5 March 2007
Arab Media Watch is concerned that although allegations of racist teachings at London's King Fahad Academy were widely reported in the national British press, its exoneration by Ofsted - the official body for inspecting schools - was reported only in the Times, albeit in brief.
The story broke in the week of 4-11 February 2007, and was reported in two parts by the much of the daily press: the first concerning allegations of racism against Jews and Christians made by a former teacher based on passages in two textbooks; and the second, a few days later, reporting that the school was removing the passages concerned.
Ofsted undertook a "no-notice" inspection of KFA on 15 February 2007, and subsequently published a report praising the school's reaction and curriculum, as it had done last year. The report, extracts of which appear at the end of this press release, is available at:
http://www.thekfa.org.uk/downloads/OFSTED-Report-February-2007.pdf
AMW is concerned that this report escaped the notice of the same press outlets that reported the initial allegations. Of the nine papers that reported the initial allegations, the Independent, Sun, Daily Express and Daily Star failed to report the steps taken by the school to remedy the situation, while the Daily Telegraph, Guardian, Times, Daily Mail and Daily Mirror did. The Financial Times did not report the story at all.
Even though the Times was the only paper to mention the Ofsted report, it did so in just 45 words, having already printed two articles, of 145 and 192 words respectively, on the allegations and the school's response. In the national daily press, the average length of article reporting the allegations was 319 words.
AMW notes that the Guardian did publish a fair and balanced feature by John Crace, who visited KFA at the same time as Ofsted. He said the school "does not appear to be a fertile breeding-ground for Muslim fundamentalism. The girls are free to decide if they want to wear headscarves, all the lessons - other than Arabic, Islamic studies and French - are taught in English, and not all the teachers are Muslims."
He added: "The school's biggest crime seems to have been poor media management. It is not hard to understand why some teachers are aggrieved at being on the wrong end of what might turn out to be another episode in the ongoing witchhunt for Muslim extremists."
The findings of AMW's research were confirmed by the press advisory group Morris International Associates, who handled PR for KFA and monitored press coverage.
AMW promotes tolerance and co-existence, and in no way condones textbooks containing offensive material, but in the almost total failure to cover the Ofsted report, we are concerned that this opportunity to bring perspective, balance and closure to a contentious and pertinent issue has been allowed to slip.
Extracts from the Ofsted report:
"The quality of education…is satisfactory…"
"The school meets all the regulations concerning pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural education..."
"…there are good opportunities provided for pupils to learn about their own and other cultures and religions."
"Pupils have ample opportunity to consider different views and belief systems, express opinions and discuss controversial issues or conflicting viewpoints. They have good knowledge and awareness of their own and other religions and cultures."
"Pupils express their opinions freely and well, showing good empathy and tolerance of others' views. They show good awareness of topical issues and knowledge of British institutions. This reflects the school's stated aims and ethos as promoted by the headteacher and staff."
"The textbooks referred to in the television programme [BBC 2 Newsnight] have all been removed and are no longer available as a teaching resource. Inspectors are satisfied with the school's responses and explanations as to their previous very limited availability and usage."
"The curriculum meets pupils' needs and prepares them for life in the 21st century as international citizens."
"The headteacher has the freedom to direct the curriculum. She has chosen wisely in phasing out the Saudi-Arabian curriculum and replacing this with an international curriculum. This offers increased opportunities and challenge to pupils and, as it develops further, has the potential to meet their needs well."
"The curriculum is broad and appropriately balanced between religious study and secular subjects."
"…pupils learn a great deal about their own religion and culture. As many pupils were born in England, this is often new knowledge to them. For others, who join the school from the Middle East , the curriculum develops their knowledge of Western society."
"Not all staff are Muslim: Muslim and non-Muslim staff work alongside each other in harmony."
"The textbooks with allegedly racist comments had previously been accessible as possible teaching resources amongst the many curriculum resources which teachers could draw on. Older pupils confirm that they have not used these books. Those interviewed state that they would consider them unsuitable, especially for younger pupils. They say that such books do not fit the school's philosophy. These books have been withdrawn and are to be shredded, along with all other books from the Saudi curriculum. (Inspectors visited the skip with over 2000 books awaiting shredding and saw the supporting paperwork)."
"Inspectors were satisfied that the books they saw are not offensive in any way."
"The footnote in the text of one of the two specific books about which concerns had been expressed, was a commentary related to an Old Testament event. It referred to groups who had disobeyed God and does not imply or infer that this is a general comment on these faith groups applicable today. The other book exercise presents a particular standpoint which many religions and faiths hold, namely that those who will be saved in the end will be only the followers of their own religion."
"Pupils are ambitious and many move on ultimately to careers in the professions."
"The school was open and co-operative with this inspection. The documentation was helpful."