Birmingham rejects Ofsted declare of no longer safeguarding children from extremism

Officials in Birmingham have rejected claims with the aid of the official schools’ watchdog that they have got done too little to protect youngsters from extremism following the “Computer virus” scandal.

Sir Michael Wilshaw had said Ofsted’s work to defend youngsters from extremism could be a “waste of time” if the nearby government did know not to enhance the tracking of pupils in England who depart mainstream training. The Ofsted head singled out Birmingham, Luton and Bradford as areas of “subject” as he warned that missing scholars could be at risk of exposure to extremism.

He said headteachers felt unsupported using local government in the one’s areas, and gave an example in Birmingham, wherein he stated extra than 250 kids were eliminated from a council sign in without being located. The testimonies you want to examine, in a single handy email study extra. His remarks came after he wrote to the schooling secretary, Nicky Morgan, to raise the issue, years after the “Trojan horse” scandal in the metropolis.

Birmingham city councillor Brigid Jones, the cabinet member for kids, families and schools, said: “Given that no one from the political management has been interviewed in an Ofsted inspection when you consider that 2014, and that it has modified pretty appreciably considering then, we located the comments in Sir Michael’s letter to be a surprise. Our doors are usually open ought to Ofsted wish to talk to us about their issues immediately.”

She brought: “We have 800 devoted social people, and a, also, committed a wider group of professionals who assist and paintings alongside them. They deserve popularity and credit for all they’ve done up to now within the improvement journey. In phrases of the lead inspector’s remarks on colleges in Birmingham, we word what’s being said however contend they don’t absolutely reflect the remarks that we acquire from instructors, our schooling commissioner and the advantageous views of different authorities departments on our paintings on extremism.”

Wilshaw informed the BBC on Friday: “Our difficulty at Ofsted, my problem as chief inspector, is these [missing] youngsters may be in unregistered colleges, they can be in unlawful faculties, they can be vulnerable to all varieties of effects together with radical and extremist mind. We want to recognize in which those kids are.
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“It’s not possible – this is the responsibility of a neighbourhood authority. They have got, enshrined in statute, safeguarding responsibilities for all children regardless of which organization they go to.

“They should devote sources to this and tune this. Otherwise, all of the paintings we do to get colleges to promote British values, all the paintings Ofsted does to make sure children’s safeguarding could be a piece of a waste of time if there are sizable numbers of youngsters which are outdoor mainstream provision.”

In a newly posted letter, Wilshaw said he had continuing issues about the performance of Birmingham city council and its capability to shield and make sure the protection of its children. In 2014, the metropolis discovered itself on the centre of the “Worm” controversy, which focused on an alleged move with the aid of a small organization of hardline Muslims to seize manipulate of a small wide variety of the town’s colleges. The allegations sparked investigations using several organizations inclusive of the Department for Education and Ofsted.

Wilshaw’s letter to Morgan stated it changed into two years considering that he wrote to her predecessor Michael Gove in which he warned that Birmingham town council had failed in its obligation to assist colleges in preserving scholars safe from the potential dangers of radicalisation and extremism. The warning observed inspections of 21 nation colleges inside the metropolis.