Children as young as three are being allowed to wear the hijab in British nurseries and primary schools.
Campaigners say that by approving the religious headscarf in official uniform policies, school authorities are causing classroom divisions and putting pressure on Muslim girls to cover up. There is also concern that the practice sexualises the girls because it is traditionally not worn until puberty.
A survey by The Sunday Times found that a fifth of 800 primary schools, including Church of England schools, list the hijab as part of their uniform.
In Birmingham 46 per cent of 72 primaries surveyed allowed the hijab, with 36 per cent in Luton and 34 per cent in Tower Hamlets. Dame Louise Casey, the government’s integration tsar, intervened in a