Mosque leaders across Waltham Forest have said they are "extremely concerned" about a questionnaire handed out to school children which was branded Islamophobic. 

A representative of ten mosques in the borough said they will question the council on how what they describe as divisive “loaded questions” were put to young children as part of research aimed at identifying potentially extremist attitudes. 

The controversial questionnaire was handed to pupils at Buxton School in Leytonstone a fortnight ago. 

Questions asked to children as young as ten included how much they trust members of a different race or religion and whether or not they use violence to problem-solve. 

It was distributed as part of Waltham Forest council’s Building Resilience through Integration & Trust (BRIT) programme. 

The Islamic Human Rights Commision said the questionnaire was Islamaphobic as it was geared towards Muslims, but the council denied the anonymous questionnaire was directed at pupils of any particular faith. 

Buxton School headteacher Kath Wheeler said the questionnaire was distributed without her knowledge and the results had now been destroyed. 

Chairman of The Waltham Forest Council of Mosques (WFCOM) Yusuf Hansa said the survey has added to anxiety in the Muslim community over measures to tackle extremism. 

He said: “The Waltham Forest Council of Mosques (WFCOM) is extremely concerned with the recent questionnaire that was given out to year 5 and 6 students at a local school in the borough. 

“Such activities only add to concerns that many families already have around the Prevent strategy and the governments Counter-Terrorism and Security Bill, in which draconian measures being pushed down from central government are to be blindly implemented by the local authorities. 

“The Muslim community has been a part of the borough for many decades and the Council of Mosques have been leading the community in ensuring that we live in a cohesive and united borough regardless of religious orientation. 

“However such measures only act to divide the community rather than unite us. We don't see this issue going away anytime soon. 

“We are pleased with the school's response and believe the council should be working proactively with organisations like WFCOM, whose members represent a large percentage of the population of LBWF. 

“Implementation of projects like BRIT, without due consultation, will lead to mistrust and be counterproductive.” 

Mr Hansa said there is no evidence of radicalisation at the school or in that age group generally. 

“We at WFCOM will be consulting with the council on these matters in a proactive way to ensure we safeguard our children and not inadvertently discriminate against them,” he added.