A Luton school has been convicted of breaching restrictions imposed by the Secretary of State for Education.
Rabia Girls' and Boys' School, an independent Islamic faith school located on the town's Portland Road, was convicted of breaching a restriction made under section 116 of the Education and Skills Act 2008.
Failure to comply with such a restriction is a summary offence, with the proprietor of the institution liable to a maximum penalty on conviction of 51 weeks' custody and/or fine at level 5 (unlimited).
Magistrates' heard that the school, which has children between the ages of 5 and 16, had performed poorly in successive Ofsted inspections, with concerns being repeatedly raised about the standard of safeguarding and student welfare.
In accordance with section 109 of the Act, the school was inspected by two of Her Majesty's Inspectors (HMIs) of Education on 16th to 18th January 2018 (view report).
That inspection concluded that the school was failing to meet the independent school standards, which are described in the Schedule to the Education (Independent School Standard) Regulations 2014.
As a result of the inspection findings the Secretary of State used his powers under section 116 of the Act to impose restrictions on the school. Those restrictions, which were communicated to the school on 8th August 2018, prohibited it from admitting new pupils.
In September 2019, two different HMIs carried out a progress monitoring inspection of the school (view report). The inspection team found evidence that the school was still admitting pupils, despite restrictions being in place prohibiting it from doing so.
At the request of the Department for Education, Ofsted prepared a case for submission to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). Satisfied that the relevant evidential and public interest tests were met, the CPS proceeded with the prosecution. The case was heard at Luton Magistrates' Court on 27th May 2020.
Magistrates found the school to be in breach of its operating conditions.
The Rabia Education Trust, which runs the school, was fined £8,000. Zafar Iqbal Khan, chairman of the Trust, was additionally fined £4,000.
Her Majesty's Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman, said: "This unprecedented conviction sends out a strong message. If schools have a restriction imposed on them because of their repeated failure to meet basic standards, they must comply with it. If not, they are liable to prosecution and significant financial penalties."
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