Do you remember that story about a school who made girls sit at the back...

[MadCap]

I just saw in the Huff Post that OFSTED shut the school down on the first day of its inspection. Sorry couldn't find original thread.

[GeekLove]

It is also on bbc online here

[MadCap]

Beat me to the link. huffpost

[MadCap]

Anyway thank goodness they did. It was really an appalling situation.

[Tuppenceinred]

It was closed because of a Health and Safety issue. There will certainly be other problems identified, the Ofsted report will make interesting reading.

[edam]

Is using h&s a bit like prosecuting Al Capone for tax avoidance? i.e. a way to shut the damn place down but without tackling the big complicated issue?

[edam]

Oh, I see, the school claims it was a H&S issue. It's not necessarily the true reason...

[Tuppenceinred]

The true reason will come out in the Ofsted report, and whatever other issues there might be, there will have been a H+S issue. A school doesn't take the decision to close lightly, certainly not when Ofsted are in, and they don't lie about it.
I know of a school that closed on the first day of an Ofsted inspectoin for quite shocking reasons, nobody lied about it, even though the reason was absolutely damning on the school leadership team and the governing body.

[edam]

That's interesting, but this is the school that, when the shit first hit the fan, told parents 'don't worry, it takes seven years to shut a school, there's no way we will shut'. Which was untrue. And has been shown to be untrue PDQ.

[Tuppenceinred]

I am saying that when Ofsted come into a school, and the school shuts on the first day, it will be because of an issue that Ofsted identified, and the school would not lie about it. When we read the Ofsted report there will be some serious health and safety concern.

[edam]

Thanks Tuppence, I take your point. I'll read that report with interest. But I bet there are plenty of serious problems with this school, not just one.

[Tuppenceinred]

Oh yes, there will be very serious problems. The Head closes the school, but that will be after Ofsted call an emergency meeting with the Head, possibly the LA (they have a role to play in this situation) and if they can get the Chair of Governors they would be involved as well.

[5madthings]

So what happens to all the pupils, how quickly will the be placed in alternative schools? Whilst I agree it needed to close what about the students who need an education, what about those in exa, years etc?

[Tuppenceinred]

They'll sort out school places for pupils as soon as they can, that's all there is to it really. Assuming that the school closes, and that it isn't re-opened in a new form. Children are legally entitled to an education. Luckily it's early in the academic year eh?

[pointythings]

They are expected to be placed into special measures

And hopefully shut down permanently. They are a perfect example of why the Free Schools programme is completely and utterly flawed.

[lalalonglegs]

It's opening again tomorrow - Derby Evening Telegraph report - but I can't see it staying open for very long. The Ofsted report will be savage, I imagine. Tuppence - the LA has no role in free schools - which is why some people are dubious of them: when they go wrong it's only Ofsted or the Dept of Education that have any control over them.

[edam]

Interesting report from the Derby Evening Telegraph, The Sunday Times said it faced closure.

[Longtalljosie]

The schools minister wrote to the school essentially saying "sort yourselves out right this minute"

Here

The school released a statement saying "We don't understaaannnnddd"

School website

It'll be closed, I assume.

[nennypops]

Further report here - www.thisisderbyshire.co.uk/Derby-Muslim-school-Al-Madinah-warned-lose/story-19902456-detail/story.html#axzz2hVOGxBxJ.

What interests me is the sheer hypocrisy of Lord Nash telling other people how to run schools after the appointment of his protegée at Pimlico Academy went tits up.

An awful lot of his demands strike me as things that the Department for Education should have checked up on before throwing loads of money at the sponsors to set up this school. Particularly this one:

Satisfy me that the governing body and membership of the Trust are both adequately and appropriately constituted with the requisite skills, experience and commitment necessary to govern the school with a view to promoting high standards of educational achievement.

I hold no brief whatsoever for this school, but I find it fairly despicable the way that the DfE are trying to divert attention from questions about how they allowed the place to open in the first place.

[muminlondon]

Agree that Lord Nash is a hypocrite and looks doubly incompetent for having set up for inevitable failure an unqualified teacher as head of his own school, and approved this school without due diligence. Why doesn't he resign?

See latest monitoring inspection for the other free school in special measures. The headteacher (wife of the founding governor and business director) has agreed to resign:

'It is essential that a credible professional is appointed to the headship without delay to provide the expert leadership necessary to remove the school from special measures. ... The school has been unsuccessful in securing an external improvement partner.'

That's another school that should not have been approved in the first place. With many other free schools rated 'Need to improve' the local authority is providing guidance, though it's technically not their responsibility. But not even mention of that here.

[lalalonglegs]

Al-Madinah's Ofsted report has been leaked to the Guardian. It doesn't make pretty reading...

[YouAreMyFavouriteWasteOfTime]

the original H&S reason the school was shut is they has incomplete CRB check records.

the school governors/management seem very interested in releasing statements about how unfairly they are being treated by Ofsted etc. boo hoo for them.

this is a quote from Ofsted:

"Staff have been appointed to key roles for which they do not have qualifications and experience. For example, most of the primary school teachers have not taught before and the head of the primary school is experienced in teaching secondary-aged pupils only," the inspection report says."

[Pliudev]

What I wonder about is the attitude of the parents. I don't suppose anyone involved in this discussion has a child at the school? I'm not suggesting that there aren't many things seriously wrong there but wondering whether parents who chose to send their children to the school might have approved of some of the things that have caused so much debate elsewhere.

[mathanxiety]

And don't forget the little matter of female teachers feeling coerced into wearing head covering.

"This is a school which has been set up and run by representatives of the community with limited knowledge and experience. Leadership and management, including governance, are inadequate and have been unable to improve the school."

The parents have no clue how bad the school is as they themselves have little to compare it with. They may well have approved of some of the more overt elements of Islamic culture that were promoted there. Their aim in sending their children there may have been to keep them uncontaminated by infidel values, and they may not have been all that concerned about children learning next to nothing of practical or western academic value.

[mathanxiety]

I agree with you Nennypops.

This is what happens when the country is run by MPs who live their lives in their own tiny little bubble.

It's going to cost LAs a whopping figure over the next few years as one after another the Free Schools go tits up and thousands of children with huge gaps in their education will need remedial classes.

[mathanxiety]

'Dear Colleagues
Re:
Covering of the hair on school premises
–
The content of the letter has been approved by Lord Nash

Until recently, in keeping with our ethos as a faith based school we believed that it was in the best interests of pupils at Al-Madinah School, their parents and the community and that female members of staff cover their hair. The Trust and the Governing Body now realise how this practice could be interpreted and perceived as treating female members of staff less favourably than male members of staff and impacting on the right to freedom of religious and cultural expression. The Trust and the Governing Body would like to make it clear that this was never the intention and would like to apologise for any situation where staff felt discriminated against on cultural, religious or gender grounds.

With immediate effect the Trust and the Governing Body is notifying all employees of a change in policy, that female employees at Al-Madinah School are not required to cover their hair on school premises. This change is in keeping with provisions around gender equality, the right to freedom of religious expression and the right to work outlined in the Equality Act 2010 and will be reflected in the new Staff Handbook which will be published and distributed to all staff on November 1st 2013.

Furthermore, alongside all other School Policies the new Staff Handbook will clearly outline and explain our Internal Complaints Procedure through which staff may seek to remedy situations in
which they feel discriminated against and or subject to less favourable/unfair treatment. The Trust and Governing Body endeavours to treat all pupils and staff equitably and fairly, and will not tolerate any form of discrimination, or any infringements of Equality Act 2010 Legislation (including on the basis of religion).

We are committed to eliminating discrimination and advancing equality of opportunity and fostering good relations between those sharing protected characteristics and those who do not share such
characteristics' (blah blah)

From almadinahschool.org.uk/files/StaffLetter-LordNash.pdf

almadinahschool.org.uk/files/ParentLetter-LordNash.pdf

Obv there has been a little misunderstanding on this score...


The statement under the heading 'Welcome to Al-Madinah School' (on the school website) makes it abundantly clear that the leadership of the school had only thought in detail about one aspect of what the school was all about -- resisting western influence:
'One of Al-Madinah Schools’ strong characters is the schools [sic] extended services program in which pupils will learn independence, self-control, social skills and community conscientiousness. These skills are vital if our pupils are to become self-regulating teenagers and adults...
...One of Al-Madinah Schools’ distinct features is the offering of an Islamic Studies program, which will include Quran reading with pronunciations (Tajweed), translation of the Quran (Tafseer) and Quran memorisation (Hifz). We will also teach Islamic Jurisprudence (Fiqh), biography (Seerah) of the Prophet Mohammed (SAW), History of Islam, the Oneness of God (Tauheed) and Islamic Beliefs (Aqeedah). Daily prayers and weekly religious assemblies will also take place at the School. The Islamic studies program will have an ‘opt-out’ choice for parents who do not want their child(ren) to be part of it.'

The rest of the paragraphs contain a load of vague waffling about achievement.