Stick to the day job, Ofsted – and drop this power grab. You don’t need it to stop Islamist extremists

Mar 3, 2018 by Jill

by Alistair Thompson, Conservative Home:

[…] On reading the detail of these latest proposals, it becomes clear that Ofsted’s plans aren’t limited to the tiny number of madrasas that allegedly ferment hate: rather, they would apply to other faith groups, Sunday Schools, choirs, bell ringers and well beyond.

Indeed, the breadth of this power grab is so wide that it could potentially extend to almost every organised activity that a young person might engage in, including sports such as cricket and football; amazing organisations like the Scouts and the Guides and even the armed forces – the TA, Royal Naval Reserves and cadets.

Setting aside the farcical prospect of Ofsted trying to judge whether a “British Values” complaint about how to bowl a googly, or ring a church bell, might have merit, why should such organisations be subjected to this level or intrusion and unwarranted scrutiny?

Furthermore, the Education Department has made significant strides in closing down unregistered schools, thanks to a dedicated team of inspectors working on this problem. Between January 2016 and the middle of 2017, 38 unregistered schools were identified by the agency. Thirty-four were shut down, while the remaining four were in the process of being wound up by the courts.

I hope that Damian Hinds will reject these latest calls from Ofsted, and instead order it to focus on what it was set up to do – inspect schools, provide information to parents and to promote improvement and to hold schools to account. Perhaps then it might not repeat the catalogue of mistakes made in recent years, from the Trojan Horse Schools scandal to failing to identify real safeguarding issues.

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