A school for young girls in England is facing threats of forced closure for refusing to teach it’s pupils about topics such as homosexuality, sexual orientation, and gender reassignment. Vishnitz Girls School, a private academy for Orthodox Jews, was inspected by the Office of Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Schools (Ofsted), and failed to pass inspection because, according to The Blaze, “the girls “are not taught explicitly about issues such as sexual orientation. This restricts pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development and does not promote equality of opportunity in ways that take account of differing lifestyles.”” Teaching on these topics is an Ofsted standard, and failure to do so can lead to the Department for Education taking the school off of the independent school register, making any further operation of the institution a criminal offense.
According to PJ Media:
The school teaches 212 children between the ages of three and eight.
Again, these girls allegedly harmed by not being taught about “different lifestyles and partnerships” are all under 9 years old, an age many parents — especially religious parents — would consider too young to learn about “the birds and the bees,” much less the birds and the birds or the bees and the bees.
The statement above rings with truth. By forcing schools to educate young children on sensitive topics such as homosexuality, Ofsted is infringing on parental rights as well as the right to religious freedom. In its quest for equality and inclusiveness, Britain is alienating devout Jews who are simply adhering to their sincerely held religious beliefs. The government is effectively stripping parents of the right to choose how to educate their children on the issue of sexuality and instead mandating it.
According to The Independent,
The school’s approach resulted in pupils being “shielded from learning about certain differences between people, such as sexual orientation,” the report went on. “The school’s culture is, however, clearly focused on teaching pupils to respect everybody, regardless of beliefs and lifestyle”
Even while teaching traditional Jewish beliefs, from Ofsted’s own report it sounds like Vishnitz is doing a great job educating their students and teaching them to respect others. Unfortunately, that’s just not enough for the government. If the school continues to refuse to teach explicitly on sensitive issues, it will be shut down. It would seem that standards of equality really aren’t equal, as in this case LGBTQ issues are being raised high above the right to religious freedom.
The school needs to continue to stand firm in its conviction and Ofsted needs to revise their policy or the young indelible minds of the girls in attendance at the school will suffer.
