Star Executive Principal honoured for services to education
After another challenging year for schools as they continued to respond to the pandemic, the Queen’s New Year Honours brought cause for celebration at Star Academies. Shabir Fazal, Executive Principal at Eden Boys’ Leadership Academy, Manchester and Eden Girls’ Leadership Academy, Manchester, was bestowed with the title of Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his services to education.
Shabir, who has worked in education for over 35 years, was awarded an OBE in recognition of his longstanding service to the sector and the positive impact his work has had on communities and the lives of thousands of young people.
Shabir was one of the first Muslim teachers to work in Lancashire when he began his career as a secondary science teacher. Over his 35 year career, he has worked in a multitude of teaching, leadership, and child support roles, as well as championing BME representation in teaching.
Early in his career, Shabir supported BME pupils and those with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) to ensure they were supported to excel at school. After establishing initiatives such as Bilingual Classroom Assistants and new partnerships to support pupils with SEND, whilst working for the Lancashire Ethnic Minority Achievement Service, Shabir led the creation of a single Lancashire-wide support team for pupils whose first language is not English (EAL). He then went on to join the team which set up Blackburn with Darwen Council’s education department, where he brought together disparate SEND, outreach and EAL support teams into a single highly-effective school support service.
In his role as Assistant Director of Children’s Services for Bolton Council, Shabir was responsible for reforming its school support services and creating a single Access and Inclusion Division, as well as developing the council’s Continuum of Need process as part of the Every Child Matters agenda.
In June 2010, Shabir joined Star Academies as the Vice Principal at Tauheedul Islam Girls’ High School (TIGHS), where he played a pivotal role in shaping the school’s SEND provision. His achievements at TIGHS included leading a significant increase in educational outcomes for disadvantaged, vulnerable and SEND pupils, which rose to be amongst the highest in the country, as well as playing a pivotal role in achieving an ‘outstanding’ Ofsted inspection outcome.
After a brief period working in Saudi Arabia as the Principal of an international school where he incorporated best practice from UK schools to improve educational standards, Shabir returned to a role at Star Academies as Principal of Eden Boys’ School, Bolton. Shabir worked to successfully establish and open the new school in September 2014, as well as its transition to a new school site in 2017. Under Shabir’s leadership, the school was rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted in its first inspection and quickly established a sought-after reputation in the local community with school places oversubscribed by almost three applications per place.
In April 2019, Shabir was appointed Principal at Eden Boys’ Leadership Academy, Manchester where his successes included leading the school’s move from temporary accommodation into a new purpose-built school building, raising thousands of pounds for local charitable causes and supporting the school community throughout the coronavirus pandemic. In his current role as Executive Principal, Shabir oversees both Eden Girls’ Leadership Academy, Manchester and Eden Boys’ Leadership Academy, Manchester.
Throughout his career Shabir has supported hundreds of charitable activities and raised tens of thousands of pounds for a wide range of causes. On learning of his OBE, he was humbled and thanked the hundreds of teachers and support staff that he has worked with over his varied roles in supporting our young people and inspiring them to aim high and achieve high each and every day.
Shabir Fazal said:
“This is a great honour for me, my family and my community. I am particularly pleased for my family and the four key women in my life – my mum, two sisters and wife. Their unwavering support and encouragement has enabled and inspired me to devote myself to transforming the lives and life chances of disadvantaged children through education.
This award has only been made possible thanks to the immense efforts and support from a wide network of colleagues, pupils, friends and family. It is as much a recognition of their effort and skill as it is mine.
I have been blessed to have worked with so many amazing people – leaders, teachers, support staff, estates and office staff. Each of them has shown me the importance of hard work, honesty, integrity and humility. Their work ethic, passion and commitment has helped to spark change and inspire developments that have led to improved outcomes for children in some our most deprived areas and communities.
They have inspired me to be the best version of myself. I hope that my OBE will inspire others to continue their work, or set out on new journeys, to help transform children’s lives and enable them to strive to become the very best they can; to be the leaders of tomorrow.”
Added By: Star Academies | Date Added: 10th Jan 2022 | Posted In: Latest News