A HEADTEACHER has been handed down a suspended jail term of eight weeks for the repeat offence of illegally running a school.
Nadia Ali, who was running the unregistered Ambassadors Home School at Streatham in south London in defiance of Ofsted, is also ordered to do 120 hours of unpaid work and pay costs of £500.
Her father Arshad Ali, the “proprietor” of the school has been fined £300. He has to pay another £200 as costs.
Nadia’s imprisonment has been suspended for a year.
In 2018, Ofsted inspectors found the school was not registered. Following a warning, the school filed an application seeking to register it as an independent school, with Arshad as its proprietor.
However, during a pre-registration inspection, Ofsted found that the school did not meet the required standards like adequate checks on its teachers.
But the school, where the enrolment of a pupil cost £4,500, continued to operate illegally. This prompted Ofsted to sue the daughter-father duo, leading to their conviction in 2019. They, however, continued to run the school, forcing the education authorities to take them to court again.
During the sentencing on Monday (11), the school was also fined £1,000.
Following her conviction, the government barred Nadia from taking part in the management of any school.
“The Secretary of State for Education finds Nadia Ali unsuitable to take part in the management of an independent school (including an academy or free school)…”, the government said in a press release, adding, the decision also has the effect of “disqualifying the person from being a governor at a local-authority-maintained school”.
Ofsted’s chief inspector Amanda Spielman, who hailed the court verdict, said Nadia and Arshad had shown “breathtaking arrogance” by continuing to run the school after the first conviction.
“Unregistered schools deny children a proper education and put their safety and wellbeing at risk... I hope today’s sentence sends a clear message to all those running unregistered schools that Ofsted will not tire in our efforts to bring them to justice”, Spielman said.
Clifford had previously pleaded guilty to the murders of BBC sports commentator John Hunt’s wife and two daughters at their home in northwest of London, in July 2024. (Photo: Hertfordshire Police /Handout via REUTERS)
Crossbow murderer found guilty of raping ex-girlfriend
A 26-YEAR-OLD man who murdered three women in a crossbow and stabbing attack has been found guilty of raping one of them, his ex-girlfriend, a British court ruled on Thursday.
Kyle Clifford had previously pleaded guilty to the murders of BBC sports commentator John Hunt’s wife and two daughters at their home in Bushey, northwest of London, in July 2024.
The attack led to a manhunt before Clifford was found injured hours later in a north London cemetery.
A jury at Cambridge Crown Court on Thursday convicted Clifford of raping 25-year-old Louise Hunt before killing her.
His sentencing for all the crimes is scheduled for Tuesday.
Clifford had admitted to murdering Carol Hunt, 61, and her daughters Louise and Hannah, 28. He had also pleaded guilty to charges of false imprisonment and possessing offensive weapons but denied raping Louise.
During the trial, the court heard that after killing Carol Hunt, Clifford waited for an hour before attacking Louise, tying her up, raping her, and then killing her with a crossbow. He later killed Hannah when she returned home from work.
The prosecution described Clifford, a former soldier, as committing a "violent, sexual act of spite" and said he was "enraged" after Louise ended their 18-month relationship. They told the court that he had "carefully planned" the attack.
Less than 24 hours before the killings, Clifford had searched for a podcast by social media influencer Andrew Tate, according to the prosecution. They argued that the murders were driven by the "violent misogyny promoted" by Tate.
Justice Joel Bennathan called Clifford’s crimes "dreadful" and "almost unspeakable".
(With inputs from AFP)