The first opportunity for teachers to challenge the claims came when hearings against them for professional misconduct brought by the NCTL were begun in September 2015 over a year after the story about the affair first broke. They built a wooden horse, which they left outside the city. [37], The controversy started with a disclosure by a former teacher from Park View School,[38] who was later named as Michael White. [17], Ofsted chief Sir Michael Wilshaw accused Birmingham City Council of a "serious failure" in supporting schools in protecting children from extremism. [5], Ofsted expressed concerns about an exclusively Muslim culture in non-faith schools and children not being taught to "develop tolerant attitudes towards other faiths". Her credibility was called into question by the NCTL Panel when discontinuing the case. The study of French was replaced by Arabic. [85] It was alleged by teachers that the governors sought to hire the Trojan Horse "ringleader" Tahir Alam and model the school on his Park View School in Birmingham. [41] Concerns have also been raised by the National Association of Head Teachers about schools in parts of East London and other "large cities around the country". At the heart of the affair Four teacher assistants were suing the school for unfair dismissal after being forced out of the school with fake resignation letters signed in their names. In 2017, the academic scholars Therese O'Toole and John Holmwood, who served as an expert witness in the professional misconduct cases, described the Trojan Horse affair as a "false narrative" spread by a hostile British press which led to "a serious miscarriage of justice" against the teachers, drawing comparisons to the Hillsborough affair. This led the Panel to conclude that the matter had not been a misunderstanding, but that the transcripts were "deliberately withheld from disclosure". [35][36] However, both the Kershaw Report and the Clarke Report organised their inquiries in terms of the 5-step plan described in the letter and following the publication of their reports, Birmingham City's education commissioner Sir Mike Tomlinson stated his belief that what the letter described was happening "without a shadow of doubt". [29] The letter was alleged to have been written from Birmingham and sent to a contact in Bradford to expand the operation into that city. Faraz replied by saying that the new head "has to establish herself with minimum controversy for first six months", also referring to starting an eventual "Islamising agenda", but at the same time ensuring that the new head does not become a "coconut" in the process. [citation needed], During the inspection at Laisterdyke Business and Enterprise College in Bradford, a mainly Muslim secondary school,[85] pupils were forced to revise for their GCSE exams outside in the street as staff did not want them to have an opportunity to speak to inspectors. [7][8] This document provided guidance about the religious needs and practices of Muslim parents and pupils that would facilitate their integration into schools. [88] This showed that most schools conflated the two and did not have teachers trained in the Prevent duty. Trojan Horsewalkers' Team | Conditioning horses since 1961 Products Lead Walkers Free Flow Exerciser Rebuilt Kit FAQ Price Quote About Us Contact Us 855-265-4222 Products Lead [107], In June 2014, there was a highly public argument between the Home Office and Department for Education ministers about the responsibility for the alleged extremism. WebThe Trojan Horse is one of historys most famous tricks. Andrew Gilligan of The Daily Telegraph wrote extensively on the episode. The books contained fundamentalist views and promoted executions, stoning and lashing as appropriate punishments. [2], The hearings dramatically came back into media attention in October 2016 after one of the hearings that had concluded with guilty verdicts against two teachers went to the High Court on appeal. [60], It was alleged that the sexes were segregated in the classrooms and boys and girls suspected of being too friendly towards each other were disciplined. Jaimie Martin, former special adviser at the Department for Education, wrote that "it is important to note as [the teachers] were not tried for the charges, they were therefore not cleared of them", and that "people who downplay the seriousness of Trojan Horse, claiming those involved exhibited 'mainstream' Islamic views, are guilty not only of stunning naivety, but of a dangerous error". He noted that in Tower Hamlets, a borough in which 32 per cent of the population is Bangladeshi, the Tower Hamlets First Party, of which the Mayor was a member, had 18 councillors who were all Bangladeshi, and 17 of them were men. A sixth school was labelled inadequate for its poor educational standards and twelve schools were found needing of improvements. Park View was more compliant than would be the case for other schools. [5][80] Inspectors found that no humanities, arts or music was taught in Year 6 and only "limited" teaching of these subjects in Year 5. Servant Leader and faithful optimist of delivering an exceptional partnership product experience. The New York Times podcast "The Trojan Horse Affair" uncovered this secret document that disproves one of the central allegations of the Trojan Horse letter, that there was a conspiracy against the headteacher of Adderley primary school. [4], The investigation found that at Anderton Park Primary School, after a white child joined the school, a Muslim parent instructed staff: "get a white chair and white desk and put the white kid in a white corner with a white teacher and keep him away from the others. "[92], The report concluded that based on the examination of emails and correspondence: "There is incontrovertible evidence that both senior officials and elected members of Birmingham council were aware of activities that bear a striking resemblance to those described in the Trojan horse letter many months before it surfaced. It is designed to steal, damage, or do some harmful actions on the computer. It also provides useful information and guidance and features of good practice in meeting those needs. [14], Ofsted inspections were undertaken into 21 schools in Birmingham, with the Education Funding Agency (responsible for academy schools) also investigating Park View Education Trust and Oldknow Academy. However, because some of the schools were academies under the responsibility of the Department for Education, the then Secretary of State, Michael Gove, commissioned a separate report by Peter Clarke, the former head of the Metropolitan police's counterterrorism command. It said that "manipulative" governors had been determined to introduce "unacceptable" practices and to deny students a broad and balanced education. [75] The school's curriculum was deemed inadequate because it did not promote tolerance and harmony between different cultural traditions. The educational advisers to the Clarke Report did not set out the guidelines applying to religious education and collective worship in schools and no information was provided about the locally agreed SACRE curriculum which continued to be taught in the schools. Share. [42] The general secretary of the headteachers' union, Russell Hobby, said the union has found "concerted efforts" by hardliners to infiltrate Birmingham schools, and that it was working with 30 of its members in 12 schools and had "serious concerns" about some of them. It described the ideology being promoted as "an intolerant and politicised form of extreme social conservatism that claims to represent and ultimately seeks to control all Muslims. [62] A former staff member said that one teacher had handed out a worksheet stating that women "must obey their husbands", and told his class that wives were forbidden from refusing their husbands sex. [60] Girls claimed to have been discriminated against and said some were sent home from a tennis tournament because their dress was too "revealing". Books available to the children included one which advocated parents hitting children if they did not pray by the age of 10 and another which praised individuals who "loved death more than life in their pursuit of righteous and true religion". [85] The governors of the school were sacked in April because of inappropriate interference in the running of the school. [5] Its leader, Sir Albert Bore, said that the Council accepted the Ofsted findings that schools in the city were failing pupils. [113], Sir Albert Bore, the leader of Birmingham City Council, called the original Trojan Horse letter "defamatory" and "hugely difficult to investigate" and offered protection to the whistleblower if they would come forward to help in the investigation. At Park View, Golden Hillock, Nansen and Oldknow academy, it is alleged that teachers were instructed not to use images in any subject which displayed even slight intimacy between sexes. The Panel had been ready to announce its decision in the case on 23 December 2016, but an urgent application for disclosure, relating, in part, to transcripts associated with the Clarke Report, was made by defence lawyers on 24 November 2016. The decision to discontinue disciplinary proceedings was based on procedural grounds not on a shortage of evidence". Look at how [the] Muslim population is increasing in the UK. [9] The introduction of the document states that the "purpose is to promote greater understanding of the faith, religious and cultural needs of Muslim pupils and how they can be accommodated within schools. "[128] Bhupinder Kondal left the school again shortly after. None of those involved in the Trojan horse affair were criminals in the conventional sense of the word. Texts and images of the girl with a boy, a fellow Year 11 pupil at Park View, were used to justify the girl's suspension weeks before her GCSE exams. He denied all allegations against him.[27]. Book review by Rick Howard Like Zero Day, another Mark Russinovich novel I recently reviewed for the Cybersecurity Canon, Trojan Horse is a book Id recommend for casual readers.Cybersecurity professionals wont learn anything new here, but all readers might enjoy wallowing around in a Tom Clancy-esque story As a result the content may not reflect current Government policy and may make reference to the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) which has now been replaced by the Department for Education (DFE). ^ Cook, Chris (18 July 2014). " 'Trojan Horse' report an unhelpful epitaph for Michael Gove". ", "Trojan Horse row Q&A: What is the 'Muslim plot' all about and why is it so important? [125], An undercover reporter working for the Daily Mirror posed as a wealthy businessman and potential client of the training firm Exquisitus, a firm owned by Shahid Akmal, the chairman of governors at Nansen Primary School. He asked for publication to be delayed pending "clarification". [25] This would be so despite the fact that the previous duty on schools to promote community cohesion had included an emphasis on 'shared values' which were exactly the same values espoused in the new duty. There was evidence from officials at the Department for Education responsible for managing the incorporation of schools into PVET, as well as initiating a memorandum of agreement between PVET and Oldknow (paragraph 123). This affected the teaching of English, Art, Religious Education and Personal, Social and Health Education. The art curriculum was altered to "remove full faces or immodest images, such as paintings by Gustav Klimt". The previous trustees of the academy having been replaced, she withdrew her resignation and returned to her post on 19August 2014. The inspection said that "too little is done to keep students safe from the risks associated with extremist views". [106], Salma Yaqoob, a former Birmingham City Councillor and prominent Muslim spokesperson, began a group named "Hands Off Birmingham Schools" in the aftermath of the inspections, saying that they were influenced by "a climate of political and media hysteria". At paragraph 37 of his judgement, he writes that. The Trojan Horse Affair presents a one-sided account that minimises child protection concerns, misogyny and homophobia in order to exonerate the podcasts hero, a Responsibility for determinations for academy schools passed to the Department for Education, but they put in place no measures for renewing determinations. [101] Khalid Mahmood, the Labour MP for Perry Barr, said that the City Council may have known of previous plots, but not acted due to fears of being seen as anti-Islamic. While this kit can be [105], The Labour MP for Poplar and Limehouse, Jim Fitzpatrick, warned of a 'Trojan Horse'-style Islamist plot to infiltrate councils in London. [66], On 9 June 2014, Lord Nash, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for schools, wrote to Tahir Alam concerning the OFSTED and EFA reports and outlined the actions required by the school.[67]. [34] The Guardian and The Independent both stated that the letter is "widely regarded as a fake". He said the government would be terminating its funding arrangement with three of the schools. [126], Akmal said that jailing gay people and adulterers was a "moral position to hold" and that they should be exiled from the community. Creationism was taught as fact in school assemblies and science lessons at both Park View and Golden Hillock. [79] For three years running non-Muslim pupils and staff were excluded from these trips. It was entitled Towards Greater Understanding: Meeting the Needs of Muslim Pupils in State Schools. [93] The report said that the extremism went unchallenged as the council prioritised community cohesion over "doing what is right". Media reporting expressed alarm that the transcripts were those of 'whistleblowers' who had provided statements under terms of confidentiality.[132]. The rush to set up the hearings in July and August 2015 (prior to the Conservative Party conference in September) provided little time for the preparation of the case for the defence prior to the start of the hearings in contrast to the long-drawn-out nature of the proceedings once they had started. Mr Kershaw stated that the council had been "slow to respond" to allegations in the letter and said there was "culture within of not wanting to address difficult issues and problems with school governance" for risk of incurring accusations of racism or Islamophobia. A detailed discussion of the evidence presented in the NCTL case is provided in chapter 9 of John Holmwood and Therese O'Toole's book on the Trojan Horse affair. [122] The Guardian also analysed Michael Gove's book on combatting Islamist terror, Celsius 7/7, pointing out that a chapter is titled "The Trojan Horse". [72][73][74], Ofsted found that a small group of governors were "endeavouring to promote a particular and narrow faith-based ideology in what is a maintained and non-faith academy". This had been initiated by Sir Tim Brighouse, who had been Chief Education Officer in Birmingham between 1993 and 2002, and was highly critical of the 2014 Ofsted reports and the subsequent inquiries. He said that "the Trojan Horse in east London was a political one rather than an educational one" and spoke of racial politics taking hold. However, she admitted that senior staff had warned her not to let pupils dance to pop or Bollywood music. [3][4] This reflects the views of the neo-conservative Henry Jackson Society and included the description of a document intended to provide guidance about the needs of Muslim pupils in state schools as a "blueprint for Islamisation". He said "man-made" British laws were "very confusing", unlike those "given by God", which were fair. It appears that this wording troubled the Head of the Department for Education's Due Diligence and Counter Extremism Group, Hardip Begol. The latter piece concluded that in the present system, the schools investigated could have registered themselves as faith schools and been allowed to teach Islamic values with permission from the state. [32] This audit report was later reportedly retracted by the council following the Trojan Horse letter, and has never been published. Ofsted found that the curriculum was being narrowed to reflect the "personal views of a few governors". 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