Schools allowed to ban pupils from wearing veils

London, Mar 20 (UNI) Schools in Britain will now be allowed to ban pupils from wearing full-face veils on grounds of security, safety or learning under new uniforms guidelines to be issued.

After the case of a 12-year-old girl who failed in her High Court attempt to overturn her Buckinghamshire school's niqab ban in February, ministers promised to revise guidance for England taking that into consideration.

The new guidance said efforts should be made to accommodate religious clothing but stressed the importance of teachers and pupils being able to make eye contact.

In the Buckinghamshire case, the school, which cannot be named for legal reasons, argued that the veil made communication between teachers and pupils difficult and thus hampered learning.

Teachers needed to be able to tell if a pupil was enthusiastic, paying attention or even distressed but full-face veils prevented this, it said. This position was upheld by the High Court - which refused to grant a judicial review - and is expected to form a key part of the guidance.

The head teacher of the Buckinghamshire school, who also cannot be named, said it would be very useful to have some clear guidance from the Department for Education and Skills (DfES). ''It's not right that schools should have to be arguing this out case by case,'' she told the BBC News website.

''Obviously there's a trade-off between schools retaining autonomy over school uniform decisions, on the other hand we will have some very clear guidance from the DfES within which to work.'' The Muslim Council of Britain has not yet responded to the guidance, but in February it urged schools to take into account Muslim pupils' needs to dress modestly and avoid tight-fitting or transparent garments.

The DfES guidance also instructs schools to be sensitive to the cost implications of their choice of uniform which should be available at high street shops.

The guidelines reiterate the right of schools to discipline pupils for not wearing the proper uniform.

UNI