Religious extremists are using schools to narrow children’s horizons and “pervert education”, England’s chief inspector of schools has warned. Amanda Spielman said some community leaders see schools as vehicles to “indoctrinate impressionable minds” – with extremist ideology in some cases.

Ofsted inspectors are increasingly coming into contact with such extremists, she said.

She is asking head teachers to confront those who foster extremist behaviour.

It comes after an east London head teacher who tried to stop girls under the age of eight from wearing a hijab in the classroom was subjected to a campaign of abuse.

“Rather than adopting a passive liberalism that says anything goes, for fear of causing offence, schools leaders should be promoting a muscular liberalism,” Ms Spielman has said at a conference held by the Church of England in London.

Source : BBC