Mustafa Musa

Introduction

Mustafa Ali Mukardam Musa founded and led Darul Uloom London, an independent Islamic boarding school in Chislehurst, serving as its principal from 1988 until 2018. In March 2017, during a Department for Education Emergency Monitoring Inspection, he initially told inspectors there had been no safeguarding incidents at the school, despite a reported sexual assault in the boarding provision and an allegation of sexual abuse against a staff member. A Teaching Regulation Agency professional conduct panel found in May 2025 that he had failed to safeguard pupils and had acted dishonestly towards inspectors, and he was prohibited from teaching indefinitely.

Background Information

The school’s trust was its proprietor and Musa served as both principal and trustee. The panel noted the significant contribution he made to education by starting and running a school which, it said, will have educated thousands of pupils successfully. In his witness statement he pointed to strong results: “Our academic achievements, particularly in GCSE results, reflect that we consistently performed above the national average.” Following the safeguarding concerns, and as part of an agreement between the school and the Department for Education, he was removed as a trustee, ceased to be principal and ended all involvement with the school on 16 June 2018. The case was heard jointly with another teacher.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

The allegations, set out in a notice of proceedings dated 12 December 2024, covered a series of safeguarding failures said to have occurred while Musa was principal until 16 June 2018. The panel found several particulars proved.

The panel found proved that, after a report of an incident of sexual abuse perpetrated by a pupil in the school’s boarding provision in or around September 2016, Musa failed to review the boarding arrangements, failed to offer support to the alleged victim, and failed to investigate or record any investigation of the incident. He denied the allegations, stating: “While we took the matter seriously when informed by the police and reflected carefully on what had taken place, as we would with any safeguarding concern, there was no clear or identifiable flaw in the boarding arrangements that contributed to the event.” The panel found no evidence that any review had taken place.

The panel also found that, following an allegation in or around December 2016 that Staff Member B had sexually abused a minor, Musa failed to manage or risk assess the staff member’s continued employment, failed to ensure he did not have unsupervised access to pupils, and failed to notify the Disclosure and Barring Service. A strategy meeting had agreed the staff member could continue working only on condition of no unsupervised access to children, but the panel found no records of monitoring, no risk assessment and no DBS referral. When the allegation was put to him, Musa responded that it “didn’t relate to anything that happened at the school”. He accepted responsibility for the failure to notify the DBS.

The most serious findings concerned the March 2017 inspection. Asked whether there had been any safeguarding incidents since the last inspection, Musa initially said there had not, and denied it again when the inspector asked “are you sure?”. He acknowledged incidents only after being told the inspector had already spoken with the Local Authority Designated Officer, and the panel found he never disclosed the 2015 incident at all. It concluded that “Mr Musa was subjectively dishonest” and that his conduct lacked integrity. An Ofsted report of 1 March 2017 had found: “Leaders have not ensured that the record-keeping of safeguarding concerns are rigorous enough to assure the safety of pupils. For example, despite several requests from inspectors, leaders were unable to produce a central log of safeguarding incidents. Recording in relation to incidents is poor. This places pupils at risk of harm.”

Other allegations were not proved, including those arising from a staff member’s 2015 arrest for sexual assault, a claim that he failed to inform the LADO about the September 2016 incident, and the handling of an indecent-image allegation in August 2017.

Public Reaction and Consequences

The panel found the proved facts amounted to unacceptable professional conduct and conduct that may bring the profession into disrepute, involving breaches of the Teachers’ Standards and of Keeping Children Safe in Education 2016, with the offence of serious dishonesty relevant. It identified strong public interest considerations in protecting pupils, maintaining public confidence and upholding proper standards, and weighed extensive character evidence from six witnesses, including former pupils, alongside what it called Musa’s high level of insight. It recommended a prohibition order with immediate effect and a review period after three years.

Decision maker Marc Cavey, acting on behalf of the Secretary of State, imposed the order but shortened the review period to two years, citing Musa’s insight, limited risk of repetition, good history and contribution to education: “I consider therefore that a two-year review period is a proportionate and appropriate response to satisfy the maintenance of public confidence in the profession.”

Current Status

Musa is prohibited from teaching indefinitely and cannot teach in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or children’s home in England. The panel’s determination is dated 23 May 2025 and the decision on behalf of the Secretary of State is dated 29 May 2025. He may apply for the prohibition order to be set aside, but not before 4 June 2027, two years from the date of the order. This is not an automatic right: if he applies, a panel will meet to consider whether the order should be set aside. Without a successful application he remains prohibited from teaching indefinitely. He also has a right of appeal to the High Court within 28 days of notice of the order.

Impact on Their Career/Life

The order ended a teaching career spanning three decades at a single school, following his 2018 removal under the agreement with the Department for Education. A prohibition order prevents him from working as a teacher in England for life unless a future panel sets it aside after 4 June 2027. The panel accepted evidence that he was a respected mentor to former pupils, and noted his insight limited the chance of repetition, but found that his conduct fundamentally breached the standard of conduct expected of a teacher.

Sources

• Department for Education, “Teacher misconduct panel outcome: Mr Mustafa Musa” — source