[EveningStandard] The headteacher of an independent Islamic school has been forced out to spare it from closure after a raid by armed police uncovered weapons and more than £400,000 in cash at a flat in the grounds.Officers were called to the Darul Uloom school in Chislehurst on May 30 after reports of a man brandishing a gun. Headteacher’s son Yusuf Musa, who was the school’s designated safeguarding staff member, was arrested in connection with the incident.
| Given the way they talked among themselves the other time a Darul Uloom school appeared in our archives, it isn’t really surprising. |
Headteacher Mustafa Musa was arrested the following day on suspicion of money laundering , sparking an emergency application by the Department for Education to shut the school. Government officials told the court they were concerned about the safety of the 155 pupils and applied for an order to suspend the school from the official register.
At court this morning, the school fended off the closure bid by agreeing that Mr Musa, and his son, will have “no involvement whatsoever” with the school in the future.
The two men are now banned from the grounds, including Yusuf Musa’s flat, and accommodation for pupils who pay £3,000-a-year fees as boarders.
The school may be shut temporarily until a government-approved trustee has been appointed to handle safeguarding. An independent safeguarding audit must be carried out and the school must accept and act on any recommendations, the court heard.
The school has failed a series of Ofsted inspections in the past two years, when serious problems with its safeguarding and leadership were identified.
The two men were questioned by police and remain under investigation. They have not been formally charged with any offence.
| From the Daily Mail in 2011: |
| Possibly this is true. Certainly it’s a wonderful marketing claim. |