‘Pupils are in fear every day’: parents raise concerns about new schools run by top UK academy

Mossbourne Fobbing Academy in Stanford-Le-Hope, Essex. Photograph: Andy Hall/The Observer

Parents and teachers have voiced alarm about the treatment of children at three Essex schools after they were taken over by a high-profile academy trust which is under investigation.

The Mossbourne Federation, known for strict discipline and high grades, runs four schools and a sixth form in Hackney, and began a takeover of two failing secondary schools and one primary in Essex late last year.