Girls of 11 quizzed about lesbians and how Whitehall zealots are waging war on Christian schools: A Special report by Tom Rawstorne

As her 11-year-old daughter Grace arrived home, Deborah Finch naturally asked her how the day had gone.

Her response could hardly have been more surprising.

She explained that Ofsted had launched a snap inspection of her school in Durham, quizzing pupils about their experiences.

‘Grace told me what she had been asked and I could not believe it,’ says Mrs Finch, 36, herself a teacher at another school. She was asked if she knew what it was to be gay and whether she had any gay friends.

‘She was asked if she knew any lesbians and whether any family members had gay friends. At one point she was even asked whether she had ever felt she was in the wrong body, which completely baffled her as she hadn’t any idea what the woman was talking about.

She felt very embarrassed and uncomfortable — she said she felt under pressure as though she was being force d to sit some kind of test and worried she wasn’t giving the right answers.’

As it turned out, those worries were entirely justified.

Earlier this week, the Department for Education announced it was withdrawing funding from Grace’s school, Durham Free School, and that come Easter, it would close.

The reason? The results of that inspection by Ofsted last November.

‘One day spent in a failing school is one day too many,’ was the reaction of Education Secretary Nicky Morgan, adding: ‘I am deeply concerned when I hear of pupils being let down.’ But while the pupils, parents and staff do feel ‘let down’, it is not by the school — but by Mrs Morgan and by Ofsted.

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Shut down, Christian school under attack because pupil did not know what a Muslim was: Inspectors brand it educational failure, Daily Mail Story.

Pupils at a Christian school have been branded bigots after a young boy gave the wrong answer when asked what a Muslim was.

Durham Free has been told to close after inspectors branded it an educational failure and said some children displayed ‘discriminatory views’ toward people of other faiths. The boy’s answer to the Muslim question apparently included a reference to terrorism.

But teachers said the verdict was grossly unfair and based on a throwaway and ignorant comment made by a single pupil. They said the school’s Christian ethos made it an easy target for officials who wanted to show they were promoting the Government’s diversity agenda.

A second Christian school in the area has been put into special measures. Inspectors also concluded its children were intolerant after allegedly asking ten-year-old pupils what lesbians ‘did’.

Teachers at Grindon Hall Christian School in Sunderland said the critical Ofsted report came as a shock because it was performing well. 

There are claims that some schools – mainly those with a religious ethos or in areas with few ethnic minority pupils – have been put under undue pressure by a requirement to promote British values such as tolerance, fairness, respect for other faiths and the rule of law and democracy.

These two cases highlight important issues about how Ofsted are interpreting the guidance they have been given.’

Simon Calvert of the Christian Institute said: ‘The Government’s British values regime is twisting Ofsted’s priorities out of all proportion. Inspectors are asking all kinds of invasive questions and then issuing reports that the parents whose children attend the school don’t recognise.’

Durham Free School, which has 94 pupils aged 11 to 13, was praised by then education secretary Michael Gove after it opened in September 2013. But when it was inspected in November, Ofsted failed it on a wide range of factors including poor teaching, attainment and behaviour. ‘Standards are low and progress is inadequate,’ inspectors said. ‘Students’ achievement is weak.’

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Further reading:

Christian school facing closure

“A Christian free school in County Durham has been ordered to close down, after a watchdog said it found bad behaviour, prejudice towards non-Christians, bullying, and the recruitment of staff for their faith rather than their ability. 

Durham Free School opened in September 2013. Free schools receive their funding directly from central government, rather than their Local Authority. As such, they are not under Local Authority control. Free schools are governed by charities or other non-profit groups.

The Education Funding Agency, which allocates money for schools, also said it has "serious concerns about financial management, control and governance" at Durham Free School.” Premier Radio