Second Charedi school criticised by Ofsted in a week for refusing to discussing same-sex relations

Earlier this week, Shiras Devorah in Woodside Park, a new independent secondary school for Strictly Orthodox girls which opened only last autumn, was rated inadequate for various shortcomings ,including its refusal to “permit reference” to LGBT issues.

Both schools have the same proprietor, Akiva Adler.

Ofsted noted improvements at Elyon in careers advice, information technology and teaching about other faiths.

“There is now a programme in place for pupils to learn about other cultures and religions,” the inspector said.” Pupils said that they learn about other faiths, including Hinduism, Christianity and Islam.”

But it found insufficient detail in the curriculum policy about art and music at the school.

Independent schools found to have fallen short of official standards are required to submit an action plan for improvement to the Department for Education, but Elyon's plan was rejected in March.

The DfE last week published updated guidelines for independent schools which said that schools should teach respect for LGBT people at an “appropriate” age.