Guilty, Islamic couple with dozens of pupils at illegal faith school
... but landmark case ends with mere £1,000 fine
A COUPLE have been convicted of running an illegal Islamic school in the first case of its kind following a crackdown by Ofsted.
Nacerdine Talbi, 46, and his wife Beatrix Bernhardt, 38, taught dozens of pupils in a dilapidated building by a dual carriageway without telling the authorities.
Images from the school’s website feature a child’s homework stating that only ‘Muslims and animals’ were saved in Noah’s Ark, and lesson plans uncovered by investigators showed Thursdays and Fridays were dedicated solely to learning Arabic.
The Al-Istiqamah Learning Centre in Southall, west London, had tried to bypass regulations by claiming to be merely a support centre for home schooling.
But Ofsted inspectors found it was running a full timetable of lessons, meaning it should have registered with the Government so it could be inspected.
The couple were ordered to pay almost £1,000 including fines and costs. Bernhardt was fined £400 with £85 costs, Talbi was fined £300 with £85 costs, and the school was fined £100.
But Chris McGovern, of the Campaign for Real Education, said: ‘£1,000 in fines and costs is not a disincentive to running an illegal school. If anything it is an incentive – £1,000 is the maximum fine for forgetting to tax your car.
‘Setting up an illegal school for dozens of children is so much more serious than a motoring offence. The penalty brings into disrepute the legal system and it should be much more severe.’
Yesterday’s landmark case paves the way for dozens more prosecutions as Ofsted is already preparing a string of cases against other illegal schools.
The crackdown was launched over fears ideological groups have set up secret schools where pupils are taught extremist views and left vulnerable to radicalisation.
While Ofsted said there were no concerns about extremist teaching at Al-Istiqamah, it noted other issues such as the poor condition of the building.
Speaking after the case yesterday, chief schools inspector Amanda Spielman said: ‘I am glad the courts have recognised our serious concerns about unregistered schools.
‘These schools deny children a proper education and leave them at risk of harm and, in some instances, radicalisation.
‘We hope that today’s judgment sends out a message to all those running such schools that they will face justice.’
A photograph on the school’s website, which did not form part of the case, shows a child’s homework which has been ticked and marked with a ‘well done’ stamp.
It asks the child about the story of Noah’s Ark, which features in the Koran as well as in the Bible because Noah – or ‘Nuh’ – is a prophet in Islam. In answer to ‘Why did Allah punish the people?’, the child wrote: ‘They disbelieved.’ Meanwhile, the answer to ‘ Who and what were saved?’ is ‘Muslims and animals’. Another photograph from inside the school showed a misspelt wall chart purporting to show how rain is formed.
Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard earlier this week that inspectors visited the school twice last year and found more than 50 children aged five to 11 in classes.
They studied for five mornings a week – some clocking up 25 hours in that time – and were set homework every night.
Bernhardt denied being the ‘headmistress’ and explained that the business grew from the joint efforts of a group of home-schooling mothers. The mother- of- six insisted the centre did not need to be registered because pupils were present for less than 18 hours a week. Charges were up to £2,500 for a 38-week course. But rejecting the couple’s defence yesterday, the chief magistrate, senior district judge Emma Arbuthnot, said the pair did ‘their dishonest best’ to deny the allegations but she had ‘no doubt’ they were true. Talbi and Bernhardt were both convicted of running an unregistered independent educational institution. They were both given a community order with a curfew requirement. The pair are now voluntarily shutting the school. Lord Agnew, minister for the school system, said: ‘We have always been clear that where schools are operating illegally action will be taken, and this decision is evidence of that.’
‘Denying children a proper education’