Recommenda6ons
Secondly, Ofsted may be asked to conduct additional inspections of independent schools where information is received indicating concern about a school having links with extremism. Nonetheless, Baroness Morgan of Drefelin, the then Parliamentary Under Secretary in the DCSF, has said that there have been “no inspections conducted by Ofsted relating to links between independent or maintained schools and proscribed organisations. Two independent schools were, however, inspected by Ofsted in 2007 to ensure they were meeting the independent school standards following allegations of links with Hizb-ut-Tahrir.”213 Thirdly, while every year, a number of maintained and independent schools close for various reasons, the former DCSF had not routinely collected the reasons for their closure, nor information about the withdrawal of funding by local authorities from their schools. Consequently the former DCSF had “no record of instances where public funding has been withdrawn as a result of links between a school and extremism”.214 Fourth, neither the Department for Education nor Ofsted appears to have a working up-to-date definition of extremism when seeking to assess possible links between schools and extremism. This was specified by the then – Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Schools Diana Johnson in response to Michael Gove when the latter was Shadow Secretary of State, in April 2010, “There is no statutory definition of extremism or extremist organisations other than those proscribed under the Terrorism Act 2000. Therefore neither Ofsted nor DCSF are able to keep systematic central records of allegations about extremism, nor of alleged links between schools and extremist organisations.”215 Despite this, she said that “In the last three years Ofsted has conducted inspection work following allegations made in the press about extremism affecting the quality of education at the two schools belonging to the Islamic Shakhsiyah Foundation and at King Fahad School.”216 Recommendations for Ofsted: Ofsted’s schedule of judgements has been reduced from the current 18 to just four (quality of teaching, quality of leadership, behaviour and safety, academic standards). Within this new framework, provision should be made for the inspection of extremism in one of the four judgements. The judgement relating to ‘behaviour and safety’ would be the best place for this to go. Again, this is a function that can only be performed by the state. A statutory definition of extremism and extremist organisations should be devised in order to enable Ofsted to assess information on possible links between schools and extremism. Criteria should be developed to classify schools as having links with extremism. Independent schools with a religious character should not be inspected by a sole inspector if that inspector is a member of the same religion as the school – even if it is a small school that would ordinarily require one inspector. Ofsted should adopt the approach of the German authorities in Cologne and Berlin in increasing school accountability through unannounced inspections. This could provide the basis for sanctions to be imposed by the Secretary of State for Education upon those schools that present a concern because of their affiliations or the nature of their activities.
213 Parliamentary Question by Baroness Neville-Jones on how many schools had been investigated or put in special measures or closed down because of links to proscribed and extremist groups since 1997, HL589. http://www.publications.parliame nt.uk/pa/ld200910/ldhansrd/text /100105w0015.htm 214 Michael Gove MP, Parliamentary Question, Answer from Ms Diana R. Johnson, the then Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Schools, House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 7 April 2010 (pt 0022).
215 House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 08 April 2010 (pt 0027). 216 Ibid.
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