Two ultra-Orthodox Jewish schools in north London have dropped plans to ban mothers from driving their children to school after they were warned it was “unlawful and discriminatory”.
In a letter from Onora O’Neil, chairwoman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, she described the actions of the Belz sect, which runs the two schools in Stamford Hill, as illegal and “unlawful under the Equality Act 2010”.
The ultra-Orthodox group, which, runs Talmud Torah Machzikei Hadass, a boys’ primary school, and Beis Malka, a primary school for girls, had told parents that from August children driven to school by their mothers would be turned away at the gates .
The letter said the ban was based on the recommendations of Rabbi Yissachar Dov Rokeach, the Belzer spiritual leader in Israel.
But now Ahron Klein, chief executive of the schools, has said the ban was made without approval of the governors and that mothers would be able to drive to their children to the two schools.
In a statement, he said: “The headteacher sent out the letter on behalf of the spiritual heads of the community, who had not taken into account the implications of such a policy.”
He added: “The school believes that women have a choice about whether they want to drive or not, and our policy is to accept all children who are members of our community, which we have been doing for the last 40 years.”
Parents in the area have defended the ban, saying it is part of living within the Belz community.
