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Pupils at a Birmingham Islamic primary school could be at risk of radicalisation because of safeguarding failings, Ofsted has warned.

Government inspectors have highlighted extremism concerns and criticised management at the independent Birmingham Muslim School (BMS).

The ownership of the Small Heath school was also linked by Ofsted to the headteacher’s husband Ghoma Abdrabba - once named by the US Treasury for allegedly funding terrorism.

He denied the claims and later successfully had his name removed from a sanctions list.

(Image: A{/Press Association images)

The Birmingham Muslim School called the Ofsted allegations 'unfounded' and said it was giving ‘serious consideration’ to the inspectors' report.

It was in January that inspectors carried out an unannounced visit to the fee-paying school, which caters for around 95 boys and girls, aged from four to 11.

Now a published report has highlighted a ‘weak culture of safeguarding’ at the Golden Hillock Road school, including a lack of alertness by staff to ‘the risks of pupils being radicalised’.

It concluded the school had not met ‘all of the independent school standards that were checked during this inspection’.

Ofsted said: “Consequently, there is the potential for pupils to be exposed to extremist views through contact with older pupils or adults out of school, such as when on school trips.

"As a result, the school is not taking all reasonable steps to protect pupils from exposure to partisan political views.”

Positives from the report stated the curriculum did enable pupils to acquire secure reading, writing and numeracy skills.

Teachers were also working hard to plan interesting lessons, which pupils enjoyed, while classrooms were said to be inviting and contained useful resources.

But inspectors said not a single concern about a child had ever been logged by staff in the school’s 16 year history - a situation labelled as ‘inconceivable’.

The report added: “Staff have an inconsistent understanding of who to speak to if they have concerns. They show little awareness of the signs of possible abuse, neglect or radicalisation.’’

"Pupils are at risk of going missing from education and, as a result, are vulnerable to trafficking, exploitation and abuse.’’

Ofsted said during the inspection two adults were seen unaccompanied in the school, with their details not entered on a central register. Pupil admission and attendance registers were examined but found not to be maintained properly.

The report said: “This means pupils are at risk of going missing from education and, as a result, are vulnerable to trafficking, exploitation and abuse.’’

Headteacher Janet Laws - also known as Aisha Abdrabba - had told inspectors that the Albayan Education Foundation Ltd, a registered charity, was the proprietor of the school. This was also stated on the school’s website.

But Ofsted said the charity was not registered as the owner of the school. It claimed her husband Ghoma Abdrabba - also known as Ghunia Abdrabba - was named as proprietor with the Department for Education database of schools.

In February 2006, the US Treasury included Mr Abdrabba’s name and those of two other men on America’s specially designated nationals list for allegedly funding the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG).

The US claimed the group was engaged in terrorist activity in Libya and was co-operating with Al Qaida worldwide.

Mr Abdrabba, 59, and two other men, Taher Nasuf and Al-Bashir Mohammed al-Faqih, were said to be involved with Sanabel Relief Agency Limited, an international charity alleged by the US Treasury to ‘transfer documents and funds for terrorist activities overseas.’

Mr Abdrabba and the two other men were subsequently named on a United Nation’s Sanctions list and their assets frozen.

They denied any connection to terrorism and their names were subsequently removed from the list in June 2011.

Sanabel Relief Agency, which claimed to support people affected by poverty and natural disasters, was struck off Companies House register in 2007.

"This lack of clarity is highly misleading to parents, who are unlikely to know who to hold accountable for the safety of their children”

Ofsted said the husband of the BMS headteacher was not a trustee of the Albayan Education Foundation Limited charity and had “told inspectors he has nothing to do with the school.

“Therefore, the headteacher, as trustee of what is claimed to be the proprietorial body of the school, has not been subject to the additional checks made on proprietors by the Department for Education.”

Ofsted had also criticised the confusion surrounding the school and the Albayan Education Foundation Ltd, of which Ms Laws is a director.

Its report said: “The charity has three registered trustees: the headteacher and two others. The headteacher told inspectors that the other trustees are not proprietors and have no connection with the school.

“She also stated that she is not a proprietor, but that she is the director of the charity which is, itself, the proprietor.

“This lack of clarity is highly misleading to parents, who are unlikely to know who to hold accountable for the safety of their children and the quality of education provided.”

Ofsted added: “The relationship between governors, charity trustees, the headteacher and the directors of the company called ‘The Albayan Educational Foundation Ltd’ is very opaque. It is not clear who the proprietor is and, thus, who is accountable for the work of the school.”

Governance of the school was also ‘ineffective’, according to Ofsted. It said: “Leaders have not ensured that all the independent school standards are met, nor do they demonstrate the knowledge and skills to ensure that this happens.

“Through their unwillingness to take action when risks are known about, leaders have failed to promote the welfare of pupils.”

Ofsted claimed the school was not fully preparing some of the children for parts of the British way of life.

It said: "Consequently, pupils are not fully prepared for the experiences of life in British society.

"They learn about other religions. However, they are not taught enough about different backgrounds and ways of life to fully prepare them to encounter the diversity of modern British society.

"For example, a group of older pupils told inspectors a family is always made up of a mother, a father and children. When shown a picture of a family without a mother, one pupil said, ‘The mother is at home looking after the babies."

Ofsted told the school to comply with ten regulatory requirements, including ensuring pupils taking part in extra-curricular activities linked to the school were offered a balanced presentation of opposing views.

An Ofsted inspection in 2007 had found the Birmingham Muslim School provided an “inadequate quality of education” and the school’s curriculum was “not well planned”.

The school was again rated inadequate in some areas by Oftsed in 2010 when the regulator said it had “significant shortcomings”.

In 2013 Ofsted found the BMS had improved and moved it from the lowest grade 4 ranking to grade 3.

Our reporter contacted headteacher Ms Laws at the school. Asked for her response to the Ofsted report claims that pupils may be at risk of radicalisation, she said, ‘It’s totally unfounded.”

She referred us to solicitors, who later issued a statement.

It said: “The school is giving serious consideration to the comments in the Ofsted report which was provided to the school last month. This is a matter between the school and the Department for Education.”

*A report published last month by the respected Henry Jackson Society thinktank claimed that one in ten of all of Britain’s Islamist terrorists came from just five council wards in the city; Springfield, Sparkbrook, Hodge Hill, Washwood Heath and Bordesley Green.

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Ex-SCHOOL GOVERNOR AND ‘US TERRORISM LIST’

Libyan-born Ghoma Abdrabba had reportedly once owned Birmingham Muslim School and was once its chair of governors.

In February 2006 he was accused by the US Treasury of funding the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group through the Sanabel Relief Agency.

He was named alongside Taher Nasuf and Al-Bashir Mohammed al-Faqih on the US specially designated nationals list, which saw them subjected to an assets freeze and passports surrender.

Mr Abdrabba and Mr Nasuf were involved with Sanabel Relief Agency, which was later struck off Companies House register in 2007.

But the names of all three men were removed from the US list in 2011 after they appealed.

*Al-Faqih, of Hall Green, was jailed for four years in 2007 after admitting possessing documents on how to make explosives and set up a terror cell.

Birmingham Crown Court heard al-Faqih was a former member of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, who wished to replace his country’s government with a fundamentalist Islamic state.

He had been arrested after police raided his home. In addition to bomb-making instructions on a CD-Rom, search teams also found books, documents and audio cassettes which could be construed as “jihadi” or radical, prosecutors said.

The court heard that al Faqih also admitted handwriting a document on how to set up a terror cell.

ALBAYAN EDUCATION FOUNDATION LIMITED

Headteacher Janet Laws is a director of Albayan Education Foundation Limited, which owns Birmingham Muslim School.

Engineer Ahmed Abdulhafeth, 38, from West Bromwich, and 50-year-old Qasem Ali, from Small Heath, are also named as directors of the foundation at Companies House.

The Foundation is registered with the Charity Commission where its activities are listed as the ‘provision of relief to needy from hardship, distress, assistance for medical and educational help and communal help for supply of fresh water “ and operates in “Birmingham and Turkey”.

A directors’ report, dated June 2014, states the charity’s principal activity is ‘the provision of relief to needy persons from hardship and the advancement of education.”

The latest income shown, for 2014, states the foundation received ‘Albayan donations’ of £109,755 and ‘donations for school’ as school fees of £122,292.

The directors’ report added that trustees had decided to help refugees in Turkey. “They sent two container loads of basic necessities of life such as food, clothing, medical supplies including needs of the babies and educational requirements.

“They also financed and organised, through their contacts, mobile medical rooms, drilling two water wells and two tankers to supply drinking water. Albayan is continuing to provide help and have increased their assistance in the subsequent period.”

A Twitter feed for the charity also contains comments about aid being distributed in Syria, including diesel in Hama in western-central Syria and appeals for donations.

“You can purchase a barrel of diesel for £80, remember you will be warming a family who sleep outside in a tent in freezing conditions,” it states.

It is understood donated goods for the Albayan Education Foundation can be delivered to addresses in Warwick Road, Birmingham and Cork Road, Leicester and also handed in to the British Muslim School.

Monetary donations can be made online or by cheque and handed in at the school.