Tristram Hunt: Ten questions Nicky Morgan must answer on radicalism in schools

Ahead of Nicky Morgan's appearance before the Education Select Committee this morning, Labour's Tristram Hunt sets out ten questions the Education Secretary must answer on extremism in schools. On Monday the Prime Minister unveiled a heavily briefed ‘rescue package’ for his failing schools policy. An announcement that even sources within HM government immediately dismissed as sounding like it was “cobbled together on the back of a fag packet”. Fast-forward twenty-four hours and the source of his panic became abundantly clear. Because a new report by Ofsted into the schools at the heart of the so called ‘Trojan Horse’ affair in Birmingham has found “very little action has been taken to address the serious concerns” raised by the Inspectorate earlier this year. The Government’s record of inaction on this issue is as long as it is unenviable. Warnings that schools in Birmingham were vulnerable from infiltration by radical influences were first passed to the Department for Education as early December 2010. However, it is absolutely incredible that we still find ourselves in a situation where RE pupils at Golden Hillock academy have to teach themselves about religions other than Islam or that, at the Park View Academy School, gender segregation is still not properly challenged. It is difficult to think of anything more complacent in the current climate than continuing to allow our children to be vulnerable to radical influences in the classroom. This is negligence of the highest possible order and the Secretary of State must take the opportunity to explain her inaction in front of the Education select committee today. There are 10 key questions that require an answer: 1. Why has the Government not taken the “rapid action” that Ofsted recommended in June? 2. Does she agree that the Secretary of State, with backstop powers, has ultimate responsibility to maintain child safety and high standards in the four Academy schools in question? 3. Can she guarantee that next time Ofsted reports on these schools the necessary action will have been taken? 4. Is she satisfied that she has discharged her full responsibilities for these particular schools in Birmingham? 5. Does she have full confidence in her Department’s ability to ensure it fulfils its responsibility for safeguarding children and challenging radical influences for all schools in her jurisdiction? 6. Can you confirm if departmental officials have attended any meetings at any of the academies named in the Advice Note? 7. Can she answer her colleague the Home Secretary’s simple question: “Why did nobody act?” 8. In 2013 the Department rejected a Free School bid from the Park View Academy Trust citing “security” concerns. In the same month the Trust was allowed to take over a vulnerable academy. What were these “security concerns” and why was the academy conversion not stopped? 9. Are Ofsted and the Government at one on the policy of ‘Regional School Commissioners' and does she think it’s viable that eight commissioners can properly oversee 20,000 state-funded schools from their respective desks? 10. Following the warnings in 2010, a Department for Education spokesperson said there is “no question” of extremist religious groups taking over a school. Does she agree with this statement now and can she guarantee we will not see another scandal like Birmingham? Tristram Hunt is the Shadow Education Secretary.