Sikh parents group stand firm against DFE in school dispute

A Sikh community meeting last Sunday saw hundreds come together and reaffirm a commitment to stand against proposed DfE changes to a Coventry Sikh faith school.

Sikh families of Coventry have been in a dispute with the DfE (Department For Education) for over a year now after pressure was placed on the Seva School of Coventry to change its current template and be reformed under a new multi-faith banner by joining a “Multi Academy Trust“. This pressure stems from an OFSTED report which rated the school as ‘inadequate’ in 2016, a status which the school claims has since been vastly improved on, evident since OFSTED took the school out of the ‘special measures’ category since March of this year.

The school, run by the Sevak Education Trust, is the only Sikh faith school in Coventry, where there is a large and long-settled Sikh community. Over 200 parents of children at the school have united to stand-against proposed changes, which include having the Nishkam School Trust takeover and put the school under their multi-faith based governance. Parents involved have stated their feelings on how their children should be educated are being ignored.

Pinder Kaur, one of the parents of pupils at the school standing against DfE pressure, said of the issue;

“Several national Sikh organisations and Sikh community figures from across the UK came together at this meeting (June 23rd) to learn about our concerns as parents of pupils at the school. They have all shown support for the parents position of wanting Seva School to remain ‘grounded in the Sikh faith’ as it was intended to be when it opened in 2014.

“The Sikh bodies in attendance once again confirmed that they are supporting us to obtain a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to prevent this happening again. The MOU will safeguard the Sikh religious character of the school in the event of a Sikh Faith school being transferred to a different sponsor. The Core Parent Group requires assurance that such protections will be mandated and apply for all Sikh Faith schools which is imperative.

“The families involved have been completely transparent and offered several opportunities for dialogue with the DfE and Nishkam, most of which have been sadly ignored, leading to the situation we are now in. However, we still hope the DfE and anyone else involved will come forward to work with us for an amicable agreement, lest we have to deal with this through the courts.”

There is a possibility that from July 10th the issue will be dealt with through the courts, something the parents standing against the DfE have stated clearly they would rather avoid. The Sevak Education Trust have put forward alternative proposals, namely a transfer or ‘re-brokerage’ to the Khalsa Academies Trust which already has three Sikh schools across the country, including the ‘outstanding’ Atam Academy of East London. This option is preferred by the Parents of Seva School Action Group who fear that a transfer to the Nishkam School Trust or any other sponsors would compromise the existing Sikh ethos of the school.

The situation has already prompted protests which saw children pulled out of class, as well as hundreds of letters and a petition sent to the DfE about the parents’ support for the current format. The DfE have not yet commented on the latest move by the parents group. Sikh PA will continue providing updates on this situation as they come in.