Top London academies face mass claims of emotional harm as Whitehall acts on crisis

Mossbourne Victoria Park Academy, Hackney: ‘There is too much evidence for anyone to dismiss this,’ says Colin Diamond, professor of education. Photograph: Sophia Evans/The Observer

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.