19 December 2019

Ofsted concerns after 'dangerous' Solihull school closed on inspection day - and local media accused of Islamophobia

AN INDEPENDENT faith school in Solihull which was repeatedly warned by Ofsted over its failings closed its doors on the day of a recent inspection.

Al-Furqan Community College, which has 14 children aged between 11 and 18 on its roll, was set for a visit from inspectors on November 19.

But the principal said he had to shut the school due to broken heating, before inspectors arrived.

The Department for Education asked Ofsted to carry out an inspection of Al-Furqan, set in a listed cottage in Warwick Road, after the college applied to make a ‘material change’ to its registration – to change from single-sex to co-educational by admitting boys as well as girls.

When the Solihull Observer invited the school to respond to the concerns in the Ofsted report, the school’s principal Amjad Ahmed accused local media in a written statement of ‘Islamophobia’. [Solihull Observer] Read more