The recommendations are “aimed at ensuring Muslim pupils are ‘appropriately accommodated for’ so they become part of mainstream school life.” So since they can’t become part of mainstream school life by getting special exemptions from various aspects of it, school life is going to change to accommodate them.
Read a pdf of the whole report here.
“Schools ‘should accommodate Muslim needs,'” by Riazat Butt in The Guardian, with thanks to Twostellas:
State schools should avoid sex education classes and swimming lessons during Ramadan to cater for the needs of Muslim pupils, says the Muslim Council of Britain.
The recommendations, issued today, are included in a 72-page document of Muslim-friendly guidelines on topics such as uniform, halal meals, issues relating to Ramadan, physical education and sex education.
The report, called Towards Greater Understanding, draws on existing educational practices and is aimed at ensuring Muslim pupils are ‘appropriately accommodated for’ so they become part of mainstream school life.
The MCB claims Muslim pupils may consider it too risky to swim during Ramadan as ‘the potential for swallowing water is very high’ and they may break their fast. It suggests that schools with a significant number of Muslim pupils should try to avoid scheduling swimming lessons during Ramadan to ‘remove unnecessary barriers to full participation’.
Another suggestion is to avoid teaching sex and relationship education, including aspects that are part of the science curriculum, because Muslims are not permitted to engage in sexual activity during the month of fasting and they are also expected to avoid sexual thoughts and conversation.