Ghulam Haider

The home of a convicted rapist is being used as an unregulated Islamic school for children.

Ghulam Haider’s wife is teaching around 17 children of primary school age at the madrassa that she runs from their front room at weekends.

Former taxi driver Haider, 61, was jailed for six years in 2006 after a court heard he brutally raped a 16-year-old at a derelict churchyard.

The madrassa highlights a safeguarding loophole around children attending ‘out of school education’ centres, which require no monitoring from education watchdog Ofsted or local authorities.

There is also no requirement for Haider’s wife, Sadiqqa, who teaches classes in their front room, to submit to Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks.

The checks would flag up Haider’s conviction and are intended to prevent unsuitable people from working with vulnerable groups, including children.

Ofsted described the madrassa, run from Haider’s semi-detached home in Acocks Green, Birmingham, as ‘deeply worrying’.

The watchdog’s head, Amanda Spielman, has previously warned that Islamic hardliners are preaching extreme doctrines in underground schools across the UK.

Her predecessor Sir Michael Wilshaw said: ‘I raised this issue time and time again when I was at Ofsted.

Unregistered schools by their very nature are outside of the law and I was concerned that they were increasing in number, particularly in cities like Birmingham.

‘The Government needs to think about how both schools outside of mainstream education and madrassas such as this need to be properly regulated and inspected.’

Birmingham City Council said the situation was ‘nothing short of appalling’ and the case highlighted the need for an overhaul of regulations.

Last Saturday, the Mail watched as 17 boys and girls were dropped off at Haider’s home for a two-hour session learning the Koran. Only two of their parents said they were aware of Haider’s past.

Loophole means classes escape Ofsted checks

Muslim out-of-school clubs, often known as madrassas, are not regulated because they fall outside of the remit of the schools watchdog.

Ofsted is permitted to inspect only full-time schools – those which teach five or more children for 18 hours a week or more.

Those which provide fewer hours do not qualify.

Amanda Spielman, chief inspector of schools, has been campaigning for the Government to allow Ofsted to inspect these ‘out-of-school settings’.

However, her proposals have not been adopted by the Government following a backlash from various religious groups.

Among those opposed are many Christians, who fear the change would see Ofsted also inspecting Sunday schools and possibly closing them if their teachings on gay marriage were considered ‘extremist’.

Those opposed to Mrs Spielman’s plans say they are a violation of religious freedom.

Ofsted has voiced concerns that some madrassas preach extremist ideology.

In February, Mrs Spielman said some put ‘poison in the minds, hatred in hearts’ of young people.

Instead of regulation for all settings, the Department for Education has said £3million is available for councils, police and Ofsted to tackle out-of-school clubs that cause concern.

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