:00:00. > :00:00.The headlines tonight: at the age of 56.
:00:00. > :00:07.Furious parents challenge the school inspector Ofsted's findings about
:00:08. > :00:12.Today's news has been domin`ted by the issue of education
:00:13. > :00:25.I am very angry. There was not a problem with this school. Driscoll
:00:26. > :00:28.has delivered. We'll examine
:00:29. > :00:30.the claims that hardline Islamists We're live
:00:31. > :00:33.at one school being put into special measures and we report from inside
:00:34. > :00:45.the classroom, talking to ptpils There has been a lack of urgency and
:00:46. > :00:48.the council's responds to the persistent complaints of te`chers
:00:49. > :00:58.about the conduct of certain governors.
:00:59. > :01:01.And we look at schools that are thriving in the city to find
:01:02. > :01:12.Summer may have not officially started but it is set to be a
:01:13. > :01:23.Scrooge! Full details coming up Extremism allowed to flourish,
:01:24. > :01:28.head teachers marginalised A damning report
:01:29. > :01:33.by the schools? watchdog Ofsted Tonight, the future
:01:34. > :01:38.of 15,000 pupils is at stakd. They're taught
:01:39. > :01:41.in 21 inner city schools whhch were Five are to be put
:01:42. > :02:06.into special measures ` effdctively Golden Hill, socially, and Parkview
:02:07. > :02:17.all the ones. The Prime Minhster said this demanded a robust
:02:18. > :02:23.response. What are the reaction been there tonight? These posters I am
:02:24. > :02:26.told are put up this afternoon by the parents Association are
:02:27. > :02:30.criticising the Education Sdcretary Michael Gove and Ofsted and accusing
:02:31. > :02:34.them of attacking Islam and sneering at Muslims. We have had simhlar
:02:35. > :02:38.responses from parents at these schools involved in the Trojan Horse
:02:39. > :02:49.allegations across the city. My colleague has been following
:02:50. > :02:52.today's developments. Among the charges are failing to encotrage
:02:53. > :02:57.tolerance, not treating boys and girls equally and overall, ` lack of
:02:58. > :03:05.effectiveness. One of these schools at the Isle of the storm is here. At
:03:06. > :03:14.picking up time, parents defended the school. my children Abingdon
:03:15. > :03:21.guesses 2009. I still feel the school is just as good, it hs
:03:22. > :03:24.improving. We do not have the school to buy the Islamic ethos in. We put
:03:25. > :03:33.it into our children before they go to school. The school has ddlivered.
:03:34. > :03:36.But at Christmas, special assembly was cancelled. Ruffles were banned
:03:37. > :03:42.from a fate as an Islamic Avenue were set aside for an Islamhc
:03:43. > :03:45.theology school. Some parents are concerned. if I want my daughter do
:03:46. > :03:48.have a faith `based education I would send her to any number of
:03:49. > :03:54.faith `based schools we havd in our area. But it was important dnough
:03:55. > :03:59.that she received a state education and that is why we sent our daughter
:04:00. > :04:04.to that school. My macro Ofsted have pulled no punishes and in a letter
:04:05. > :04:08.to the Education Secretary, the chief inspectors says in sole
:04:09. > :04:11.schools there is a culture of fear and intimidation with headtdachers
:04:12. > :04:14.marginalise or forced out of their jobs. He said some heads out of
:04:15. > :04:20.their jobs. He said some he`ds are taught Ofsted character and ethos of
:04:21. > :04:24.certain schools. Birmingham City Council he accused of failing to
:04:25. > :04:28.help a number of schools kedp pupils safe from extremism. Under hntense
:04:29. > :04:34.scrutiny, is the role of school governors. Governors are exdrting
:04:35. > :04:38.far more influence on the d`y to day running of the schools than is
:04:39. > :04:42.either appropriate or acceptable. Evidence of unfair and opaqte
:04:43. > :04:47.recruitment practices including examples of relatives being
:04:48. > :04:52.appointed to an advertised senior posts. There has been a lack of
:04:53. > :04:55.urgency in the council's responds. And although exam results are often
:04:56. > :04:59.good, the curriculum has become a very narrow, reflecting the personal
:05:00. > :05:04.views of a smaller number of governors rather than the whder
:05:05. > :05:08.community in Birmingham. Prdviously rated outstanding, Parkview Academy
:05:09. > :05:15.is now deemed to be inadequ`te. Two schools are links to edit including
:05:16. > :05:22.Golden Hillock School, wherd the governing bodies are said to be
:05:23. > :05:28.unaware that morale is low. Inspector said that Parkview did not
:05:29. > :05:35.offer the students enough of a spectrum. our school stands as a
:05:36. > :05:41.beacon of hope against isol`tion, poverty, drugs, crime and yds,
:05:42. > :05:47.potential extremism. Parkvidw is part of the solution, not p`rt of
:05:48. > :05:51.the problem. In the Commons, the Education Secretary said all schools
:05:52. > :05:54.should promote British valuds. A Birmingham MPs said of the so`called
:05:55. > :06:01.Trojan Horse plot that therd was no proof. But what has been at is bad
:06:02. > :06:07.governance which have let children, parents and staff down and which
:06:08. > :06:10.must be tackled. The council says it has been reassured there is no
:06:11. > :06:14.conspiracy. But in one of Europe's's most youthful cities a
:06:15. > :06:24.city of many faiths, anxietx and doubts persist about the re`lly
:06:25. > :06:28.educate our children. We can still see the school is displaying its
:06:29. > :06:34.outstanding rating from last year. It is now rated inadequate. It is
:06:35. > :06:39.not an issue just exam results, but Ofsted have said in some schools,
:06:40. > :06:42.children are being badly prdpared for life in modern Britain. That is
:06:43. > :06:49.a tough criticism for many here to take, and we are in a multicultural
:06:50. > :06:56.part of Britain. Thank you card I now churn butter or joined by Sir
:06:57. > :06:59.Albert Ball. Direct is `` except all these findings? we accept the
:07:00. > :07:04.conclusion that there has bden a failure of governance and wd are
:07:05. > :07:10.party to that failure along with others. We have to ensure that those
:07:11. > :07:13.matters are dealt with. The Secretary of State has asked me for
:07:14. > :07:18.an action plan on that and we will deliver that as quickly as possible.
:07:19. > :07:22.In his letter to the Educathon Secretary the chief inspector of
:07:23. > :07:25.Ofsted, so Michael Wilshaw, prone to do a serious failure on the part of
:07:26. > :07:38.your council. This is a list of criticisms? it seems they f`iled to
:07:39. > :07:42.address the potential radicalisation. Do you expect this?
:07:43. > :07:47.There is a new regime at Ofsted at the moment and that is putthng they
:07:48. > :07:52.are gender as part of the inspection. It was not therd before
:07:53. > :07:57.and now there is an emphasis. My macro but you except that h`ve been
:07:58. > :08:03.failures? I think across many schools in the UK there has been a
:08:04. > :08:07.failure to put in place that agenda as strongly as it should be and that
:08:08. > :08:12.includes Birmingham. We accdpt that has been that failure, but dqually,
:08:13. > :08:15.it is not just the failure of Birmingham City Council it hs the
:08:16. > :08:19.failure of PDF league when ht comes down to dealing with academx schools
:08:20. > :08:22.which of course, I now the responsibility of the Secretary of
:08:23. > :08:27.State. Michael Gove asked you to put an action ban in place. What are
:08:28. > :08:33.your priorities? There are several things. One is that as one of the
:08:34. > :08:38.schools which is now in special measures, we will now her to bring
:08:39. > :08:43.in an executive board and t`ke steps to do that as quickly as possible.
:08:44. > :08:46.That is one of the prioritids. Our priority in terms of ensuring that
:08:47. > :08:55.the governors have appropri`te trading, in terms of the respect
:08:56. > :09:02.agenda in other ways. We ard putting a Government training process in
:09:03. > :09:06.place. We are stopping appohnting governors until that training
:09:07. > :09:09.programme is in place. We hope to extend a programme to acadelies
:09:10. > :09:13.which we do not have too do, but that is a way of us trying to
:09:14. > :09:16.protect children across the city. For many people watching, this is
:09:17. > :09:21.another blow to their city. Children's services have bedn rated
:09:22. > :09:26.as inadequate since 2008 and now this report does not paint ` great
:09:27. > :09:29.big job Birmingham does it? IMac if you look through the report it says
:09:30. > :09:32.there are two ends of the spectrum: There are some very good schools
:09:33. > :09:41.which are said to be excelldnt and there are schools where thex have
:09:42. > :09:48.failed the inspection. But those are a very small number of schools. It
:09:49. > :09:51.is a consequence of the acthons of a very small number of people. My
:09:52. > :09:55.macro but people look to yot as the leader of the Council for strong
:09:56. > :09:59.leadership. How will you turn the city 's's image around? There are
:10:00. > :10:03.other things that will help turn the image around. Yes we have sdtbacks,
:10:04. > :10:07.and this is one of them. I have no doubt, that over the next fdw
:10:08. > :10:12.weeks, there will be a numbdr of positive issues that the City
:10:13. > :10:23.Council and the city as a whole will be able to hold up as a mark of how
:10:24. > :10:27.we are moving forward. Thank you one of the schools in the firing line
:10:28. > :10:32.today is Parkview Academy. Ofsted inspector said some teachers were it
:10:33. > :10:35.fearful and intimidated abott speaking up. But the school
:10:36. > :10:48.described itself as a beacon of hope.
:10:49. > :10:51.The Pink Floyd classic 'Another Brick in the Wall?.
:10:52. > :10:53.The lyrics attack the regimented education system
:10:54. > :10:56.On stage performing with Roger Waters are pupils
:10:57. > :10:58.from one the Trojan Horse schools, Park View Academy.
:10:59. > :11:01.They say the concert shows their students are not isol`ted
:11:02. > :11:10.But Ofsted today classed thd school as inadequate, a decision that the
:11:11. > :11:22.When I came to my interview I was immediately hit by the fact that
:11:23. > :11:29.this is an honest, friendly, hard`working school. They h`ve the
:11:30. > :11:31.sort of values that we should all be nurturing.
:11:32. > :11:33.Two years ago, the school was classed as outstanding.
:11:34. > :11:37.Now it?s at the centre of a political firestorm over extremism.
:11:38. > :11:41.Some claim he's behind a plot to make schools more
:11:42. > :11:45.Islamic, others defend him saying he's raised academic standards.
:11:46. > :11:50.But he revealed to me that what motivated him was not Muslil
:11:51. > :12:05.ideology, but a BBC documentary broadcast 20 years ago:
:12:06. > :12:08.this Panorama programme highlighted the failure of Pakistani chhldren
:12:09. > :12:12.A third of Park View children were shown
:12:13. > :12:18.playing truant and the pass rate for Muslim pupils was a misdrly 4%.
:12:19. > :12:37.The underachievement was so severe that we were in danger of creating
:12:38. > :12:43.some kind of underclass bec`use of education failure. Are you trying to
:12:44. > :12:51.make this school a faith school by stealth? we think it is long that
:12:52. > :12:59.are wrong for children to ldave their belief, faith and culture
:13:00. > :13:04.outside the school gate. Th`t you pushing a more extreme, mord
:13:05. > :13:10.hardline version of religion? Extreme house to be defined. Once I
:13:11. > :13:14.have a fuller definition of hardline, then we will be in a
:13:15. > :13:19.position to assess weather or not what you're doing is hardline. But
:13:20. > :13:21.today, the authorities said it has gone too far.
:13:22. > :13:25.Is education in Birmingham broken or failing young people?
:13:26. > :13:29.Birmingham is performing well against national averages
:13:30. > :13:33.One academic says the city council has been h`mstrung
:13:34. > :13:36.by successive governments and left increasingly powerless to control
:13:37. > :13:46.The local council is not in a position to oversee the schools in
:13:47. > :13:53.its patch because more and lore will become autonomous. That is tnfair
:13:54. > :14:01.and unjust. It is creating ` gap. That is problematic the
:14:02. > :14:04.Birmingham's citizens. The five schools now rated inadequatd
:14:05. > :14:12.majority Muslim in the most deprived areas in the country. But that does
:14:13. > :14:16.not been a lack of ambition. This 15`year`old boy attends Parkview
:14:17. > :14:21.Academy and wants to be a doctor. Somebody's 20 frame of the school.
:14:22. > :14:28.The school was outstanding `nd people would not think otherwise, so
:14:29. > :14:33.it seems somebody is trying to say the school is extremist. Extremism
:14:34. > :14:39.was today the word on every politician's lips. But one lan who
:14:40. > :14:41.has run classes on preventing radicalisation says the Trojan Horse
:14:42. > :14:47.controversy is increasing problems and tensions. the thing that worries
:14:48. > :14:53.me the most is that we clail to be working in their favour. And our
:14:54. > :14:58.focus is safeguarding them from possible issues such as extremism.
:14:59. > :15:01.But now it is making them fdel is that they belong to a suspect
:15:02. > :15:07.community, that their school is under interrogation because it is a
:15:08. > :15:15.Muslim school. That will have long`term ramifications.
:15:16. > :15:17.Real terrorism has never bedn far from these streets.
:15:18. > :15:20.7 years ago, a ringleader of a plot to khdnap
:15:21. > :15:23.and behead a British soldier was arrested close to Park View.
:15:24. > :15:26.Saltley and Alum Rock becamd the focus of the world's media.
:15:27. > :15:28.The latest national attention on extremism in local schools is
:15:29. > :15:38.Today the cameras and notebooks returned to the area. I spoke to
:15:39. > :15:49.them and they said the Government was correct to take a hardlhne
:15:50. > :15:54.stance. we will... Are not talking about Muslim or non`Muslim schools.
:15:55. > :15:59.The Government should take ` strong action against any extremisl. This
:16:00. > :16:03.case raises fundamental questions about who really runs our schools
:16:04. > :16:08.and watch rallies as do pardnts have in how those schools operatds. And
:16:09. > :16:12.with the Government intending to change the leadership of sole of the
:16:13. > :16:31.schools, how will that impact on Muslim children's to succeed with
:16:32. > :16:38.their education. Good evening. Sir Michael Wilshaw, the head of Ofsted,
:16:39. > :16:42.said these findings are deeply worrying and quite shocking. Do you
:16:43. > :16:47.except that there are seriots problems with some schools hn
:16:48. > :16:51.Birmingham? I think in any organisation I would have bden
:16:52. > :16:55.shocked if so malpractice h`d not been found. But this whole dnquiry
:16:56. > :17:01.has been about the alleged extremism. And today's report showed
:17:02. > :17:05.that has been no evidence of extremism. But the rate it has been
:17:06. > :17:09.covered up and they had uncovered a plot. This has been a dodgy dossier
:17:10. > :17:13.from the start, a rush to fhnd evidence that is not exist `nd now
:17:14. > :17:18.we are seeing major job and intervention. I think Michadl Gove
:17:19. > :17:22.had a pre`agenda in the first place and has deeply politicised Ofsted
:17:23. > :17:25.and brought its trepidation into question. These schools are
:17:26. > :17:29.challenging the findings and a judicial review will take place The
:17:30. > :17:34.communities are standing with the schools. I do not believe that
:17:35. > :17:42.Michael Gove is about caring and protecting a Muslim kids in
:17:43. > :17:49.Birmingham. These politicians will move onto the next storm. You are
:17:50. > :17:56.right to say extremism has not been found, but in some schools, have the
:17:57. > :18:05.risks and issues being addrdssed such as female genital mutilation?
:18:06. > :18:08.When it comes to gender equ`lity I have spent my whole adult lhfe
:18:09. > :18:16.talking about that as well `s other issues. Of course we are for that.
:18:17. > :18:22.Parkview has been praised bx women's charities and praisdd for
:18:23. > :18:30.the open attitudes here. We are also challenged bullying and har`ssment.
:18:31. > :18:34.This has been a slower. These are good schools. These kind of
:18:35. > :18:42.allegations are because thex could not find that the smoking gtn so
:18:43. > :18:48.they keep shifting the goalposts. But we have been inside Parkview and
:18:49. > :18:51.that report spoke to pupils. But the Ofsted inspectors have spokd
:18:52. > :18:56.directly to head teachers and staff who raised concerns, some fdlt
:18:57. > :19:01.marginalised all forced out of their job. Have you spoken to those
:19:02. > :19:07.people? yes. I have heard of use from those people and seen their
:19:08. > :19:14.views in the media. What is uprising is that these are the very same
:19:15. > :19:17.people who were removed frol the schools because there were part of
:19:18. > :19:21.the failing system where thdy do not expect children to do well `nd were
:19:22. > :19:24.complacent with the low pass rate which would lead to kids behng
:19:25. > :19:29.unemployed and relying on state benefits. Now we have these same
:19:30. > :19:40.schools with the same popul`tion delivering a 75% top pass r`tes We
:19:41. > :19:50.should be celebrating that. Instead of being praised we are getting the
:19:51. > :19:54.opposite. Thank you. What is a future for Birmingham schools? It is
:19:55. > :20:02.suggested that the see more of them run by super heads, experienced
:20:03. > :20:05.leaders at the top of their game. Then Godfrey has been examining how
:20:06. > :20:16.some schools are run more lhke businesses. When the Prime Linister
:20:17. > :20:31.wanted to showcase his educ`tion reforms, he came here. It is not
:20:32. > :20:36.about the adults or their own political and religious views. It is
:20:37. > :20:41.about children and about thd education of young people. Liam
:20:42. > :20:43.Nolan is the headteacher here and that's to free schools in
:20:44. > :20:50.Birmingham. They are rated outstanding. The school is hn the
:20:51. > :20:56.city centre and is a free school that opened last year. More could
:20:57. > :21:00.follow. Have been approached by the Government of the leadership to the
:21:01. > :21:04.schools involved in the Trojan Horse investigation? of course I have been
:21:05. > :21:08.in discussions about what is happening in burning and about how
:21:09. > :21:11.an icon as a national leader, and we as a national support school, can
:21:12. > :21:17.help of the schools that ard currently facing troubles. There is
:21:18. > :21:21.now a trend emerging which sees academies being taken on by
:21:22. > :21:25.charitable trusts. These ard often led by a headteacher with a track
:21:26. > :21:27.record for turning them arotnd. Trust is something that
:21:28. > :21:37.Birmingham's education systdm needs to win back. Last year, this primary
:21:38. > :21:44.school joined six of the schools to former Birmingham's co`oper`tive
:21:45. > :21:48.trust. They are state funded but run independently by the City Council.
:21:49. > :21:54.In recent inspections, thred were rated outstanding by Ofsted. We have
:21:55. > :21:59.changed how we conduct our leetings. I was a rigorous progress and we
:22:00. > :22:02.shared it across the trust. There is a benchmarking there and thdy check
:22:03. > :22:07.we are doing the procedures correctly. Seven`year, the heads and
:22:08. > :22:11.governors of the schools ard being trained as one team. we recognise
:22:12. > :22:15.that the role of the local `uthority is perhaps diminishing and that
:22:16. > :22:21.particularly for primary schools, it would be very easy to remain
:22:22. > :22:27.isolated. So, what do schools clubbing together mean to ptpils? We
:22:28. > :22:32.get to make great friends and we have days together. Because there
:22:33. > :22:37.are different schools we can all lead `` lend our ideas to e`ch
:22:38. > :22:42.other. One idea is that schools should be run like a business. if
:22:43. > :22:47.they were a department stord, we would have a clear set of dhrectors
:22:48. > :22:53.and a CEO who sets the tone across every store in the country. It is by
:22:54. > :22:56.no means the definitive answer. There are other trust schools
:22:57. > :22:59.failing in the West Midlands. But there is a feeling here in
:23:00. > :23:08.Birmingham that more schools are set to break away from the local
:23:09. > :23:15.authority. That is one posshble way forward. . Birmingham has bden put
:23:16. > :23:18.in the spotlight today for the wrong reasons. Teaching took a back`seat
:23:19. > :23:25.to politics and weather has been no shortage of strong and conflicting
:23:26. > :23:28.opinions. the need to protect our children from extremism and our
:23:29. > :23:34.nation's traditions of tolerance and liberty. I'm proud to be part of the
:23:35. > :23:39.school and I love the school. It breaks my heart to see what is being
:23:40. > :23:46.said about this school. I jtst do not recognise this as the school I
:23:47. > :23:51.have worked at. This has put a lot of pressure on the school. @ lot of
:23:52. > :23:58.teachers are getting very stressed. But we must carry on as we `re.
:23:59. > :24:04.Governors did not live up to the high standards set by pupils, staff
:24:05. > :24:17.and the school. They're delhvering outstanding results in the poorer
:24:18. > :24:20.parts of the city. Bags are one of the schools placed in speci`l
:24:21. > :24:28.measures now. We have had the report, where does it go from here?
:24:29. > :24:31.It is only just beginning. Birmingham City Council tod`y said
:24:32. > :24:36.they are going to come up whth an action plan. They are also `
:24:37. > :24:41.painting a link officers to every school to liaise directly whth the
:24:42. > :24:44.council and the head. And wd are still waiting for their own internal
:24:45. > :24:49.investigations. On top of that, we have this Government enquirx that
:24:50. > :24:53.Michael Gove ordered. We expect to hear about that sometime late in the
:24:54. > :24:56.summer. This is all highly contentious and people feel longer
:24:57. > :25:00.this goes on, the more divisions it will create and I'm afraid ht looks
:25:01. > :25:08.as if it will go on for months to come. So one subject dominating the
:25:09. > :25:10.headlines today. But for more stories across the Midlands take a
:25:11. > :25:27.look at our website. The Day after tomorrow will offer
:25:28. > :25:33.much hope for the future and longer term as well. After tomorrow it will
:25:34. > :25:37.be burned, and dries up frol Wednesday onwards and is looking
:25:38. > :25:40.largely sunny apart from cloud at the weekend. But as long as we
:25:41. > :25:45.maintain the values we had today we should be laughing. The southeastern
:25:46. > :25:48.corner of the region today got the best of the temperatures throughout
:25:49. > :25:55.the region. 23 Celsius therdfore Coventry. However, they also saw the
:25:56. > :25:59.worst of the downpours and hn that respect, they are still subject to a
:26:00. > :26:03.warning over the next hour or so for more scattered, heavy and thundery
:26:04. > :26:13.showers leading to localised flooding possibly. But for tonight,
:26:14. > :26:17.wet across the eastern half of the region. It is looking stridd towards
:26:18. > :26:20.the end of the night, with ` lot of cloud and very humid and warmer
:26:21. > :26:27.Temperatures dropping to a linimum of 13 Celsius the most but no lower
:26:28. > :26:31.than 11 degrees. You can sed what is waiting in the wings there, a hint
:26:32. > :26:34.of what is to come tomorrow. These will die down initially, we have a
:26:35. > :26:39.clutch of angry looking showers there which will hold off until the
:26:40. > :26:44.afternoon tomorrow. So we bdgin on a dry note with plenty of sunshine for
:26:45. > :26:49.some places. After midday, they start to race in. The showers come
:26:50. > :26:54.from the West and could be puite heavy and thundery. They max even be
:26:55. > :26:58.hail. The temperatures should reach 19 degrees. A slightly fresher day
:26:59. > :27:03.and there is a south`westerly breeze, too. The pressure bdgins to
:27:04. > :27:08.build from the South after tomorrow which will kill off the majority of
:27:09. > :27:12.showers on Wednesday morning. So for tomorrow evening and the first part
:27:13. > :27:15.of the night we still have showers to contend with. They should fade
:27:16. > :27:19.away through the early hours of Wednesday morning and leave us with
:27:20. > :27:22.a much drier picture for thd remainder of the week. Wedndsday is
:27:23. > :27:26.dry with plenty of sunshine, but the pick of the week is Thursdax in
:27:27. > :27:30.terms of sunshine. Temperattres were gradually climb back into the low
:27:31. > :27:38.20s and after that they could be more in the way of cloud, btt it
:27:39. > :27:41.will remain dry. I will be back at 10pm with more news about the Ofsted
:27:42. > :27:54.inspectors. THROWS VOICE: 'A weekly treat
:27:55. > :28:01.of all the best bits of Radio 2 ' But that isn't quite
:28:02. > :28:14.the end of the story. ..then...
:28:15. > :28:21...he landed...