A former parent-governor accused of being involved in a “Trojan horse” plot to radicalise a primary school in Oldham says he was merely concerned about low standards and has been vindicated by a report placing the school in special measures.
The Ofsted report brands Clarksfield primary as inadequate in all areas, saying it provides pupils with a “dismal start to school life”. Nasim Ashraf said he and his wife were accused of being at the centre of the conspiracy after they raised concerns about teaching and safeguarding issues.
In documents leaked to the Sunday Times in February, the school’s headteacher, Trish O’Donnell, who is on long-term sick leave, complained she was being subjected to “harassment and intimidation” in the form of “aggressive verbal abuse” from people allegedly pushing conservative Muslim values.
She said she had “very strong reasons to believe that ... a Trojan horse agenda [was] being played out” in order to force her to quit. The headteachers’ union, NAHT, backed her claims, saying there were a “variety of apparent Trojan horse issues” in the Oldham area.
However, the documents stated that while council officers believed Ashraf and his wife Hafizan Zaman were trying to undermine the headteacher, there was no evidence of a Trojan-horse-style plot. They added that Ashraf was not an extremist and “not part of any wider conspiracy”. A later investigation by the Department for Education also concluded there was no evidence of an extremist plot.
Speaking to the Guardian, Ashraf said the allegations had been made against him because he had raised concerns about low standards at the school, which had been picked up by Ofsted.
“We raised concerns about attainment, safeguarding, teacher training, senior leadership, and the school not having the right narrative and ethos,” said Ashraf. “Ofsted has found the school inadequate in all areas ... We feel like we have been completely cleared of all wrongdoing.”
Ofsted found that the school’s expectations for its pupils were too low, that some members of staff were poorly trained and could not speak English properly, and that the school governors were not holding the management to account because they were preoccupied with deciding who the next chair should be.
Following disputes with the school’s leadership, the couple moved their two sons to a Church of England school, which they say they are very happy with.
“The Trojan horse allegation is the only one that is going to attract the kind of attention that was needed to hide the leadership’s shortcomings,” he said. “That’s the only [allegation] that would ring the right bells in order for counter-terrorism and everybody else to take it seriously.”
The term Trojan horse comes from an anonymous letter sent to Birmingham city council in March 2014 which alleged a plot by conservative Muslim groups to take over some of the city’s schools. Inquiries found no evidence of violent extremism, but raised concerns about school governance.
The Oldham councillor Amanda Chadderton, cabinet member for education and early years, said the local authority and the Department for Education had found no evidence to support the allegations that there was “a so-called Trojan horse plot at the school”.
“We took action and installed an interim executive board [IEB] at the school in February because we had very clear concerns about governance,” she said. “This Ofsted report backs those concerns and shows we were right to take this course of action.
“The Ofsted report was unacceptable and we would like to assure parents and the community that we are working with the school and the IEB to address the issues identified.
“Ofsted has acknowledged improvements have been made and we are now offering support to the staff and school so pupils get the best education possible, as that is our priority. It is now time to put these allegations behind us and all work together so the school can come out of special measures as soon as possible.”