0:00:04 > 0:00:10This mass terrorism is the new evil in our world today.
0:00:10 > 0:00:14We'll smoke them out of thehr holes and get them running.
0:00:14 > 0:00:18Muslims here say they are bding branded as extremists.
0:00:18 > 0:00:19Often, we're under attack.
0:00:19 > 0:00:24We're feeling marginalised.
0:00:24 > 0:00:26Looks like an explosion.
0:00:26 > 0:00:31A callous attack on purely hnnocent members of the public.
0:00:31 > 0:00:33The EDL says its members ard simply voicing their opposition
0:00:34 > 0:00:36to Muslim extremism.
0:00:36 > 0:00:39I was born here and I am as much British as any other white person
0:00:39 > 0:00:44that lives in this country.
0:00:57 > 0:01:03The process behind Trojan Horses is simple.
0:01:03 > 0:01:05Step one, identify schools that are based in Muslim areas.
0:01:05 > 0:01:11Step two, select a group of parents.
0:01:11 > 0:01:15Step three, put your own Governor in.
0:01:15 > 0:01:20Step four, identify key staff to disrupt the school from within.
0:01:20 > 0:01:22And step five, anonymous letter and PR campaign.
0:01:24 > 0:01:27Those were the steps that were followed at my school.
0:01:27 > 0:01:32There is the agenda.
0:01:32 > 0:01:42The problem of Islamist extremism in our schools is serious.
0:01:44 > 0:01:46The Trojan Horse... Everyone now knows it was a hoax.
0:01:46 > 0:01:48This was done as part of a witchhunt.
0:01:48 > 0:01:53My reaction was that they did not uncover a lot.
0:02:02 > 0:02:04Got about 20 minutes, 25 minutes to think about all
0:02:04 > 0:02:07the successes that have happened this week in school
0:02:07 > 0:02:13and who we want to say well done to.
0:02:13 > 0:02:16We have 739 children on roll currently.
0:02:16 > 0:02:20And, at the moment, about 92% of those children are Muslil.
0:02:20 > 0:02:23Most of those children have Pakistani heritage,
0:02:23 > 0:02:29some Bangladeshi, a few Somalian and a few Yemeni.
0:02:29 > 0:02:31I think any head teacher is concerned about any kind
0:02:31 > 0:02:33of extremism, because you c`n have extremism, extreme views,
0:02:33 > 0:02:37extreme behaviour in any school in this country.
0:02:37 > 0:02:40It is not confined to certahn areas of the country at all.
0:02:45 > 0:02:49I joined Park View in 1983 and my role was head of mathematics.
0:02:49 > 0:02:55The culture of the children was important.
0:02:56 > 0:02:59But you should not allow ond culture to dominate over another culture.
0:02:59 > 0:03:04Things started to change in '97
0:03:04 > 0:03:10We had a meeting of the full governing body, and the chahr
0:03:10 > 0:03:14was challenged by a governor with the words of,
0:03:14 > 0:03:17what are you doing sitting there?
0:03:17 > 0:03:19You have no right to be Chair of Governors.
0:03:19 > 0:03:21And immediately following that, Tahir Alam became
0:03:21 > 0:03:28Chair of Governors.
0:03:28 > 0:03:30And that was a very, very significant change
0:03:30 > 0:03:32to the school's ethos.
0:03:32 > 0:03:33He is a capable person.
0:03:33 > 0:03:37I think he is a reasonable person.
0:03:37 > 0:03:42I think he is also an assertive person.
0:03:42 > 0:03:45We came to this country in 0978 and I remember discussions
0:03:45 > 0:03:51with my father as to why we came here in the first place.
0:03:51 > 0:03:54And his primary reasons were that we should receive
0:03:54 > 0:03:56education in this country.
0:03:56 > 0:04:00So, that has always stayed with me.
0:04:00 > 0:04:02We settled in Alum Rock in Birmingham.
0:04:02 > 0:04:06Average family from Pakistan.
0:04:06 > 0:04:08Not particularly religious.
0:04:08 > 0:04:10I went to Park View School.
0:04:10 > 0:04:16I did experience racism in the school.
0:04:16 > 0:04:17I was called "Park", "curry-smelling Park",
0:04:17 > 0:04:23"smelly Park".
0:04:23 > 0:04:25I was also beaten up by a ntmber...
0:04:25 > 0:04:29I was beaten up four times in racist attacks as well.
0:04:29 > 0:04:31And in 1993, I saw a progralme that resonated quite
0:04:31 > 0:04:41importantly in my mind.
0:04:43 > 0:04:45Britain's new underclass is Asian and Muslim.
0:04:45 > 0:04:47A once tightly-knit community is now in crisis, with drug
0:04:47 > 0:04:49abuse, crime and family breakdown on the increase.
0:04:49 > 0:04:52What they were saying was that, you know, if the education failure
0:04:52 > 0:04:54continues at the rate and scale it is continuing at,
0:04:54 > 0:05:04we will have a serious underclass, a Muslim underclass.
0:05:07 > 0:05:10There is little doubt that Luslim children have suffered from low
0:05:10 > 0:05:11teacher expectations.
0:05:11 > 0:05:13All these children, year in, year out, are systematicallx
0:05:13 > 0:05:15failing and nobody is doing anything about it.
0:05:15 > 0:05:18It was an important moment because I did decide at the time
0:05:18 > 0:05:28that I wanted to make a difference in education.
0:05:37 > 0:05:384% of children got A-C gradds.
0:05:38 > 0:05:40The school was in chaos, quite frankly.
0:05:40 > 0:05:42It was not providing an education at all.
0:05:42 > 0:05:50At the time, I did not even think about the faith, to be
0:05:50 > 0:05:51very frank with you.
0:05:51 > 0:05:53I think that confident children do well in education.
0:05:53 > 0:05:56And whatever builds the confidence of the children and being
0:05:56 > 0:06:00comfortable in their own skin is important.
0:06:00 > 0:06:0299% of children were from this particular background.
0:06:02 > 0:06:04I think it is important for schools to value
0:06:04 > 0:06:05and respect those backgrounds.
0:06:05 > 0:06:08It would mean that, for exalple you know, that we would not show
0:06:08 > 0:06:11very explicit videos about sex education but it would be t`ught
0:06:11 > 0:06:18in a more kind of...
0:06:18 > 0:06:20We applied for the collective worship to be Islamic,
0:06:20 > 0:06:21reflecting the family background of the children.
0:06:21 > 0:06:24They were trying to change the ethos of the school from one
0:06:24 > 0:06:27of being a British school in England, preparing British
0:06:27 > 0:06:29students for working within Britain and the wider world,
0:06:29 > 0:06:39to a more insular community.
0:06:39 > 0:06:43The council knew what was going on and they did nothing.
0:06:50 > 0:06:52I am a first-generation Sikh.
0:06:52 > 0:06:53My father came here.
0:06:53 > 0:06:59He was a professional teachdr back in India.
0:06:59 > 0:07:00He knew the power of educathon.
0:07:00 > 0:07:08He instilled that into us very early.
0:07:08 > 0:07:10I was brought up in a multicultural area of Coventry, inner-citx.
0:07:10 > 0:07:12So, black faces, white faces, brown faces...
0:07:12 > 0:07:22There was no tension, only great memories.
0:07:26 > 0:07:27My first headship was Saltldy School.
0:07:27 > 0:07:3095% of the ethnic make-up was from a Muslim background.
0:07:30 > 0:07:33My job was to help get them and raise them to a point
0:07:33 > 0:07:35where they could be successful members of -
0:07:35 > 0:07:42and contribute to - society in Britain.
0:07:42 > 0:07:45When I look back, what was going on was a calculated agenda to put
0:07:45 > 0:07:49through an Islamic focus in schools and to remove head teachers like me
0:07:49 > 0:07:59who would not conform to those agendas.
0:08:00 > 0:08:02The process behind Trojan Horse is simple.
0:08:02 > 0:08:04It is about people seeing otr intentions as respectable
0:08:04 > 0:08:07and being accepted by the kdy stakeholders, such as the dhrector
0:08:07 > 0:08:09of education and the City Council.
0:08:09 > 0:08:14Is that a fair description of actually what happened?
0:08:14 > 0:08:21It is.
0:08:21 > 0:08:23But I would not limit it to the director of education
0:08:23 > 0:08:25and the City Council.
0:08:25 > 0:08:33Ofsted gave an "outstanding" label to the schools here.
0:08:33 > 0:08:36Ministers and the Prime Minhster gave "outstanding" labels to those
0:08:36 > 0:08:37schools and feted them with praise.
0:08:37 > 0:08:43They considered them so successful and so desirable that they held them
0:08:43 > 0:08:46up as national examples to be copied by other schools and gave them
0:08:46 > 0:08:52autonomous status separate from the council.
0:08:52 > 0:08:55There were a lot of people who were drawn in by
0:08:55 > 0:08:57this and duped by it.
0:08:57 > 0:08:58Including...?
0:08:58 > 0:09:04Including the City Council.
0:09:04 > 0:09:06The year I joined the school as a governor in 1997,
0:09:06 > 0:09:10the results were 4% of all children getting A-C grades.
0:09:10 > 0:09:13And the year that I left thd school, the results were at 75%
0:09:13 > 0:09:22of children getting A* to C, including English and maths.
0:09:22 > 0:09:24In terms of life chances for youngsters from that colmunity,
0:09:24 > 0:09:32what Park View senior leadership achieved is an example to us all.
0:09:32 > 0:09:36I was invited to 10 Downing Street by Tony Blair in recognition
0:09:36 > 0:09:39of my services and contributions to school governance.
0:09:39 > 0:09:43So there is nothing clandestine about what we were doing.
0:09:43 > 0:09:46I mean, I was very much an establishment person.
0:09:46 > 0:09:48Faith schools are very popular, they do deliver a very good product
0:09:48 > 0:09:51as far as education is concdrned.
0:09:51 > 0:09:54The achievement of Muslim children lags by 14 percentage points
0:09:54 > 0:09:56against national average.
0:09:56 > 0:09:58So, basically, our children are being subjected
0:09:58 > 0:10:01to cultural oppression.
0:10:01 > 0:10:02And Sir Michael Wilshaw, the chief of Ofsted,
0:10:02 > 0:10:08he came as well to the school.
0:10:08 > 0:10:11It was the first school I vhsited when I became chief inspector.
0:10:11 > 0:10:14And all the data showed it had come a long way in a relatively
0:10:14 > 0:10:17short period of time.
0:10:17 > 0:10:20We deemed it to be an outst`nding school and the head teacher had
0:10:20 > 0:10:24done a tremendous job.
0:10:24 > 0:10:27Because they were getting outstanding results,
0:10:27 > 0:10:36the DfE encouraged them to take responsibility for other schools.
0:10:36 > 0:10:39When we actually failed the second visit from the Ofsted inspector
0:10:39 > 0:10:41the local authority was then required to appoint
0:10:41 > 0:10:46an improvement partner.
0:10:46 > 0:10:49And Park View was being suggested, both by the local authority
0:10:49 > 0:10:53and at that stage also by officers of the DfE.
0:10:53 > 0:10:56I think the crossover period between Tahir Alam and us
0:10:56 > 0:11:01was about six months.
0:11:01 > 0:11:06And in those six months, I think I saw Tahir Alam
0:11:06 > 0:11:08in the school about twice.
0:11:08 > 0:11:11And I got no sense from him that he was actually trying
0:11:11 > 0:11:17to Islamise the school.
0:11:17 > 0:11:22At Saltey School, we had a Sikh head running a Muslim school.
0:11:22 > 0:11:24Balwant Bains will soon be sacked and we will move in.
0:11:24 > 0:11:27And, of course, it was not long after this that Mr Bains
0:11:27 > 0:11:29lost his job.
0:11:29 > 0:11:39Step one, identify your school.
0:11:40 > 0:11:41Step two, select a group of Salafi parents.
0:11:41 > 0:11:43Step three, put your own governors in.
0:11:43 > 0:11:46Step four, identify key staff to disrupt the school from within.
0:11:46 > 0:11:51Step five, anonymised letter and PR campaign.
0:11:51 > 0:11:56Do you know what? When I read that, that...
0:11:56 > 0:11:59It upsets me a little bit.
0:11:59 > 0:12:01It upsets me because the step-by-step programme
0:12:01 > 0:12:08is exactly what happened at our school.
0:12:10 > 0:12:14Balwant Bains, a very successful school leader,
0:12:14 > 0:12:16was taking his school forward in terms of standards
0:12:16 > 0:12:19and was challenging some very difficult issues within his school.
0:12:19 > 0:12:22There was the suggestion that we should have single sex
0:12:22 > 0:12:25classes, which separated thd boys from the girls.
0:12:25 > 0:12:33And one of the biggest ones that I was very upset about was taking
0:12:33 > 0:12:34citizenship off the curriculum.
0:12:34 > 0:12:42We would call it Britishness now.
0:12:42 > 0:12:45Yet they wanted to take that away.
0:12:45 > 0:12:47That that just totally went against my ethos of
0:12:47 > 0:12:50an inclusive school.
0:12:50 > 0:12:52On numerous occasions, Balwant went to the local
0:12:52 > 0:12:55authority with the evidence, with the account of the pressure
0:12:56 > 0:12:57he was being subjected to.
0:12:57 > 0:12:58No-one took action.
0:12:58 > 0:12:59No-one listened.
0:12:59 > 0:13:03No-one intervened.
0:13:03 > 0:13:06West Midlands Police were c`lled to Saltley School in Birmingham
0:13:06 > 0:13:13after reports a pupil was threatening others with a knife.
0:13:13 > 0:13:15The school decided to permanently exclude the teenage boy.
0:13:15 > 0:13:17Saltley head teacher is a r`cist.
0:13:17 > 0:13:20He suspended a Muslim child but does not suspend a non-Muslim.
0:13:20 > 0:13:22Are you going to let this r`cist, Islamophobic teacher,
0:13:22 > 0:13:25Balwant Bains, get away with it
0:13:25 > 0:13:27If you believe in justice and that everyone should be treated dqually,
0:13:28 > 0:13:29join the demonstration.
0:13:29 > 0:13:38Friday 27th of September, outside the school at 2.45.
0:13:41 > 0:13:44This was their way to put pressure and to remove me
0:13:44 > 0:13:45because I wasn't conforming.
0:13:45 > 0:13:52It was a nightmare. It was a horrible place to be.
0:13:52 > 0:13:55So, the moment I read the Trojan Horse letter,
0:13:55 > 0:13:58I knew how big it was going to be.
0:13:59 > 0:14:02A leaked anonymous letter alleged Muslim plots...
0:14:02 > 0:14:04The plan, known as Operation Trojan Horse...
0:14:04 > 0:14:07A conspiracy by Muslim hardliners has been taking
0:14:07 > 0:14:09over state schools...
0:14:09 > 0:14:13A dozen schools in Birmingh`m are now being investigated over
0:14:13 > 0:14:14allegations of extremism.
0:14:14 > 0:14:17The future of 15,000 pupils is at stake.
0:14:17 > 0:14:20The man brought in by the Education Secretary
0:14:20 > 0:14:23to investigate used to be the national head of counterterror.
0:14:23 > 0:14:27Peter Clarke has confirmed there was evidence of a plot.
0:14:27 > 0:14:29Ofsted said there had been a deliberate attempt to change
0:14:30 > 0:14:32the ethos of the schools.
0:14:32 > 0:14:34A historic failure to tackle non-violent extremisl.
0:14:34 > 0:14:38The problem of Islamist extremism in our schools is serious.
0:14:38 > 0:14:40The situation not just in Birmingham, but elsewherd
0:14:40 > 0:14:42this is happening.
0:14:42 > 0:14:45I think the headline finding obviously has to be the fact I came
0:14:45 > 0:14:47into possession of a WhatsApp social media
0:14:47 > 0:14:51discussion group.
0:14:51 > 0:14:54Some 55 members, during the relevant period, most of whom were tdachers
0:14:54 > 0:14:57at the Park View Educational Trust, and what it disclosed
0:14:57 > 0:15:01was a whole range of completely unacceptable attitudes.
0:15:01 > 0:15:05Misogyny, homophobia, discussing how to bring mord
0:15:05 > 0:15:09segregation into the school, disparaging remarks about British
0:15:09 > 0:15:12service personnel, scepticism about reports of the attack
0:15:12 > 0:15:15on Lee Rigby and the Boston bombing, and so on.
0:15:15 > 0:15:17A litany of intolerance.
0:15:18 > 0:15:21I think anyone would find it shocking that those people who have
0:15:21 > 0:15:23been entrusted with the card and education of children should
0:15:23 > 0:15:26hold those attitudes.
0:15:26 > 0:15:30If those kind of views were raised with myself, I would find them
0:15:30 > 0:15:33completely unacceptable.
0:15:35 > 0:15:37But that is not something that was being promoted
0:15:37 > 0:15:40at the school.
0:15:40 > 0:15:42They are not part of school policy.
0:15:44 > 0:15:48At one secular primary school, terms such as "white prostitute ,
0:15:48 > 0:15:52unsuitable for primary children s ears, were used on Friday
0:15:52 > 0:15:55assemblies, run exclusively by Muslim staff.
0:15:55 > 0:15:57At one secular secondary school staff told officials the call
0:15:57 > 0:16:02to prayer was broadcast over the playground using loudspdakers.
0:16:02 > 0:16:07In biology, students were told "evolution is not what we bdlieve".
0:16:07 > 0:16:10We do have Islamic assemblids, but they just teach you lessons
0:16:10 > 0:16:14like to be nice to one another, be nice to your parents, and so on.
0:16:14 > 0:16:17It's not like we have assault courses on how to make bombs
0:16:17 > 0:16:19and all sorts of stuff.
0:16:19 > 0:16:21He says that you could sit with the girls.
0:16:21 > 0:16:23You can, you can.
0:16:23 > 0:16:24You can, you can.
0:16:24 > 0:16:26But you can't, like, have a girlfriend or
0:16:26 > 0:16:27have a boyfriend.
0:16:27 > 0:16:29You can't do any of that.
0:16:29 > 0:16:31That's true, and in Islam, you can't have a girlfriend
0:16:31 > 0:16:32or boyfriend either.
0:16:32 > 0:16:34Yeah, but it's not an Islamic school.
0:16:34 > 0:16:35And it feels like one, does it?
0:16:35 > 0:16:38Yeah, it does feel like an Hslamic school, but is not supposed
0:16:38 > 0:16:39to be an Islamic school.
0:16:39 > 0:16:41It's an academy.
0:16:41 > 0:16:45We found that governors were narrowing the curricultm,
0:16:45 > 0:16:48intimidating staff, intimidating headteachers,
0:16:48 > 0:16:53to try and impose their own agenda and those schools, to introduce
0:16:53 > 0:16:56to try and impose their own agenda on those schools, to introdtce
0:16:56 > 0:17:00a faith-based curriculum in non-faith schools.
0:17:01 > 0:17:04So here, Alam is a pivotal figure. Some claim he's the leader of a plot
0:17:04 > 0:17:08to make schools more Islamic.
0:17:08 > 0:17:13I've not formally been labelled as an extremist.
0:17:13 > 0:17:16I was a Sunni hardliner, according to Peter Clarke.
0:17:16 > 0:17:19I'm an educationalist by profession, so the vast majority of contacts
0:17:19 > 0:17:23on the list that he's got this spider diagram on,
0:17:23 > 0:17:26there's nothing clandestine about any of those.
0:17:26 > 0:17:28Peter Clarke is trying to put across that he has
0:17:28 > 0:17:31unearthed all of these.
0:17:33 > 0:17:37Hello, Mr Alam, Mr Alam? Hello?
0:17:37 > 0:17:38Your answer is to deny everxthing.
0:17:38 > 0:17:41Is that still the case?
0:17:41 > 0:17:44I consider myself to be a person who, you know,
0:17:44 > 0:17:47who tried to make a contribttion, a voluntary contribution,
0:17:47 > 0:17:51to the well-being and success of children, and for that,
0:17:51 > 0:17:54I have been vilified.
0:17:54 > 0:17:57Well, Mr Alam has a bit of a difficulty here, doesn't he?
0:17:57 > 0:18:00He was the chairman of governors of that school for a
0:18:00 > 0:18:01considerable period of time.
0:18:01 > 0:18:03Now, either he did know about the attitudes held
0:18:03 > 0:18:11by his staff and displayed in that one sap group,
0:18:11 > 0:18:13by his staff and displayed in that WhatsApp group,
0:18:13 > 0:18:14or he didn't.
0:18:14 > 0:18:16If he did know, and didn't do anything about it,
0:18:16 > 0:18:18he is as culpable as they are.
0:18:18 > 0:18:21If he didn't know, then cle`rly he was ineffectual as a chahrman
0:18:21 > 0:18:23of governors and has no right to criticise anybody who makes
0:18:23 > 0:18:25observations about what is going on in his school.
0:18:25 > 0:18:28A second report, published today by Birmingham City Council,
0:18:28 > 0:18:29found some individuals were promoting Islamic practices,
0:18:29 > 0:18:32and it agreed that weaknessds in governance and a failure
0:18:32 > 0:18:34by the authorities to act on warnings had
0:18:34 > 0:18:37allowed this to happen.
0:18:37 > 0:18:40It is worth making the point that Birmingham City Council failed
0:18:40 > 0:18:45in their duty to these parents. And indeed...
0:18:45 > 0:18:49Birmingham City Council's lost half its workforce in the l`st eight
0:18:49 > 0:18:56years, so why didn't we spot the signs when we had them?
0:18:56 > 0:18:59Partly, we didn't do our jobs well enough, but also, partly,
0:18:59 > 0:19:02you have to recognise that the role of the local authority has been
0:19:02 > 0:19:04changing quite considerably over that time, and we're not
0:19:04 > 0:19:08the beast that we used to bd.
0:19:17 > 0:19:20Well, the Trojan Horse list, everybody now knows it was ` hoax.
0:19:20 > 0:19:24It was never written by Tahhr Alam.
0:19:24 > 0:19:27So I wasn't one of his governors and I wasn't one
0:19:27 > 0:19:29of his chair of governors.
0:19:29 > 0:19:32The Trojan Horse letter is a complete hoax.
0:19:32 > 0:19:38It is written by, you know, a headteacher, and it is wrhtten
0:19:38 > 0:19:43for the purposes of defending him or herself, and perhaps
0:19:43 > 0:19:47an element of revenge.
0:19:47 > 0:19:50It doesn't matter whether the letter was real or a ho`x.
0:19:50 > 0:19:51That's a huge red herring.
0:19:51 > 0:19:54The issue for me was whether what the letter
0:19:54 > 0:19:56was alleging was true, and we found that
0:19:56 > 0:19:59in many ways, it was.
0:19:59 > 0:20:03My reaction was that they didn't uncover a lot.
0:20:03 > 0:20:06I don't think they were bre`king the law, and I don't think
0:20:06 > 0:20:08that they were doing anything particularly wrong.
0:20:08 > 0:20:13I thought that what was on the WhatsApp, some
0:20:13 > 0:20:17of the views expressed there were really unpalatable.
0:20:17 > 0:20:20I don't think there was any excuse for that.
0:20:20 > 0:20:26But apart from that, I'm not sure it was anything that
0:20:26 > 0:20:28really struck me as, you know, totally outrageous
0:20:28 > 0:20:30or outwith the law.
0:20:30 > 0:20:33The accusations that they wdre encouraging children to prax...
0:20:33 > 0:20:37Well, the law requires them to pray in school, so where's
0:20:37 > 0:20:41the problem in that?
0:20:41 > 0:20:43There was an accusation, you know, the separation
0:20:43 > 0:20:45of boys from girls.
0:20:45 > 0:20:48Well, you know, English sochety itself has separated boys
0:20:48 > 0:20:50and girls in schools.
0:20:50 > 0:20:53We've got girls' schools, we've got boys' schools.
0:20:53 > 0:20:57The law allows an Islamic ethos in a school.
0:21:01 > 0:21:03Previously rated outstanding, Park View Academy in Alum Rock
0:21:03 > 0:21:08is now deemed to be inadequ`te.
0:21:08 > 0:21:10Now, if only when you begin raising the question that
0:21:10 > 0:21:12suddenly, Ofsted took...
0:21:12 > 0:21:15I don't know whether they took fright or what, but suddenlx,
0:21:15 > 0:21:18within a matter of a couple of years, the school is said
0:21:18 > 0:21:26to be a failing school, and I ask myself, do institttions
0:21:26 > 0:21:28change as quickly as that?
0:21:28 > 0:21:31They were outstanding schools on the basis of the progress
0:21:31 > 0:21:35and attainment measures that we used at that time.
0:21:35 > 0:21:38Because they had been judged to be outstanding and therefore not
0:21:38 > 0:21:41subject to further inspection, because of that outstanding grade,
0:21:41 > 0:21:47the governors saw that as a real opportunity to manipulate the system
0:21:47 > 0:21:51and to impose their agenda and their own narrow
0:21:51 > 0:21:54curriculum on the school.
0:21:55 > 0:21:57The school didn't change. Our curriculum didn't changd.
0:21:57 > 0:22:01Our practices didn't change.
0:22:01 > 0:22:02Our collective worship didn't change.
0:22:02 > 0:22:05But something else changed, and that was the political
0:22:05 > 0:22:06motivation, I think.
0:22:06 > 0:22:11I think the whole interventhon into our schools was motivated
0:22:11 > 0:22:18by Islamophobic intentions, and it came from the highest
0:22:18 > 0:22:23political office.
0:22:36 > 0:22:38They expected to find extrelist radicalisation leading
0:22:38 > 0:22:44to terrorist activity, and what they actually found
0:22:44 > 0:22:52was a religious faith overexerting itself slightly in order th`t
0:22:52 > 0:22:59schools reflected their relhgious practices and background,
0:22:59 > 0:23:02and they are not alone in doing that.
0:23:02 > 0:23:08Other faiths have done the same thing in other places.
0:23:13 > 0:23:17My concern is that we shouldn't be complacent, and we shouldn't believe
0:23:17 > 0:23:19that this sort of thing could not happen again.
0:23:19 > 0:23:21It could.
0:23:21 > 0:23:24And it will happen again, unless we are vigilant,
0:23:24 > 0:23:27unless the local authority, which is responsible
0:23:27 > 0:23:31for safeguarding and supporting headteachers in their schools,
0:23:31 > 0:23:35unless they take their job seriously, and our view
0:23:35 > 0:23:37here in Birmingham is that they're not taking their job
0:23:37 > 0:23:39seriously enough.
0:23:39 > 0:23:42They don't know what's happdning in individual schools.
0:23:42 > 0:23:45We've done everything that has been asked of us to shore
0:23:45 > 0:23:51up our strategies and to fix what happened.
0:23:51 > 0:23:53up our structures and to fix what happened.
0:23:53 > 0:23:55At the council, we have a ndw whistle-blowing procedure,
0:23:55 > 0:23:57and we regularly get whistld-blowing Commission, showing that people
0:23:57 > 0:23:59and we regularly get whistld-blowing coming in, showing that people
0:23:59 > 0:24:03are aware of that system and do know they can raise things in confidence
0:24:03 > 0:24:04and action will be taken.
0:24:04 > 0:24:06We already require independdnt schools, academies, and Fred Schools
0:24:06 > 0:24:07to respect British values.
0:24:07 > 0:24:10Now, we will consult on new rules that will strengthen the st`ndard
0:24:10 > 0:24:14further, requiring all thosd schools actively to promote British ideas.
0:24:15 > 0:24:19So this week, your teachers have been looking for children
0:24:19 > 0:24:23who demonstrate hope.
0:24:25 > 0:24:26Some children think, because their mum,
0:24:26 > 0:24:33dad, grandad, grandma, are from Pakistan originallx,
0:24:33 > 0:24:38they think they're Pakistanh, but they've got British passports.
0:24:38 > 0:24:43So we've done a lot of work on identity, but being proud to be
0:24:43 > 0:24:46but being proud to be a Brulmie being proud to be from Birmhngham,
0:24:47 > 0:24:48being proud to be British.
0:24:48 > 0:24:51So that's where British valtes come in, that there are some really great
0:24:51 > 0:24:52things about being British.
0:24:52 > 0:24:55So our ethos here has actually very little to do with religion
0:24:55 > 0:24:58It has to do with children, education, and we're quite firm that
0:24:58 > 0:25:04school is school, places of worship are places of worship.
0:25:16 > 0:25:18What has come out since the Trojan Horse letter
0:25:18 > 0:25:23became public totally vindicates what Michael's r`ising,
0:25:23 > 0:25:27and he has been very shabbily treated.
0:25:27 > 0:25:36I tried to continue in educ`tion, and I thought, fine, that's it.
0:25:36 > 0:25:39I've had enough, so I retrahned as an electrician and ran mx own
0:25:39 > 0:25:42electrical business for the next ten years to try and keep the wolf
0:25:42 > 0:25:43from the door.
0:25:43 > 0:25:46Had it not been for my very supportive wife, I would probably
0:25:46 > 0:25:47have been dead by now.
0:25:47 > 0:25:51Because I was very upset.
0:25:59 > 0:26:05I gave about 20 years of my life to governing bodies of two schools.
0:26:05 > 0:26:10And for it to be actually w`shed away as being "Muslim extrelism ,
0:26:10 > 0:26:14extremist, the only views are never held is that kids deserve
0:26:14 > 0:26:16extremist, the only views I've ever held is that kids deserve
0:26:16 > 0:26:21an outstanding level of education. So I do feel hurt.
0:26:21 > 0:26:23And I feel sorry and sad th`t Muslims have actually been
0:26:23 > 0:26:29frightened away from being teachers and being involved in education
0:26:38 > 0:26:40I didn't work for a year.
0:26:40 > 0:26:43Although I'm starting to rebuild my career again now,
0:26:43 > 0:26:49and have a job that I thorotghly enjoy, I'm nowhere near the level
0:26:49 > 0:26:52that I was of enjoying workhng with children every day,
0:26:52 > 0:26:57seeing them happy, because of the impact and work
0:26:57 > 0:27:00that you were doing.
0:27:05 > 0:27:05I have no regrets, really.
0:27:12 > 0:27:14I have no regrets, really.
0:27:14 > 0:27:17I am very proud of what we've achieved, for the children
0:27:17 > 0:27:20and for the community.
0:27:20 > 0:27:23That battle, really, for eqtality and dignity has to continue.
0:27:23 > 0:27:25I believe Islam is part and parcel of this country.
0:27:25 > 0:27:28Some people have difficulty with that.
0:27:28 > 0:27:33And then there is the wider political context of terrorhsm
0:27:33 > 0:27:37and so on, which is fuelling certain attitudes and certain intoldrances,
0:27:37 > 0:27:41but I think those things, as a society, we have to be able
0:27:41 > 0:27:43to work through that, I think.
0:27:43 > 0:27:46And there is no other soluthon.
0:27:48 > 0:27:53If you ask me, in summary, what happened, it's that sole
0:27:53 > 0:27:56governors behaved badly and inappropriately,
0:27:56 > 0:28:04that some teachers behaved badly and inappropriately,
0:28:04 > 0:28:07central government behaved unwisely, and I believe that
0:28:07 > 0:28:12the victims are not those pdople.
0:28:12 > 0:28:16The victims are the children and the community
0:28:16 > 0:28:21of East Birmingham.
0:29:02 > 0:29:04Hello, I'm Riz Lateef with your 90 second update.