Probe into charity that runs city Muslim school
Ofsted previously feared pupils were at risk of radicalisation
AN inquiry has been launched into a controversial charity running a Birmingham school where pupils were once said to be at risk of radicalisation.
The Albayan Education Foundation Limited (AEFL) operates Birmingham Muslim School in Small Heath, while also carrying out relief work overseas and in the UK.
Current headteacher Janet Laws – also known as Aisha Abdrabba – is listed as a director of the charity.
Back in April 2017, Ofsted warned that the school’s pupils were at potential risk of radicalisation because of safeguarding failings.
The school was also linked by Ofsted to Ms Laws’ 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 US sanctions list.
Now the Charity Commission has launched an inquiry into AEFL after the Foundation failed to report a ‘serious incident’.
The commission said that the statutory inquiry was opened on December 13, adding: “The charity, whose objects include the advancement of education and the relief of individuals living in the UK and overseas who are in need or hardship, also runs a school in Birmingham.
“That school has been issued with a number of critical reports by Ofsted, and statutory notices by the Department for Education.
“None of these issues triggered the trustees to report a serious incident to the commission, as would have been expected under our serious incident reporting regime.
“The regulator has
previously engaged with the charity, issuing an action plan to the charity’s trustees aimed at improving the governance, management and administration of the charity
“However, the trustees have failed to implement the action plan fully, leading the commission to have serious concerns about the ongoing viability of the charity.
“As a result, the commission has opened an inquiry which will examine the governance, management and administration of the charity by its trustees.”
Ofsted had previously highlighted a ‘weak culture of safeguarding’ at the school, including a lack of alertness by staff to ‘the risks of pupils being radicalised’. Inspectors said: “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.”
At that time of the 2017 inspection, Ms Laws had told inspectors that the AEFL was the proprietor of the school. This was also stated on the school’s website at the time.
But Ofsted said the charity was not registered as the owner of the school, and claimed that her husband, Ghoma Abdrabba, was named as proprietor with the Department for Education database of schools. Ofsted also claimed the school was not fully preparing some of the children for parts of the British way of life.
“They learn about other religions,” said the watchdog. “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.”
The Birmingham Muslim School called the Ofsted allegations ‘unfounded’ at the time and said it was giving ‘serious consideration’ to the inspectors’ report.
The Post contacted the school about the Charity Commission inquiry, but no response had been received at the time of going to press.