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Al-Hijrah School in Birmingham was put in special measures after an Ofsted inspection uncovered books in its library telling boys they could beat their wives, and force them to have sex, last summer. The books reportedly said that a woman was not allowed to refuse sex to her husband, and could be beaten by him in certain circumstances ‘provided this is not done “harshly”.’ Ofsted’s damning report also criticised the school’s policy of segregating boys and girls, which sparked a lengthy legal battle which is still ongoing. Safeguarding measures at the school have also been questioned after a nine-year-old boy died in March, reportedly after suffering an allergic reaction and collapsing. More than 2,000 people attended Mohammad Imaeel Ashraf’s funeral. An inquest into his death is due to be held later this summer. The school is being taken over by an independent academy trust (Picture: REX/Shutterstock) Amanda Spielman, chief inspector at Ofsted, told the Sunday Times that the school would be taken over by an independent academy trust on the orders of the Department for Education. ‘I am deeply concerned about the idea that total segregation of children within a mixed school is acceptable,’ she told the paper. ‘Segregating boys and girls in a mixed school feels as though it is depriving both boys and girls of a big part of the benefits of school. We have single-sex schools and I am not challenging that, but the idea that you have a mixed school, and yet you do not have social development, stimulation, all the things that come from mixing the sexes, makes me uncomfortable.’ Ofsted’s report also found bullying at the school, a chaotic playground, weak teaching, pupils who were not ‘sufficiently’ safe and staff who didn’t know what to do in medical emergencies. Birmingham city council has said both it and Al-Hijrah’s interim executive board were ‘co-operating fully’ with the Department for Education to find a suitable academy sponsor for the school. News Updates Stay on top of the headlines with daily email updates. Email I agree to receive newsletters from Metro I agree to receive newsletters from Metro Sign UpSign Up This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. 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