A former head teacher of a UK school has been indefinitely banned from teaching following a finding of professional misconduct by a National College for Teaching and Leadership panel (the Panel). Jahangir Akbar (Mr A) was the acting head teacher of Oldknow Academy, one of the schools implicated in the ‘Trojan horse’ scandal in which several schools in Birmingham were accused of attempting to implement an aggressive Islamic agenda. Mr A was the first teacher to be sanctioned based on his actions at the school.

‘Trojan horse’ schools

The ‘Trojan horse’ affair began in early 2014, when an anonymous letter was sent to Birmingham Council alleging a plot to impose a radical Islamic agenda on a number of schools. Although all schools named in the letter were government schools, the UK system includes different classifications of government schools, such as an academy. Academies are given a greater amount of freedom than other government schools, although they remain accountable to the Secretary of State for Education. The schools in question include academies and traditional government schools. These schools, similar to non-government schools, each had a board of governors which were responsible for the oversight of the school.

This letter was passed on to law enforcement officials and to the Department for Education, and was then leaked to the media. Five schools were then found to be ‘inadequate’ by the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted), the government body responsible for rating schools based on factors such as their academic performance, leadership and student support. Interim executive councils were introduced in these schools and special measures ordered based on findings that included examples of staff intimidation and a GBP 50,000 (AUD $100,000) school trip to Saudi Arabia, the Guardian reports. The governors of one school resigned in protest against the handling of the matter by the government.

Government inquiry

The scandal led to a government inquiry led by Peter Clarke, a former head of a police counterterrorism unit. The Report into allegations concerning Birmingham schools arising from the ‘Trojan Horse’ letter (Report) found that the schools would have “confine(d) school children within an intolerant, inward-looking monoculture that would severely inhibit their participation in the life of modern Britain”. The Report found evidence of anti-Western and antisemitic language, intolerance of difference and a perception of a worldwide conspiracy against Islam. Among the findings of the report, the following practices were found to have occurred in the schools in question:

• inappropriate recruitment and promotion procedures for favoured staff, including nepotism;
• bullying and intimidation of senior staff, in particular head teachers;
• financial mismanagement;
• racism;
• intolerance;
• integration of religious worship into school life; and
• interference by the governing body in the curriculum and the day-to-day running of the school.

Professional misconduct

Following a December hearing, the Panel published their decision regarding Mr A’s conduct and found that his actions tended to undermine tolerance for different religions within the school. It was also found that he acted inappropriately and shouted at a parent. Mr A was also found to have blamed the bullying of a child on their parent’s decision to speak to the press about concerns with the school as opposed to attributing the responsibility to the pupils who had bullied the child. There were also instances where Mr A placed pressure on members of staff to sign off on unauthorised payments. Mr A also allowed parents to enter school grounds without adhering to proper procedures. Parents were supposed to either sign in and out or obtain a Disclosure and Barring Service check (the UK equivalent to a Working With Children Check) when entering school premises, a practice that was not followed by members of the Parent’s Association despite concerns being raised by other members of staff.

There was also evidence that Mr A threatened members of staff with disciplinary action after the Education Funding Agency (EFA) was sent invoices. It was noted that the EFA is an external authority, and that threats of disciplinary action for making reports to this body were inappropriate.

As a result of these findings, Mr A’s conduct was held to have breached professional standards. As this breach was significant, it amounted to unacceptable professional conduct and conduct that may bring the profession into disrepute. He has been given an indefinite prohibition on teaching, but due to his inexperience at the time that the conduct occurred, he has been given the opportunity to reapply to the Panel in five years’ time.

The Guardian reports that disciplinary hearings for other members of staff are ongoing.

Lessons for Australian schools

The ‘Trojan horse’ scandal should serve as a reminder of the importance of robust governance policies within schools. Although the role of Islamic conservatism was widely focused on in the press, it is important to note that there were widespread issues with governance within these schools that were a result of insufficient or ineffective policies. The tension within the leadership team and the failure for the board to work effectively with the executive team led to the creation of an environment where improper conduct was allowed to occur without consequence. There were also examples of fiscal mismanagement, improper employment practices and a failure to implement proper procedures to ensure student safety. The key issue at hand is not the religious beliefs of the governors of the schools in question, but the failure to implement procedures that would ensure that they were not permitted to improperly influence the decision making processes within the school

A key lack of understanding was highlighted by the June 2014 Ofsted report, which stated that “neither leaders nor governors have an accurate view of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. As a result, they are unable to plan and deliver work to improve the school”.

The subsequent media storm surrounding these schools also demonstrates the risks associated with poor governance. The reputational damage suffered by some of the schools is so severe that they have had to rename themselves to avoid the stigma associated with the ‘Trojan horse’ letter. Many non-government schools rely on their reputation for attracting and maintaining enrolments. Although the schools in question were government schools, this case shows how misconduct within schools can lead to significant negative attention from the press and serious consequences for the ongoing viability of the school.