The government has expressed alarm at “deeply distressing” allegations of emotional harm at one of the country’s leading academy trusts after an Observer investigation.
Almost 140 parents, students and teachers have now spoken out about “systemic” and “lasting” emotional harm to children stretching back two decades at two schools in Hackney run by the Mossbourne Federation.
In response to the Observer story a fortnight ago into the treatment of children at Mossbourne Victoria Park academy (MVPA) in Hackney – based on testimonials from 30 parents – a further 70 parents, more than 30 former students and eight former teachers have now come forward with new evidence.
The testimonials centre on MVPA and the acclaimed Mossbourne community academy (MCA), also in Hackney, originally run by Sir Michael Wilshaw, the former chief inspector of schools for England who led Ofsted from 2012 to 2016. Both academies have been rated outstanding by Ofsted and are known for high examination grades and rigid discipline.
A dossier of allegations, shared with the Observer and sent to the education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, included Mossbourne teachers being trained in “healthy fear” and “screaming” sometimes “centimetres apart” from children’s faces, several reports of children fainting in line-ups while being shouted at, and children with special educational needs and disabilities (Send) being punished unfairly and “pushed out” to other schools. Many former students said they had suffered mental health issues due to being afraid in school which had lasted long after they left.
A spokesperson for the Department for Education (DfE) said: “These allegations are deeply distressing. We are clear that schools should be a safe and supporting environment where every child, including those with Send, can achieve and thrive.
“We are working urgently with the local authority and the Mossbourne Federation to establish the facts and any necessary action.”
Hackney’s independent child safeguarding commissioner, Jim Gamble, confirmed this weekend that he would convene an “extraordinary multi-agency meeting” to consider the allegations. The meeting will determine whether or not a child safeguarding practice review needs to be undertaken – something normally reserved for individual cases of serious child abuse.
Anne Longfield, chair of the Commission on Young Lives and a former children’s commissioner, said: “I have been shocked to read so many upsetting accounts going back many years. No child should ever have to feel frightened or traumatised in school. These allegations must be investigated immediately.”
A spokesperson for the Mossbourne Federation said: “We treat all allegations of this nature with the utmost seriousness. We take any issues raised by parents seriously and investigate them fully. However, we believe we are being targeted by a vexatious campaign.” They said the federation was “proud of its record of achievement and [has] consistently demonstrated a commitment to providing a safe and supportive learning environment for all students”.
Colin Diamond, professor of education leadership at Birmingham University and a former Dfe adviser on academies, said: “Every school has some tendentious parents raising issues, but this is way beyond that. There is too much evidence for anyone to dismiss this.”
Many accounts reference teachers and senior leaders “screaming” at students. A teacher who left MVPA recently because she disliked this, told the Observer: “The final straw was when teachers were given a training session entitled ‘healthy fear’. I was so shocked. It was just wrong.”
A second teacher, who worked at MCA several years ago, attended a “shocking” teacher briefing about a “transition day” for primary pupils soon to move up. “We were told, if there was ever an opportunity, could we shout at the children and make them cry, so they felt frightened and intimidated ahead of starting in September,” he said.
Councillor Penny Wrout, who co-ran the parent campaign said: “We believe we have unearthed systemic emotional abuse of children over two decades.”
A father said his 10-year-old son was pulled out of the lunch queue on his year six transition day at MCA and “screamed at in front of everyone” about an alleged minor infringement of the school rules.
The father said: “He was put in a corridor on a chair facing the wall, scared and alone, and left for three hours. A senior leader stopped and told him he was disgusting.”
The father said his frightened son was also pushed to confess to “something he didn’t do”. When he collected him from school the boy was “deeply shaken and crying silently”. He did not return in September.
When the first Mossbourne academy opened in 2004, with Wilshaw as its superhead, it was celebrated for transforming attainment in one of London’s most deprived boroughs through strict discipline. MCA was lauded in 2011 by then education secretary Michael Gove for its “exceptional” results and for sending children to top universities. Some local parents refer to it as “the golden ticket”.
But local GPs, child psychiatrists and parents have revealed that fear of breaking one of the long list of Mossbourne rules, including detentions for forgetting a particular colour pen, packing up too slowly or looking at the clock, caused some children to develop serious mental health problems.
A former student at MCA said he still struggles with anxiety at the age of 28. “I was a well-behaved pupil but frequently found myself being screamed at, belittled and humiliated. I have nightmares about this, years on. My experience at Mossbourne haunts me.”
Another pupil, now at university, said her ongoing anxiety was caused by MVPA and “a lot of people leave with trauma”. She said: “I remember teachers shouting at children: ‘You are nothing.’”
A third recent student at MVPA, who said the school caused her “lasting damage”, was admitted to a in-patient mental health unit with depression and anxiety. On her first morning back at school after a year’s treatment she went to her head of year while having a panic attack. She said she was told if she couldn’t go into assembly she must sit at an isolation desk in the corridor.
“I sat at one of these desks facing the wall and crying,” she said. “People walking past knew I’d just come out of an in-patient unit. I felt so exposed.”
Many parents alleged that Mossbourne failed to make reasonable adjustments for their Send children. One MVPA parent said: “Inclusion does not exist here. They punish children for their disability, sanctioning them for things they cannot help.”
A head from a secondary school in a neighbouring borough said: “We have been asked to take students with complex needs from MCA where it’s clear from the report that the school has punished the child instead of trying a range of strategies to meet their needs.”
The federation said this weekend it had a “strong record” of supporting students with Send, and its academies had double the national average of students with education and health care plans.
Mossbourne added that its academies had previously “been subject to rigorous scrutiny from multiple independent bodies” including Ofsted, the DfE and Hackney council.
They also said the local authority’s independent safeguarding expert had previously “specifically reviewed the complaints and determined they did not meet the threshold for further investigation”.
