Governors from the controversial Muslim free school Al-Madinah have said they will change their policy on female teachers wearing head scarves.
The announcement comes after a letter warning the school that it faced closure unless it stopped discriminating against female staff and pupils.
Education Minister Lord Nash set out 17 issues for the school to consider, which included an end to “unacceptable” teaching standards.
This morning, governors told the BBC they accepted the school needed areas of improvement.
One of the men said: “There are areas we’d like to have much more development.
“It’s the first year and we have to be given the opportunity to grow.”
He said female staff would be given the choice whether to wear a head scarf or not.
He added: “We want to be fair and equitable to all of our staff members.
“We are amending policies to make sure we are supporting staff who do not wish to cover their hair.”
Another one of the governors said: “We’re not an organisation that wants to feel victimised.
“We are very open, very flexible.”
With regard to Lard Nash’s letter and female staff wearing head scarves the governor said: “We would have appreciated some consultation.
“We never received any complaints from our staff.”