The education secretary Alan Johnson will court controversy today by announcing that he expects head teachers to ban schoolchildren from wearing the full Muslim veil on "safety, security and teaching" grounds.He will tell headteachers that they will have the right to stop pupils covering their faces under a new uniform policy to be distributed to schools.
The policy will be put out to consultation. In practice, few children wear the full veil and the guidance does not appear to stop girls wearing a head scarf.
Mr Johnson, one of the many candidates for the Labour deputy leadership, will defend the new policy guidance to schools on the grounds that safety security and effective teaching must be paramount, coming ahead of the tolerance of religious and cultural beliefs of children.
Read More
