Blame does not move us forward, Fran Stevens OBE, Chair of the Birmingham Governors Network (BGN) told a gathering of over 150 people at a special meeting.
The meeting, “After Trojan Horse”, was organised by BGN for school governors and head teachers to consider the implications of the Trojan Horse affair for the future of school governance in all schools across the city.
The Trojan Horse affair was sparked off earlier this year following allegations of Islamist infiltration in British schools.
The packed theatre-style meeting last Wednesday at the Birmingham Midland Institute in central Birmingham heard from a panel of three main speakers – Leader of Birmingham City Council Cllr Sir Albert Bore, Stephen Rimmer, Chair of the Trojan Horse Review Group and Colin Diamond, Deputy Birmingham Education Commissioner. Panel contributors included Reverend David Isiorha, representing the Birmingham Diocese and Amra Bone, from Birmingham Central Mosque, who is currently the only ‘qadi’ woman sitting on an Islamic court in the country. Each speaker was told that two minutes before their finish time a torch would be shone in their eyes. This was not needed.
Mrs Stevens OBE said the Trojan Horse affair had been a “wake up call for all of us” and asked what lessons could be drawn from the affair. She reminded everyone that schools belong to children, their parents and to communities. She added that BGN was listening and learning, participating in speaking up for governors in various forms and organising city-wide and local events.
Attendees’ opportunity to comment or ask a question in the final hour of the 6pm to 9pm meeting was ceased by many. A roving microphone was taken to participants who raised their hand. One longstanding governor asked why Birmingham’s Education Commissioner Mike Tomlinson had scheduled fortnightly feedback sessions with Education Secretary Nicky Morgan, yet not done the same with governors. Also, he asked if Mr Tomlinson, who was at another meeting, might make time to meet with governors. “Yes, of course, I can make that happen,” responded Colin Diamond, deputising for Mr Tomlinson.
Another chair of governors choked back tears as she told her story. “I’ve been held accountable for something I’ve not been responsible for and I feel insulted.” She explained how she had been made to feel that her over 23 years of governance experience had been “worthless”. ‘Nobody in this time has asked me about my skills’, she added, words which won her rapturous applause. Mrs Stevens OBE thanked the speaker for her “impassioned speech” and assured her she was not alone in her feelings.
One governor of the Islamic faith said he was disappointed not to see any editorial on Islam and it’s place in the affair in a BGN newsletter, a copy of which was handed out to all. He also commented on the lack of Islamic representation on the panel. He asked why the city’s Lord Mayor, who happens to be a Muslim, was not included on the panel. Mrs Stevens OBE pointed out that Amra Bone was representing the Muslim community and that his comments were noted for evaluation purposes.
One attendee stood up and questioned the authenticity of British values. He asked if these values reflected the sacrifices of the Asian community to the British way of life. Separately, the head teacher of a primary school called for action on influencing change in policy of Sex & Relationships Education, or SRE. She pointed out that SRE was currently not statutory and was being applied inconsistently to schools across the land which, she argued, was causing a lot of problems.
Cllr Sir Albert Bore reminded all that the Trojan Horse affair was a result of a small number of misbehaving governors in a small number of schools and that we must not let this distract us from the majority good governance. He pointed out that 81 per cent of the 430 schools in Birmingham are rated either Good or Outstanding by Ofsted, the schools watchdog. He did however admit that the working relationship between his council, Europe’s largest, and Ofsted had been a challenging one. There are almost 90,000 children aged under 5 living in Birmingham, making Birmingham one of the youngest cities in Europe.
To find out more about BGN visit www.bhamgovernorsnetwork.org.uk
