Spoiler:

Trojan Horse: Ofsted says schools were targeted
By Sean Coughlan
BBC News education correspondent
27 minutes ago

Ofsted chief Sir Michael Wilshaw: "In the most serious cases, a culture of fear and intimidation has taken grip"
"A culture of fear and intimidation has taken grip" in Birmingham schools caught up in the Trojan Horse claims, says Ofsted chief Sir Michael Wilshaw.

Head teachers have been "marginalised or forced out of their jobs", said Sir Michael, as he delivered his findings on claims of hardline Muslim takeovers.

The Ofsted chief said there was evidence of an "organised campaign to target certain schools".

Leaders of one of the schools, Park View, firmly rejected the claims.

Ofsted has carried out inspections of 21 schools, following claims in an anonymous letter that hardline Muslims were trying to impose their view on a group of schools in Birmingham.

"Some of our findings are deeply worrying and, in some ways, quite shocking," says Sir Michael.

'Serious failure'

The five "Trojan Horse" schools - including three academies from the Park View Educational Trust - are being placed in special measures. A sixth school is also labelled inadequate for its poor educational standards.


Golden Hillock, part of the Park View trust, has been found inadequate
Ofsted says that 12 schools will need to make improvements - and three have emerged with praise rather than criticism.

Education Secretary Michael Gove told the House of Commons that the funding agreements for these academies will now be terminated - with new sponsors lined up to take them over.

Local authority schools will have their governing bodies replaced.

Mr Gove gave his backing for no-warning Ofsted inspections and called for bans on teachers who invite extremist speakers into a school.


He also promised a review of how the Department for Education had responded to previous warnings - after claims from school leaders that they had raised concerns with ministers in 2010.

Labour's Tristram Hunt said that "warring egos" had left the government's education policy in "disarray".

He said that the problems in Birmingham stemmed from an "ideology of fragmentation".

The Ofsted reports and Mr Gove highlighted concerns in Birmingham's schools including:

Organised campaign to alter "character and ethos" of schools
Breakdown of trust between governors and staff, with teachers "bullied" and "intimidated" and fearing loss of their jobs
Female staff complained of unfair treatment
Family members being appointed to unadvertised senior leadership posts
The phrase "white prostitute" used in class assemblies
Private investigators hired to check staff email
Teacher so afraid a meeting had to be arranged in supermarket car park
Sir Michael also issued a tough criticism of Birmingham City Council.

He accused the council of a "serious failure" in supporting schools in protecting children from extremism - and attacked them for a "lack of urgency" in tackling concerns about how schools were being governed.

'Steep decline'

Sir Michael warned that there had been a "sudden and steep decline in these schools" - and that the inspections and talks with head teachers revealed evidence of "grave concern".

"Governors are exerting far more influence than is appropriate or acceptable," he said.


Sarah Hewitt-Clarkson, head of Anderton Park Primary School: ''Claims in the letter not a shock''
Among the examples from an inspection of Nansen primary school is that school governors insisted on vetting a nativity play script and banned the use of a doll as baby Jesus.

Head teachers were being "undermined" and the curriculum was being narrowed to reflect the "personal views of a few governors".

"Some teachers reported that they were treated unfairly because of their gender or religious beliefs," he said.

Inspections have raised concerns about an exclusively Muslim culture in non-faith schools and Sir Michael says children are not being encouraged to "develop tolerant attitudes towards other faiths".

The recommendations from Sir Michael include:

"Professional governors" where existing governors are weak
Mandatory training and register of interests for governors
Examine how the governance of free schools and academies is monitored
Review the current exemption from routine inspections for outstanding schools
Review whistleblowing procedures
'No extremism'

There has been an angry reaction from Park View School, which was found to be outstanding by inspectors two years ago and which is now found to be inadequate in all categories.


David Hughes, Park View Education Trust: ''The speed and the ferocity with which the school had been condemned was truly shocking''
David Hughes, vice chairman of the academy trust, said there was no extremism.

"The Ofsted reports found absolutely no evidence of this because this is categorically not what is happening at our schools."

Mr Hughes attacked the "knee-jerk reaction of politicians" - and warned that Muslim pupils could be left believing that they did not have equal rights.

Lee Donaghy, assistant principal at Park View, said that the school was "part of the solution, not part of the problem".

He said it represented a "beacon of hope" against problems such as poverty, drugs and crime.

The National Union of Teachers says: "There seems to be a redefinition of 'extremism' from the secretary of state for education, and as yet lots of speculation and not a little hyperbole."

Segregation

Inspection reports from Ofsted and the Education Funding Agency have been widely leaked - and these include claims that there has been evidence that schools had in some areas "taken the Islamic focus too far".

The reports found that girls and boys had been segregated in some classes and that in RE lessons some pupils studying Christian units in a GCSE paper had had to teach themselves.

In other developments:

Prime Minister David Cameron has chaired a meeting of the government's extremism taskforce - attended by Home Secretary Theresa May and Education Secretary Michael Gove
Mr Cameron wants to investigate the idea of inspections without any prior warnings for schools
It comes after a row between the home secretary and the education secretary last week, which led to the resignation of Ms May's special adviser and an apology from Mr Gove
Downing Street has since said Ms May did not know about the decision to publish a letter attacking Mr Gove over the handling of the allegations
Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper asked an urgent question in parliament over Mrs May's actions
Birmingham Perry Barr Labour MP Khalid Mahmood meanwhile said it was vital that the inquiries dealt with everyone who had "manipulated what schools are there to do"
A separate inspection by Ofsted also found a Luton school did not "promote tolerance" and had books suggesting stoning and lashing as appropriate punishments.
Head teachers' leader Brian Lightman said: "Extremism of any kind has no place in education."

But he warned that the "constant cycle of leaks and accusations over the last few weeks will have been demoralising and damaging for students and staff caught up in this ongoing drama".

'Trojan Horse' timeline


7 March The apparent existence of a plot to impose a more hardline Muslim ethos on Birmingham schools emerges in an undated, unsigned letter which claims responsibility for ousting four headteachers. The Department for Education and Birmingham City Council confirm they are investigating.

17 March Ofsted turns up at Park View - one of the schools implicated - for a snap inspection. Two years earlier the predecessor school on the site had been graded outstanding. "All schools should be like this," Ofsted chief Sir Michael Wilshaw had said in March 2012.

31 March The DfE says it is looking into claims that the Operation Trojan Horse plot targeted 12 schools

9 April The governors of Park View Educational Trust describe the ongoing investigations as a "witch-hunt"

14 April Birmingham City Council says it is looking into allegations involving 25 schools in the city, including primaries, secondaries and academies. Council leader Sir Albert Bore says he does not believe there is a "plot". West Midlands Police condemn the council's decision to appoint a former national head of counter terrorism to carry out its investigation for the message it sends

20 April Sir Michael Wilshaw takes personal charge of Ofsted's Trojan Horse investigations

3 May Sir Michael says Ofsted has inspected 21 schools

3 June Three of the schools under investigation publish their Ofsted reports. Ninestiles and Small Heath are rated as "outstanding" and Washwood Heath as "good".

3 June Home Secretary Theresa May writes to cabinet colleague Michael Gove asking whether it is true that his DfE was warned about the allegations in 2010 and Birmingham Council as far back as 2008.

9 June Ofsted places five schools in special measures and confirms that a sixth (which was already in special measures) is "inadequate". Sir Michael says there is evidence of an "organised campaign to target certain schools" and finds that some governors attempted to "impose and promote a narrow faith-based ideology" in secular schools.

Daemonhammer wrote:
Muslims are taking over schools, "teaching" their fething ideology to children yet people still refuse to aknowledge what a treat islam is to Europe.

 Palindrome wrote:

Daemonhammer wrote:
Muslims are taking over schools, "teaching" their fething ideology to children yet people still refuse to aknowledge what a treat islam is to Europe.

So you are saying that Islam is good for Europe?

In actuality the Ofstead report doesn't really state that the school involved (12 IIRC) were taken over by hardline Muslims but their ethos and curriculum has been steered to a more Islamic friendly direction. This involved the introduction of elements that were clearly a little dodgy and at odds with the views of the wider society. Girls and boys separated, christian pupils left to teach themselves RE because the school apparently couldn't afford to teach them (they could), incorrectly teaching of evolution, meddling in pupils private lives and just generally creating a restrictive and conservative environment.

 Medium of Death wrote:
That sounds fairly hardline to me.

I think we should be phasing religious education out of schools generally.

 -Shrike- wrote:

21 schools.

 Frazzled wrote:

 Medium of Death wrote:
That sounds fairly hardline to me.

I think we should be phasing religious education out of schools generally.

They have religious education in school? In a public school? Wait, what???

 Frazzled wrote:
[
They have religious education in school? In a public school? Wait, what???

 Palindrome wrote:

 -Shrike- wrote:

21 schools.

Some were exonerated though, only 5 were put into special measures and a further 6 were rated as inadequate or requiring improvement. Some of the schools kept their outstanding rating.

 Frazzled wrote:
Wow is this for real?

cammy wrote:
While the changes haven't been overt there things such as not allowing the girls swimming lessons.

Cammy wrote: It is nowadays more of a cultural lesson which is important, especially in the Birmingham area.

 kronk wrote:

cammy wrote:
While the changes haven't been overt there things such as not allowing the girls swimming lessons.

That is the real travesty.

Co-ed intramural water polo was some of my fondest memories.

College...

 Palindrome wrote:

Daemonhammer wrote:
Muslims are taking over schools, "teaching" their fething ideology to children yet people still refuse to aknowledge what a treat islam is to Europe.

So you are saying that Islam is good for Europe?

 4oursword wrote:

 kronk wrote:

cammy wrote:
While the changes haven't been overt there things such as not allowing the girls swimming lessons.

That is the real travesty.

Co-ed intramural water polo was some of my fondest memories.

College...

I move for the religion of Kronkism to be founded, with it's messages of tolerance, love, and weekly co-ed water polo.

 Frazzled wrote:


They have religious education in school? In a public school? Wait, what???

 -Shrike- wrote:

Cammy wrote: It is nowadays more of a cultural lesson which is important, especially in the Birmingham area.

Definitely. Birmingham is incredibly multicultural, learning about one culture to the exclusion of others is an incredibly narrow-minded thing to do.

Daemonhammer wrote:

So dont be a and dont correct peoples grammar on the internet.