HM Chief Inspector of Education, Children's Services and Skills v The Interim Executive Board of Al-Hijrah School The Secretary of State for Education (First Intervener) The Equality and Human Rights Commission (Second Intervener) Southall Black Sisters and Inspire (Third Interveners)
| Jurisdiction | England & Wales |
| Judge | Sir Terence Etherton MR,Lady Justice Gloster,Lord Justice Beatson |
| Judgment Date | 07 November 2017 |
| Neutral Citation | [2017] EWCA Civ 1787 |
| Court | Court of Appeal (Civil Division) |
| Docket Number | Case No: C1/2016/4313 |
| Date | 07 November 2017 |
[2017] EWCA Civ 1787
IN THE COURT OF APPEAL (CIVIL DIVISION)
ON APPEAL FROM THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE
QUEEN'S BENCH DIVISION
ADMINISTRATIVE COURT
MR JUSTICE JAY
IN THE MATTER OF AN APPLICATION FOR JOINDER BY THE ASSOCIATION OF MUSLIM SCHOOLS
Royal Courts of Justice
Strand, London, WC2A 2LL
THE MASTER OF THE ROLLS
Lady Justice Gloster VP
and
Lord Justice Beatson
Case No: C1/2016/4313
and
and
and
Judgment Approved
Sir Terence Etherton MR, Lady Justice Gloster,
We handed down our judgments in this case on 13 October 2017. The order was made and sealed on the same day allowing Ofsted's appeal and so in effect dismissing the claim of the Al-Hijrah school ("the School") for judicial review.
There was no application by the School for permission to appeal to the Supreme Court.
By a letter dated 24 October 2017 the Association of Muslim Schools ("AMS") applied to be a respondent or interested party or, failing that, an intervenor. The purpose of the application is to enable AMS to apply for permission to appeal to the Supreme Court.
The application is supported by a witness statement of Mr Ashfaque Alichowdhury, who is the chairman of AMS. In that witness statement he gives the following evidence, among other things.
AMS, a registered charity, was established in 1992 to act as a representative body for Muslim schools in the UK. Its objects are:
"to promote and advance the education of children and young people attending full-time Muslim Faith schools according to the teachings of the Qur'an and the Sunnah, and to provide advice, guidance and support to said schools and those wishing to establish Muslim schools".
AMS is the "relevant diocesan authority" for any state funded Muslim school for the purposes of the Education Acts. It must be consulted regarding any change to the admissions criteria of a Muslim school and it conducts inspections of Muslim schools pursuant to section 48 of the Education Act 2005.
AMS has 133 formal member schools, including the School, but supports a wider group of Muslim schools, both independent and maintained, as well as academy trusts.
AMS has a "Strategic Plan", which Mr Alichowdhury describes as:
"a sincere and concerted effort to galvanise professionals, volunteers and donors engaged with Muslim faith-ethos schools to make significant headway in raising standards, and raising the profile and impact of Muslim faith-ethos schools".
So far as Mr Alichowdhury is aware, ten Muslim schools in AMS' membership formally segregate boys and girls in a mixed sex school. He says that there may be others which are not in the membership, and that other schools may separate boys and girls for certain activities. He says that AMS understands that some schools from other faiths separate boys and girls as well.
Mr Alichowdhury explains AMS' interest and concerns, as follows:
"10. In its role both guiding Muslim schools and carrying out statutory inspections, the Association must try to ensure that schools comply with their legal obligations and act in a way which is consistent with Islamic teachings and practices. The Association supports the case which it understands has been put forward by Al-Hijrah School. The Court of Appeal's judgment may have created a conflict between these two fundamental requirements which compromises the Association's ability to fulfil what it understands are its purposes. The judgment also puts the segregating...
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