Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to appoint a commission of inquiry to investigate schools in Birmingham where pupils are reported to be subject to Islamist fundamentalist teaching.

The Government is committed to ensuring that all children learn in a safe environment, protected from extremist or hateful views wherever they are receiving education, and the Department for Education is taking firm action where concerns arise.

We have more power than ever before to intervene in schools causing concern and we take swift, decisive action to make sure every child has access to the best possible education.

Ofsted inspects schools on the requirement to actively promote the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs, as well as on the breadth of the curriculum, which should prepare pupils for life in modern Britain.

We have provided additional resources to Ofsted to allow them to increase their investigative work into unregistered independent schools. Wherever such schools are found to be teaching hate or intolerance, we take action to close them and prosecute those operating them.

We have also taken steps to increase oversight of out-of-school settings, such as clubs and weekend schools. Prevent duty statutory guidance sets out the expectations on local authorities to take steps to understand the range of out-of-school settings in their areas and to ensure that children attending such settings are safeguarded, including from the risk of being drawn into extremism and terrorism. We set out plans to introduce a new system of regulation for out-of-school settings in our call for evidence which closed earlier this year. The proposed system would allow Ofsted to close such settings where there was evidence that they were engaging in extremist teaching or failing to adequately safeguard the children in their care. We received a large number of responses and will set out next steps in due course.

Birmingham City Council has made improvements to the way it runs its children’s services, but this progress has not yet gone far enough, fast enough. That is why we are working with the Council on the development of a voluntary Trust to make sure children and families in this area receive the best possible care and support. The City Council and the Department have jointly appointed Andrew Christie as Chair of this Trust.