SCHOOLS in Waltham Forest will no longer be compelled to close for Muslim, Hindu and Sikh religious holidays, it has been announced.

All schools in the borough were previously forced to close on Eid, Diwali and Guru Nanak’s birthday in an attempt to promote awareness of other faiths among pupils.

But following a review of the policy the council has now agreed to allow school governors to make the final decision on such dates.

All schools must still open for the same number of days overall.

Cllr Saima Mahmud, cabinet member for children and young people, said children would still be allowed time off for a religious event even if governors did not agree to let the whole school have the day off.

She said: "No parent or child will be penalised for staying at home for celebrating a religious event with their family."

Explaining the thinking behind the policy, she added: "If you have a school holiday when some pupils are at home with their families and others are walking the streets that doesn't really do much to promote cultural cohesion."

A council report said: "the school year already recognises the Christian festivals of Christmas and Easter, as these are national bank holidays, while the significant minority religious festivals would otherwise be unrecognised.

"The current [now former] policy goes some way to addressing this, especially through the recognition of Eid-ul-Fitr with a school holiday, but the recognition of the Hindu and Sikh faith and the exclusion of the Jewish and Buddhist faith are more challenging to support on population grounds alone."

It added: "Schools in Waltham Forest understand already the importance of recognising and celebrating religious and cultural diversity and there is good practice across the borough."

The decision was agreed by councillors at a cabinet meeting last night.

The previous policy which forced schools to close on certain religious dates created a stir in the national media last year, and even made the front page of the Daily Telegraph in October.

However the policy had actually been running in the borough for several decades.

Last year several headteachers and union NASUWT formed a campaign calling for the council to scrap the policy.

Click here to follow the Waltham Forest Guardian on Twitter