group Nahamu highlighted how a lack of sex education contributes to forced marriage in strictly-Orthodox Jewish communities.

It also said the exclusion of any reference to LGBT people in orthodox Jewish schools means LGBT+ people in these communities face "very serious issues of consent" when presented with a universal expectation of early, heterosexual marriage.

NSS: Failure to provide sex education "wholly unacceptable"

National Secular Society head of campaigns Megan Manson said: "Time and time again, we see fundamentalist faith schools ignoring the law and refusing to teach aspects of the school curriculum which go against its religious ethos.

"Very often, this means failing to teach anything about sex, even in biology.

"This is wholly unacceptable. A lack of proper sex education can have dire consequences, leaving pupils vulnerable to exploitation, abuse, forced marriage and mental health issues.

"It is imperative that the government ensures all young people, whatever their religious or cultural background, are given genuine and unconditional access to objective, inclusive and age-appropriate education about relationships and sex."

Image: Gerd Altmann from Pixabay