[50], The Educational Funding Authority, Ofsted, and Birmingham City Council agreed to investigate the letter, although West Midlands Police decided that it was not a matter for them. It criticised the spending of the school's budget on paying private investigators to investigate the emails of senior staff and paying for meals in restaurants. The school had a determination from the local SACRE to provide Islamic collective worship since 1996. The Department for Education had also commissioned a report by Ipsos Mori in 2010 into how schools understood their duties with regard to Community Cohesions and Prevent. I'm Fed Up With Investigative Podcasts That Fail to Find Answers - Gawker [34] The Guardian and The Independent both stated that the letter is "widely regarded as a fake". Syeds apparent determination to make the facts fit his precooked narrative is paired with Reeds meditations on race, which seem to use Syeds experience of racism to excuse his questionable approach to journalism: the soft bigotry of low expectations. Following a forensic report by a handwriting expert for the tribunal that strongly suggested the signatures were fraudulent, Birmingham City Council advised Adderley's leadership not to fight the claims and withdrew the usual indemnity granted to council-run schools. [30], The Times described the letter as "a crude forgery", noting that "The document appears to show that the conspirators were working to remove a primary school headmistress who was actually dismissed 20 years ago". Children were banned from playing musical instruments and drama lessons were dropped from the schedule. The plot has a code name: Operation Trojan Horse. "[128] Bhupinder Kondal left the school again shortly after. A member of staff at Park View also alleged that the school had handed out worksheets stating that wives can not refuse to have sex with their husbands, a claim that the school denied. Its first season, a true-crime whodunnit that became an instant hit. The plot has a code name: Operation Trojan Horse. [citation needed], An investigation ordered by the government found a "sustained, co-ordinated agenda to impose segregationist attitudes and practices of a hardline, politicised strain of Sunni Islam" in several Birmingham schools. The Trojan Horse Affair is a 2022 podcast about the Trojan Horse scandal. If that fails get rid of the white kid." [19] Like Peter Clarke, Kershaw seemed unaware that all schools had a duty to promote community cohesion. [19], Kershaw revealed to MPs at the Commons select committee on education in September 2014 that at one school "a film about violent extremism" was shown to the children. [60], Golden Hillock School in Sparkhill, Birmingham, was put under special measures by Ofsted on 5 June 2014, after being rated "inadequate" in all categories. One half of it, a Muslim journalist from Birmingham called Hamza Syed is explicit about his mission from the beginning: he wants to prove his suspicion that a female Muslim headteacher wrote the Trojan letter for her own parochial reasons, because he thinks it would show everything that comes after doesnt matter. Teachers made homophobic comments on a shared Whatsapp group; one referred to gay people as animals and satanic. A sixth school was labelled inadequate for its poor educational standards and twelve schools were found needing of improvements. [4], Student ambassadors, known as "religious police" by some staff, are appointed at Park View to report "the names of staff or students who exhibit behaviours deemed unacceptable by conservative Muslims". Nor did Clarke report any interviews with schools improvement officers at the local authority of the Department for Education. [101] Khalid Mahmood, the Labour MP for Perry Barr, said that the City Council may have known of previous plots, but not acted due to fears of being seen as anti-Islamic. The few pupils that elected to study a Christianity unit as part of the Religious Studies GCSE course had to "teach themselves", because the teacher focused on Islamic studies which the majority were studying. Birmingham, UK - An unlikely duo chases down the origins of a mysterious letter that caused a national scandal. ", "Trojan Horse row Q&A: What is the 'Muslim plot' all about and why is it so important? [43], Two anonymous members of staff at Park View School told BBC Radio 4 that school assemblies had praised Anwar al-Awlaki. He said that the efforts to instil fundamentalist practices into Birmingham classrooms were based on a "warped and abusive view of the religion". External speakers were improperly vetted. The Muslim Council of Britain also described the investigation as a 'witch hunt'. [88] This showed that most schools conflated the two and did not have teachers trained in the Prevent duty. In consequence, the Panel judged that the matter was "an abuse of the process which is of such seriousness that it offends the Panel's sense of justice and propriety. They included:[3][4], The report found there had been changes made to the curriculum and education plans, including increasing the faith component. The Trojan Horse Affair Podcast - Original recording [44] He accused Tahir Alam, chairman of the Park View Educational Trust, of "planning this for 15 years" and honing in Birmingham tactics that he had drafted in his 72-page document, published by the Muslim Council of Britain in 2007, on how to subvert schools to fundamentalist Islam. How a doctor-turned-journalist worked with a veteran audio reporter to create a podcast about a mysterious letter that riveted Britain. Arrangements for the hearings were deeply unsatisfactory, with four separate cases brought against different groups of teachers associated with PVET and one other school, Oldknow Academy (which it transpired had a Memorandum of Understanding with PVET, signed at the behest of the Department for Education). [42] The general secretary of the headteachers' union, Russell Hobby, said the union has found "concerted efforts" by hardliners to infiltrate Birmingham schools, and that it was working with 30 of its members in 12 schools and had "serious concerns" about some of them. What the New York Times gets wrong about the 'Trojan Horse Affair [25], A number of governors and the Muslim Council of Britain dubbed the reaction of authorities to the plot a "witch-hunt". Brian Reed is the host and co-creator of the podcast S-Town, a production of Serial and This American Life. The Trojan Horse Affair presents a one-sided account that minimises child protection concerns, misogyny and homophobia in order to exonerate the podcasts hero, a man called Tahir Alam. From Serial Productions and The New York Times, "The Trojan Horse Affair," an investigation that became bigger than we ever imagined. Books available to the children included one which advocated parents hitting children if they did not pray by the age of 10 and another which praised individuals who "loved death more than life in their pursuit of righteous and true religion". Four teacher assistants were suing the school for unfair dismissal after being forced out of the school with fake resignation letters signed in their names. He said that "the Trojan Horse in east London was a political one rather than an educational one" and spoke of racial politics taking hold. [85] The governors of the school were sacked in April because of inappropriate interference in the running of the school. The newest podcast from Serial Productions, The Trojan Horse Affair, comes the closest yet to that first season's appeal. [88] This showed that most schools conflated the two and did not have teachers trained in the Prevent duty. Syed and the US journalist Brian Reed quickly land on a suspect . How else to make sense of their indignation that the government wheeled out no child witnesses in the relevant teacher disciplinary hearings? [107], In June 2014, there was a highly public argument between the Home Office and Department for Education ministers about the responsibility for the alleged extremism. [78][80] Christmas events were cancelled and raffles and tombolas were banned at a recent school fete because they were considered un-Islamic. However, the report interviewed none of the teachers or governors against whom allegations were made with the single exception of Tahir Alam. This had been initiated by Sir Tim Brighouse, who had been Chief Education Officer in Birmingham between 1993 and 2002, and was highly critical of the 2014 Ofsted reports and the subsequent inquiries. The Trojan Horse Affair 's Hamza Syed Has Some Regrets - Slate Magazine The Education Funding Authority conducted a parallel investigation. A DfE official who visited one of the schools said she had never seen so many distressed, frightened and crying members of staff. Michael Gove, education secretary in 2014. [9] Its intentions are clearly set out in the introduction where it states "its purpose is to promote greater understanding of the faith, religious and cultural needs of Muslim pupils and how they can be accommodated within schools. Assistant principal Lee Donaghy, a self-declared agnostic, said that the school was achieving more by "accommodating" Muslim practices, but called it "pernicious" the idea "that people running the school are trying to force more religion on these kids than the parents want". He said some of the witnesses had been very nervous and anxious. Park View was more compliant than would be the case for other schools. [33], The letter also encouraged getting academy status for successfully infiltrated schools, so as to have a curriculum independent of the local education authority. As journalists, our work has real-world consequences beyond the entertainment value of a gripping story. This pre-dated by approximately .mw-parser-output .frac{white-space:nowrap}.mw-parser-output .frac .num,.mw-parser-output .frac .den{font-size:80%;line-height:0;vertical-align:super}.mw-parser-output .frac .den{vertical-align:sub}.mw-parser-output .sr-only{border:0;clip:rect(0,0,0,0);clip-path:polygon(0px 0px,0px 0px,0px 0px);height:1px;margin:-1px;overflow:hidden;padding:0;position:absolute;width:1px}3+12 months the date on which the witness statements were signed and finalised". [31], Of the schools mentioned by the letter, the account of Adderley Primary School was the more detailed, alleging that an employment dispute at Adderley was part of the Islamic plot's attempt to unseat the head teacher and install a conspirator with the same radical Islamification goals as the letter writers. It led to people threatening to harm her children. A mysterious letter shocked Britain in 2014, alleging an Islamist plot to take over one city's general schools. No charges of extremism were put forward, only charges associated with 'undue religious influence'. Its breakout star understands whyand it's about more than that ending. Three schools were commended. "The Trojan Horse Affair" Works Best When Studying Itself He is right that the way some in government and the media seemed to obsess about finding violent extremism where there was none was deeply unsavoury. Brian Reed and Hamza Syed investigate a letter in 'The Trojan Horse Affair' In 2013, a strange letter appeared on a city. The Trojan Horse Affair | iHeart Show more 3 mins Part one involves the anonymous letter that was quickly established as a hoax, and how it got caught up in an intra-Whitehall fight between the then-education and home secretaries, Michael Gove and Theresa May. This was after the government had cited the Trojan Horse affair as justification for its new plans to counter extremism.[130]. The Panel had been ready to announce its decision in the case on 23 December 2016, but an urgent application for disclosure, relating, in part, to transcripts associated with the Clarke Report, was made by defence lawyers on 24 November 2016. The trigger for the whole hoo-ha was an anonymous letter, sent to Birmingham council, which detailed the supposed methods that the supposed radicalisers were using for "Operation Trojan. The report identified the Muslim Council of Britain and the Association of Muslim Schools as organisations "[stemming] from an international movement to increase the role of Islam in education". Nor did he report any evidence provided by school improvement officers at Birmingham City Council or the department for Education. 'The Trojan Horse Affair' Podcast Against the British Press The Trojan Horse Affair vs. the British Press By Nicholas Quah, Vulture's podcast critic Hamza Syed and Brian Reed say the. The New York Times owes them an apology. [22] He announced proposals to send Ofsted to any school without warning, saying that the schools in question had been able to stage a "cover-up" previously. It interviewed Mohammed Zabar, a Muslim parent who wrote to the Prime Minister in December 2013 about the lack of cultural balance in the curriculum at his daughter's school, Oldknow. [47], Reverend John Ray, OBE, and ex-head teacher of a school in Pakistan, resigned as a governor of Golden Hillock School after 25 years. On Trojan horse phrases from left [letter] - LancasterOnline The 'Trojan Horse affair' explained Stay informed with MEE's newsletters starting with Turkey Unpacked Though Zinoviev issued a denial in the Communist Review two days before the elections,. Brian Reed . Trojan Horse scandal - Wikipedia His complaints were published on 24 February 2014,[39] whereas the 'trojan horse' letter was not sent to the press until 2 March 2014. The two inquiries shared evidence, with the Kershaw inquiry deferring matters of extremism to the Clarke inquiry. Serial is one of the most downloaded podcasts in the world. [71], As of September 2015, Golden Hillock School was rebranded Ark Boulton Academy after being taken over by the Ark Academy Chain. It was entitled Towards Greater Understanding: Meeting the Needs of Muslim Pupils in State Schools. Teachers reported unfair treatment because of their gender or religious beliefs. The Trojan Horse Affair promises to tell the real story of the anonymous letter sent to Birmingham council that alleged a plot to run schools according to Islamist principles. 'The Trojan Horse Affair' is Serial's best podcast since 'S-Town' - NPR March 17, 2022 The Trojan Horse Affair, the latest investigative podcast from the New York Times -owned Serial Productions, seeks to answer answer one central question: Who wrote the. [2], The leaked letter on the alleged plot was reported by media including the BBC on 7 March 2014. The Trojan Horse Affair - A Serial Podcast from the New York Times - Reddit This document allegedly contained Islamic extremists' plans to infiltrate schools. All eight parts are coming next Thursday, February 3rd. [3][4] This reflects the views of the neo-conservative Henry Jackson Society and included the description of a document intended to provide guidance about the needs of Muslim pupils in state schools as a "blueprint for Islamisation". Others were challenged in court before the case against the senior teachers was discontinued. [58] Ofsted found that "the governing body has removed some subjects, such as music, from the timetable". [125], An undercover reporter working for the Daily Mirror posed as a wealthy businessman and potential client of the training firm Exquisitus, a firm owned by Shahid Akmal, the chairman of governors at Nansen Primary School. [29] Michael Gove, the Secretary of State for Education, said that "wider, more comprehensive action" was needed and appointed Peter Clarke, a former senior Metropolitan Police officer and ex-head of the Counter Terrorism Command. Her credibility was called into question by the NCTL Panel when discontinuing the case. [106], Salma Yaqoob, a former Birmingham City Councillor and prominent Muslim spokesperson, began a group named "Hands Off Birmingham Schools" in the aftermath of the inspections, saying that they were influenced by "a climate of political and media hysteria". [134] Teachers lost their livelihoods and a community had its reputation besmirched, yet their defence was neither fully heard nor reported. [3][4] Birmingham City Council imposed a temporary freeze on the appointment of school governors after probes into Operation Trojan Horse were announced. [4] Three schools were commended. One EFA inspector went on to become educational adviser to Peter Clarke. Additionally, the inspection stated that "there are too few books about the world's major religions other than Islam". Ofsted found that the curriculum was being narrowed to reflect the "personal views of a few governors". [5][15][16] Golden Hillock School, Nansen Primary School, Park View School all run by the Park View Educational Trust Oldknow Academy and Saltley School were placed in special measures after inspectors found systemic failings including the schools having failed to take adequate steps to safeguard pupils against extremism. [citation needed], After resisting attempts by governors to impose an Islamic ethos, teachers were suspended and its principal, Jennifer McIntosh, and her deputy, faced attempts to oust them. [113] Pieces in The Guardian included criticism of the academy system,[121] and demands that all state schools be made secular. "[127] Shabina Bano, chair of the Oldknow Academy Parents' Association, said parents would welcome Ms.Kondal back because they wanted, stability as soon as possible At the same time we want to know why she deserted parents. [53] Birmingham City Council was already under investigation by Sir Bob Kerslake over problems of governance associated with financial management, looked after children, waste services and issues of equal pay for work of equal value. [40], Based on interview and research in The New York Times podcast Serial, the producers argue that most levels of government did not prioritise the identification of the letter's author. [84] The school was rated "inadequate". Published: February 11, 2022 9.18am EST Updated: February 17, 2022 8.03am EST. [27] As Holmwood and O'Toole show, neither the Kershaw Report nor the Clarke Report gave any attention to the schools improvement policies of Birmingham City Council or the Department for Education. [18] The council's Chief Executive, Mark Rogers, said that there was no plot, but that "new communities" had raised "legitimate questions and challenges" to the "liberal education system". [68][69] Two other senior teachers were also suspended. [64] The Ofsted report stated that "students' understanding of other religions is scant as the religious education curriculum focuses primarily on the study of Islam"[65] and said there was a "perceived unfairness and lack of transparency" over appointments to the school and that female members of staff had felt intimidated. All eight parts are coming next Thursday, February 3rd. [86], The investigation found there to be "no evidence to suggest that there is a problem with governance generally" nor any "evidence of terrorism, radicalisation or violent extremism in the schools of concern in Birmingham", but said there was "evidence that there are a number of people, associated with each other and in positions of influence in schools and governing bodies, who espouse, sympathise with or fail to challenge extremist views". [99], Harriet Harman, the shadow Culture Secretary, urged the Culture Secretary, Sajid Javid, to protect music from being dropped from school curriculums after learning this had taken place at one of the investigated schools. (The Humanists have also exposed the teaching of creationism in orthodox Jewish schools and issues with sex education in Catholic schools .). [126], He claimed that white children were lazy. The Trojan Horse Affair: how Serial podcast got it so wrong Altogether the documents that were deemed to be relevant amounted to about 1600 pages. The idea that conservative men like Tahir Alam represent British Islam is plain wrong: surveys show the majority of British Muslims reject the ultra-conservative form of Islam that was found to be influencing these non-faith state schools. [1], Year 11 pupils about to sit their GCSEs at the school were instructed to partake in an Islamic fast, taking neither food nor drink, to place them in the right "spiritual frame of mind" for the exams. Staff were afraid to speak out about the significant changes. How the Trojan Horse Affair Affected British Pakistanis - The New York [citation needed], During the inspection at Laisterdyke Business and Enterprise College in Bradford, a mainly Muslim secondary school,[85] pupils were forced to revise for their GCSE exams outside in the street as staff did not want them to have an opportunity to speak to inspectors. [25] This would be so despite the fact that the previous duty on schools to promote community cohesion had included an emphasis on 'shared values' which were exactly the same values espoused in the new duty. This showed Birmingham to be performing badly on most indicators, but outperforming other cities and the national average for its school results and the proportion of schools graded outstanding. In August 2014, the Principal Hardeep Saini was replaced by an interim principal. [103], A play about the Trojan Horse affair and the injustices at its heart by LUNG Theatre (Helen Monks, co-writer; Matt Woodhead, co-writer and director) won the Amnesty International Freedom of Expression Award at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August 2018 and began a national tour in October 2019. [103] When the reports were published, Mahmood said that scepticism of the original letter could be "put in the bin", but some people still had "their heads buried in the sand". [51], Ofsted investigated in 21 schools in Birmingham in March 2014. [18] Birmingham City Council commissioned Ian Kershaw of Northern Education Trust in Newcastle to review the evidence. [78] The EFA team concluded: "We saw evidence that Oldknow academy is acting as a faith school and is not making active efforts to make the academy attractive to all faith denominations including pupils of no faith. Media coverage of Operation Trojan Horse was varied.