The former head of Ofsted has lambasted the “incompetence” of the body that recruits and disciplines teachers, the National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL), after the collapse of cases against the ringleaders of the “Trojan Horse” plot.
Speaking after misconduct cases against five former Birmingham school leaders were thrown out last week, Sir Michael Wilshaw said: “NCTL has always been and still is incompetent. The good work by Ofsted has been wasted and the safeguarding of children in Birmingham and beyond has been put in jeopardy.”
The five included Monzoor Hussain, former head of Park View, the school at the centre of the plot, and Razwan Faraz, former deputy head of Nansen, a linked school. They were accused of imposing an “intolerant and aggressive Islamic ethos” on secular state schools in Birmingham.
A lawyer for Hussain said that he and the others had “nothing to hide” and had “looked forward to demonstrating that their approach had been mainstream educational practice for years”.
However, newly disclosed secret messages involving Hussain, Faraz and other teachers, sent while they were in charge, appear to contradict these claims.
The messages, from an online staff discussion group, show that Faraz shared a video of a jihadist ideologue and attacked the “crooked, debased” effects of the “Eurocentric education system”.
Faraz also took part in a discussion about imposing “additional segregation” on boys and girls. Teachers in the group shared pictures, including an image of a toilet roll bearing the Star of David.
The Department for Education, which funds the NCTL, said it was examining whether processes had been properly followed.