Row over access to prayer facilities at school resolved amid JR threat

A dispute between the family of a Muslim girl and the governing body of a school over access to prayer facilities on the school premises has been resolved after mediation.

When the girl turned nine in December 2011, she was considered – under the family’s Muslim faith – to have attained puberty for religious purposes. This meant she was required to perform obligatory religious duties, such as offering prayers at five set times of the day.

The school refused a request for facilities for daily prayers. According to the family’s lawyers, Leigh Day & Co, this was on the basis that the school was an “inclusive secular school” and it did not permit activities that were aimed at one religion.

The law firm said this approach created a situation where attending school meant the girl would have had to compromise on her religious obligation.

“The resulting conflict had unsettled Y, who was aware of the importance of prayer in her Islamic faith, and was indeed a source of great stress to all her family,” it said.

Leigh Day & Co prepared an application for judicial review of the governing body’s prayer policy.

This application argued that:

• “The policy unlawfully indirectly discriminated against the girl on religious grounds contrary to statutory provisions in the Equality Act 2010;
• The Governing Body had failed to have due regard to the public sector equality duty under the Equality Act 2010;
• The policy violated Y’s right to manifest her religion under Articles 9 and 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights”.

However, mediation between the parents and representatives of the governing body saw agreement reached over accommodating the girl’s daily prayers.

Leigh Day & Co partner Alison Millar said: “We were very concerned that at a community school in an area which serves a large number of people of the Muslim faith, our client was not allowed to manifest her religion.

“The school argued that our client, a nine-year-old girl, would be able to go home to pray, but this was putting her at a significant disadvantage compared to her peers who are not Muslim. Moreover, the school had initially been able to accommodate her request for prayer facilities, so the adjustment was reasonable. We are very pleased to have resolved this dispute so our client does not have to choose between her education and religious observance.”

The case was referred to Leigh Day & Co by the Islamic Human Rights Commission.