Select committee says agencies were uncoordinated and slow in their response to allegations of extremism in schools, and questions watchdog’s reliability





Ofsted has been sharply criticised for failing to act on concerns surrounding Birmingham schools at the centre of the Trojan horse investigation.



A report published on Tuesday by the education select committee said the affair had undermined confidence in Ofsted and raised questions about the reliability and robustness of the education watchdog’s judgments.

It also accused the Department for Education (DfE) of being “slow to take an active interest” after it received the so-called Trojan horse anonymous letter, which made allegations about a plot to impose a more hardline Muslim ethos in Birmingham schools, in December 2013.

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The committee report concluded: “The Trojan horse affair epitomises many of the questions and concerns expressed elsewhere about the changing school landscape and the overlapping roles of the organisations responsible for oversight of schools.”

The cross-party committee of senior MPs has been looking into how Ofsted and the DfE responded to allegations of extremism in Birmingham schools last year, which resulted in 21 schools being investigated and five being put into special measures.

The committee report identified a “worrying and wasteful lack of co-ordination” between the resulting overlapping inquiries by the Education Funding Agency, Ofsted and others, which contributed to “a sense of crisis and confusion”.



It also highlighted the vulnerability of academies, with their increased autonomy, to efforts by groups of similarly minded people to control a school.



But Graham Stuart, Conservative chair of the committee, said apart from one incident, no evidence of extremism or radicalisation was found by any of the inquiries into any of the schools involved.



“The Trojan horse affair is less about extremism than about governance and the ability of local and central agencies to respond to whistleblowers and to correct abuses of power within schools,” he said.



Facebook Twitter Pinterest Oldknow Academy, said the report, had been judged outstanding by Ofsted in 2013, indicating that the watchdog had failed to identify any problems then. Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

“We found a worrying and wasteful lack of co-ordination between the various inquiries carried out by the DfE, Birmingham city council, the Education Funding Agency, Ofsted and others.



“In the case of the Birmingham schools, the number of overlapping inquiries contributed to the sense of crisis and confusion.”

On Ofsted, the report pointed out the watchdog had failed to identify any problems during earlier inspections, only shortly afterwards to describe schools as failing. Oldknow Academy in the Small Heath area of Birmingham, for example, was judged outstanding in January 2013, then placed in special measures after an inspection just over a year later.

Stuart said: “Questions have been raised about the appropriateness of Ofsted’s framework and the reliability and robustness of its judgments. Ofsted must act to restore confidence in the inspectorate.”

The committee also called for careful handling of the teaching of British values. Ofsted now inspects the active promotion of British values as part of its judgment on leadership. A small number of – mainly faith – schools have recently raised concerns about the new inspection regime, claiming that the new focus on British values had contributed towards a poor inspection result.

“The British values which are now to be promoted in all schools are universal and deserving of support,” said Stuart. “Monitoring how these are promoted in individual schools must be done with common sense and sensitivity.”

Examining the DfE’s response to the affair, the report said there was a proven “lack of inquisitiveness” within the department prior to the Trojan horse letter, which could be partially explained by the general level of awareness of such issues at that time.

“However the department was slow to take an active interest between the receipt of the letter in December 2013, and March 2014 when the issue became public,” the report went on.

“This is more surprising, given the change in context and the heightened emphasis on combating radicalisation and extremism.”

Dr Mary Bousted, general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, said the report showed that poor coordination at various levels of government had contributed to a national panic.

“It seems that there are too many cooks spoiling the broth, with schools accountable to many different organisations and agencies. This causes confusion and overlap.

“Teachers and lecturers believe they have an important role in supporting students to be well-rounded, confident citizens. Cultivating value systems and offering opportunities to contribute to society are important aspects of this role.

“However, radicalisation is a hugely complex issue and many teachers understandably have not received the training or support to enable them to confidently spot the early signs.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Sir Michael Wilshaw, head of Ofsted. Photograph: Antonio Olmos for the Observer

An Ofsted spokesman said: “Ofsted welcomes today’s report and will consider its recommendations carefully.

“As the chief inspector, Sir Michael Wilshaw, made clear to the committee last year, sudden changes in governance and leadership can have a significant impact on the standards in education.



“These Birmingham schools were no exception. Ofsted is committed to ensuring that such drastic declines are not repeated elsewhere and will continue to work closely with other agencies to identify and investigate any areas of concern.



“All schools have an expectation on them to teach values such as tolerance and the rule of law and prepare pupils for life in modern Britain. This is outlined in guidance issued by the DfE and Ofsted inspects schools against the criteria in this guidance.”

A DfE spokesman said: “Our understanding of the challenge of extremism, and the way we monitor the ability of schools to respond to it, has advanced hugely in the past few years.

“As today’s report recognises, we are tackling this problem at both ends: taking determined action where we find areas of concern, and building resilience in the system by putting the active promotion of fundamental British values at the very heart of our plan for education.

“We are putting in place a helpline for schools to raise extremism concerns more easily and are working closely with Ofsted, having strengthened their inspection frameworks to include Fundamental British Values.

“No government has done more to tackle extremism, but we remain vigilant. We will respond to the report’s recommendations in due course.”