Muslim head teacher, 40, faces jail for running illegal £2,000-a-year Islamic private school that did not promote British values
- Nadia and Arshad Ali deny institution they run in Streatham is a full-time ‘school’
- The pair claim regulations should not apply as it is only open 18 hours per week
- Despite being prosecuted for running the school, Nadia Ali, 40, kept it operating
- Judge warned she may face a prison sentence for defying previous conviction
A headteacher who carried on teaching after she was convicted of running an illegal Islamic private school has been warned she faces jail.
Nadia Ali, 40, denied that Ambassadors High School in Streatham was a full-time ‘school’ on the basis that it only offers 18 hours of education per week.
Pupils were charged £2,500 a year at the institution which had 45 students.
Ali and her father Arshad Ali, 74, were first convicted of running an unregistered school following one of the first prosecutions of its kind in September 2019.
Nadia Ali, 39 (pictured), who carried on teaching after she was convicted of running an illegal Islamic school has been warned she faces jail after a judge said actions were ‘contemptuous’
Magistrates’ heard the school failed to promote fundamental British values or carry out proper background checks on teachers.
But a month later Ms Ali told BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire programme she wanted to continue operating and would apply for registration.
‘I’ve been teaching for 15 years and I’ve seen how children need a different approach and that’s what we’re trying to do at Ambassadors,’ she said.
‘This is why I believe in what we’re trying to do because we’ve seen a lot of results within our children. They’re happy learners.’
Ms Ali claimed her school was not breaking the law because it was open for just 18 hours a week.
Nadia Ali, 40, and her father denied that Ambassadors High School in Streatham (pictured) was a full-time ‘school’ on the basis that it only offers 18 hours of education per week
She said the school had applied for an Ofsted registration but failed an inspection because of safeguarding concerns.
Ms Ali continued to run the school between September 8, 2019 and March 3, 2020, when an inspection revealed classes were still being held in the building.
She appeared back at Westminster Magistrates’ Court via video-link wearing a tan headscarf.
Deputy Chief Magistrate Tan Ikram told Ms Ali she could now be jailed for continuing to operate the school since her first prosecution.
District Judge Ikram said: ‘In defiance of your previous conviction you gave an interview in which you said you intended to carry on.
‘I find that very serious, and contemptuous. I have already indicated what I’m thinking on sentencing you.’
Ms Ali, of Streatham, admitted breaching regulation provisions contrary to the Education and Skills Act 2008.
She remains on bail ahead of sentencing on a date to be fixed.
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.
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