Ofsted to be given new powers to crack down on illegal schools under government plan

The best of Voices delivered to your inbox every week - from controversial columns to expert analysis Sign up for our free weekly Voices newsletter for expert opinion and columns Sign up to our free weekly Voices newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Ofsted could be given new powers to crack down on suspected illegal schools – allowing them to seize extremist material and interview leaders, the Government has announced. The proposals – set out in the Government’s new green paper – come just days after the Ofsted boss warned MPs that children were being taught with “worrying teaching materials” in illegal schools, including books that advocate men beating their wives. This is unacceptable given the need to protect the welfare and education of the children involved.” Education minister Lord Agnew, who is responsible for counter-extremism in schools, wrote in The Times that he was “concerned” about cases where “children are said to be ‘home educated’ but are in reality attending illegal schools”. The Integrated Communities Strategy green paper also includes plans to make anyone wanting to set up a free school “provide evidence of their efforts to reflect the social and ethnic make-up of the area”– and to encourage councils to introduce school catchment areas that include “diverse residential areas” to boost integration.