A rare Child Safeguarding Practice Review into the high-performing Mossbourne Victoria Park Academy criticised its culture of “compliance and control above all else”
A safeguarding review into a top Hackney academy has slammed the school’s leadership for allowing “harmful” behaviour practices to go “unchecked”.
Following allegations from parents about strict policies at Mossbourne Victoria Park Academy (MVPA) causing “serious harm” to their children, the borough’s safeguarding partnership’s investigation has found a culture of “punishment no matter what” where children are regularly shouted at, isolated and shamed in front of their classmates.
The Child Safeguarding Practice Review (CSPR), published on Tuesday (December 9), reported that despite the school’s “exemplary” academic results, some children were being “severely let down by a system that is experienced as inflexible, unresponsive, and, in some cases, potentially harmful”.
Safeguarding practice reviews are rare and normally reserved for cases of serious individual harm to children.
The investigation, led by Sir Alan Wood CBE, described the Mossbourne leadership as prioritising “compliance and control above all else” while failing to protect a “vulnerable minority”. The report highlighted a lack of reasonable adjustments for pupils with special educational needs (SEND).
‘Climate of fear’
Sir Alan looked at evidence including 342 individual reports from parents, pupils, and staff relating to schools within the multi-academy trust, and testimony from current and former teachers which described a “climate of fear”, institutionalised shouting, and practices designed to humiliate pupils.
In one piece of evidence, a member of the trust, Mossbourne Federation, told Sir Alan: “The bad things are the shouting…it’s about the interpretation by some people who use it as a kind of justification for what is really bullying and rude behaviour.”
School data analysed by investigators showed Black Caribbean pupils were approximately 2.6 times more likely to receive a sanction compared to their White peers. SEND pupils, meanwhile, were around 1.9 times more likely to be recorded as being involved in an incident than their non-SEND counterparts.
The report found “no evidence” senior leaders or governors had considered these statistics against protected characteristics or through an ‘anti-racist’ lens to ensure statutory duties were being met under the Equality Act 2010.
“The scale of the disparity calls for a rigorous review of practice, training, decision-making processes, and the cultural factors that may be shaping escalation thresholds as they relate to MVPA’s behaviour policy,” the review concludes.
Investigators ‘surprised’ by Ofsted
A 2016 Ofsted inspection into the school made note of “very high” number of fixed-term exclusions, disproportionately affecting Black Caribbean and disadvantaged pupils.
In the review, Sir Alan noted it was “surprising” that issues Ofsted inspectors flagged in 2016 “did not feature in the evidence collation for subsequent inspections”, especially since parents and carers had commented on this in a 2023 pupil survey.
From 2002 to 2012, Sir Alan served as Chief Executive of The Learning Trust in Hackney, which was responsible for all of Hackney’s statutory education services. In his foreword to the 87-page report, he made clear his being “instrumental” in setting up Mossbourne Community Academy (MCA) in 2006, also belonging to the Mossbourne Federation multi-academy trust and Hackney’s first school of this kind.
MCA’s founding Principal was Sir Michael Wilshaw, who went on to serve as Ofsted chief between 2012 and 2016. The current Principal is Matthew Toothe. The CEO of Mossbourne Federation is Peter Hughes.
The CSPR was launched in December 2024 after accounts emerged first-year pupils being “screamed at” by senior leaders, along with five reports of secondary-age children “with no prior incontinence issues” soiling themselves.
The report noted that the school’s “defensive and dismissive leadership culture” had refuted concerns around its strict policies as “vexatious”.
‘Academies’ freedom must respect government guidance’
Responding to the report, Hackney’s Cabinet Member for Education, Cllr Anntoinette Bramble, said: “We are taking the necessary time to fully consider the report’s findings and how we can further strengthen our support for schools, settings, and partners, ensuring our education offer unequivocally puts the wellbeing of our children and young people first.
“As a local authority, our ability to influence the policies of academy schools is limited. While schools have the statutory freedom to determine their curriculum and policies, including behaviour policies, this freedom must respect the Department for Education’s guidance. Safeguarding, equality, and advocacy for the vulnerable and disadvantaged must remain central to all school approaches.”
Ahead of the CSPR’s publication, Mossbourne Federation commissioned a KC-led review into its complaints procedures and safeguarding practices, which found them “generally fit for purpose”.
In a statement to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), the Mossbourne Federation said it was considering the report “carefully and in detail” alongside the multi-academy trust’s board and the senior leadership team.
“While the report acknowledges the strong outcomes the schools achieve for pupils alongside high levels of support from parents and staff, it raises a number of issues which echo those detailed in the Anne Whyte KC Review, published last month. The Mossbourne Federation is committed to doing everything in its power to ensure the best outcomes for every child who attends its schools.
“In the meantime, we thank our hardworking staff, pupils and parents for their ongoing commitment, focus and support and reiterate our ongoing commitment to enabling students from all backgrounds to thrive and achieve their full potential.”
Ofsted declined to comment on the report’s findings.
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