An Islamic free school accused of forcing female teachers to wear the hijab has closed temporarily after an Ofsted inspection.
The Al-Madinah School in Derby, which only opened a year ago, turned away its 200 pupils aged from four to 16 today in response to concerns raised by the inspectors.
Stuart Wilson, the acting principal, said he had taken the decision to shut the school on “health and safety” grounds until he was confident that all children would be safe on the site.
Ofsted confirmed that its team had shared their concerns with Mr Wilson on their first day at the school on Tuesday but refused to give any more details about the precise nature of the problem while the inspection was ongoing.
Last week a 50-year-old Christian teacher claimed that she was forced out of the Al-Madinah School after refusing to comply with a strict dress code that required all female staff to wear a headscarf and ankle-length skirt.
The school has also faced claims that girls were made to sit at the back of classrooms and allegations of irregularities relating to Government grants, leading to a planned Ofsted inspection being brought forward.
Parents were left frustrated by the lack of information about why the principal had taken the drastic step of shutting the school, which is likely to remain closed for several days.
Mohammed Ali, 35, whose six-year-old daughter goes to the school, said: “It’s about the future of our children so we need to know. We want answers, we want to know what is going on and what the problems are.”