Ivan Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2016-05-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to reduce the incidence of gender segregation in some Muslim independent schools.

Nick Gibb

Independent schools have to meet the standards set in regulations. If segregation results in disadvantage for pupils of one gender, either directly or through inappropriate modelling of gender roles through staff segregation visible to pupils, then it is likely that the standards have not been met and regulatory action by this Department will follow. If there is a possibility that staff segregation disadvantages staff of one gender and there may be a direct breach of the Equality Act 2010, we will not hesitate to make a referral to the Equality and Human Rights Commission.