Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs However, at the time of that newsletter being posted, El Brizy had pleaded not guilty to the serious charges days earlier and those proceedings remained before the courts.After the Herald contacted his lawyer for an explanation, the newsletter was amended online to include a line saying he “remains resolute in proving his innocence in the final court case … [alleging] choking and rape”.None of the charges against El Brizy relate to children or Sunnah Life Academy.The NSW Education Standards Authority confirmed Sunnah Life Academy is not a registered school and cannot operate as an unregistered school. In 2022, it investigated whether it was operating as an unregistered school, but determined it was not.“Since that time, NESA has and will continue to remind Sunnah Life Academy of their obligations, where appropriate,” a spokeswoman said.However, the spokeswoman confirmed that Sunnah Life Academy’s claims it is an “alternate form of education”, and the running of in-person classes for up to three days a week in a school-like environment, did not meet its regulations for homeschooling.El Brizy handing out end of year awards in 2023.Credit: InstagramThe spokeswoman said NESA requires teaching and learning for homeschooling – enrolments of which have doubled in NSW in five years – to take place primarily in the home.The authority also confirmed El Brizy was not registered as a teacher.Tutoring centres are not required to follow the same strict regulations and oversight as registered schools, where specific curriculum outcomes must be met and teachers can face disciplinary action or investigation following criminal charges.Australian Tutoring Association chief executive Mohan Dhall believes home school and tutoring centres need greater regulation from the government, with some running as “quasi schools”.Speaking generally about the sector, he said homeschooling centres became popular after COVID-19, especially among religious communities, when there was a loss of trust in government organisations.“There is a policy vacuum here,” Dhall said. “Many of these centres offer a curriculum which probably does not fit with NESA and what other peak bodies classify as a curriculum.El Brizy handing out a school achievement to a student in December 2023.Credit: Instagram“Some have quasi-formal names, which arguably for vulnerable communities could be misleading.”He said tutoring centres and academies were also typically set up as companies rather than not-for-profits, so they don’t have stringent reporting requirements.Dhall believes some centres choose not to try to register themselves as schools to avoid any accountability, effectively running as underground institutions.“It’s absolutely problematic from start to finish, and it becomes a very insular community,” he said.Sunnah Life Academy said Islam is integrated into the entire curriculum and that it offers “group homeschooling” for children who have registered for homeschooling with NESA at its Bankstown location.Parents are charged fees of $159 a week, giving students access to three days’ worth of classes, additional Quran classes, resources, excursions and support with homeschooling documentation.Photos and videos show children learning together in classrooms, playing at the centre, being presented with academic achievement awards, and going on excursions together.The academy claims to have supported 701 students to receive homeschooling approval from NESA since 2019, as well as produced 17 year 10 graduates with record of school achievement.Acting Education Minister John Graham said businesses cannot pretend to be schools, and any parent concerned about the conduct of a tutoring centre or proprietor should make a report to NSW Fair Trading, the Office of the Children’s Guardian, or police.The NSW Office of the Children’s Guardian said Sunnah Life Academy does not fall within the NSW Reportable Conduct Scheme, which monitors how organisations investigate and report on allegations of certain conduct towards children. However, it must comply with the working with children check.A spokesman said charges, convictions and juvenile records are considered when assessing applications, and a clearance includes “continuous monitoring for any new record that may be disqualifying or trigger a new risk assessment”.It is an offence for a person to be in child-related work – such as music teachers, extracurricular coaches, dance teachers, tutors, nannies, faith leaders and children’s entertainers – without a current clearance or application.However, no check is required for someone who is not the head of a child-safe organisation and who works in one but does not have more than incidental contact with children.El Brizy is no longer listed in ASIC records as a current director of Sunnah Life Academy, with a new director listed less than two weeks before he was charged.“If a person with a clearance becomes barred from working with children because of a new disqualifying record or risk assessment, the Office of the Children’s Guardian notifies the worker and the worker’s employers to have them removed from child-related work,” the spokesman said.The spokesman could not confirm if any checks at Sunnah Life Academy have been revoked, or the status of El Brizy’s working with children check, due to privacy reasons.Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. 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