Muslim head and her father carried on teaching despite being convicted of running an illegal £2,500-a-year Islamic school

Also from the Daily Mail

A Muslim headteacher and her father carried on teaching despite being convicted of running an illegal Islamic private school that failed to promote core British values, a court has heard.  Nadia Ali, 39, and Arshad Ali, 74, deny that the Ambassadors High School in Streatham, south London, is a full-time ‘school’ on the basis that it only offers 18 hours of education per week.

The father and daughter were convicted nearly 18 months ago following one of the first prosecutions of its kind.

Magistrates heard the school failed to promote fundamental British values or carry out proper background checks on teachers.

After being handed non-custodial sentences in September 2019, they allegedly continued running the school up until March 2020, when an inspection revealed classes were still being held in the building. 

Despite Ofsted flagging almost 300 suspected unregistered schools since 2016, only a handful of cases have ever been brought to court because of the regulator’s limited investigatory powers. 

The pair were not required to attend the hearing today, which was told they will argue their organisation is not a school because it does not provide ‘full-time education.’ Nadia Ali and Arshad Ali, both from Streatham, each deny breaching regulation provisions contrary to the Education and Skills Act 2008.

They remain on bail ahead of a two-day trial before magistrates on March 5 and 8.