Ex-Mossbourne teacher blasts ‘silent subjugation’ of pupils

Sylvain Savier trained for five weeks at Mossbourne Community Academy. Photograph: courtesy Sylvain Savier

A teacher who trained at a Hackney academy has criticised the “silent subjugation” of its pupils, as a school from the same trust faces a safeguarding investigation over concerns for children’s welfare.

As a trainee, Sylvain Savier spent five weeks during 2016 teaching French and Spanish at Mossbourne Community Academy (MCA), part of the multi-academy trust Mossbourne Federation.

While there, he saw “entire cohorts subjected to repeated emotional maltreatment”, and described feelings of “Stockholm Syndrome” in complying with the school’s behaviour policies.

In a letter seen by the Citizen, written during his time at the school, Savier claims one pupil told him the “constant screaming of adults had been part of her education at Mossbourne for years”.

He also described repeated occurrences of teachers shouting the term “stupid” at young people, including one episode where a teacher “call[ed] a Year 9 pupil ‘stupid’ at the top of his lungs – not just in one sharp outburst, but in a prolonged, purposeful, vicious minute”.

“I suddenly felt ashamed to be standing in front of thirty-one Year 9 students, trying to explain French prepositions while pretending that nothing had happened.”

The trust has been in the spotlight since November, when the Observer reported that it had received evidence from 30 parents whose children attend Mossbourne Victoria Park Academy (MVPA) in south Hackney.

They gave accounts of first-year pupils being “screamed at” by senior leaders, along with five reports of secondary-age children “with no prior incontinence issues” soiling themselves.

Other claims include one parent who was “devastated” that concerns over their child’s suicidal thoughts were not taken seriously, and a pupil with an anxiety disorder, known to the school, being publicly berated by their teacher and sent home to have their fringe cut.

In December, the children’s safeguarding commissioner Jim Gamble announced he would be launching a rare safeguarding review – usually reserved for individual cases of serious harm to children – into the school.

The Citizen understands there have been approximately 250 reports from families about children’s experience at the trusts’ schools — the majority in relation to MCA.

The academy and the trust were contacted on multiple occasions but did not respond.

The trust previously said members were “saddened to read [the] accounts” and “do not recognise the characterisation of the school”.

“Whilst we have high expectations of behaviour and attitudes to learning, we are very proud of being a diverse and inclusive trust, in which children and young people thrive and go on to secure outstanding results,” a spokesperson said.

“We take any issues raised by parents seriously and investigate them fully. We have also had external reviews by Ofsted, and the local authority — in none of these were any concerns raised.”

Savier, who has worked in London schools for nearly a decade, said: “Mossbourne’s leadership team can produce a range of evidence to support the claim that they have the children’s well-being at heart.

“However, none of the infrequent conversations I had with students support this claim. Mossbourne is a prison-school that subjects entire cohorts to repeated emotional maltreatment.”

He claims that even police officers present at the school as part of Operation Trident were “bewildered” by some of the policies.

The Citizen understands that as a trainee teacher, Savier would not have been on MCA or the trust’s employment payroll.

Although the safeguarding investigation is solely focused on MVPA, Victoria ward councillors have said they “fear the problem is more widespread”.

Parents and carers of pupils attending Mossbourne academies defended the trust in a letter published recently, arguing that its schools “change the trajectories of young people’s lives for the better”.

“While the rules can be strict and firm, and there is room for improvement in some areas, the vast majority of the children are well adjusted, happy and well cared for.

“No school is perfect, and we welcome the opportunity to suggest and support some changes in the way the schools operate,” the letter stated.

The independent safeguarding inquiry will be led by Sir Alan Wood, former director of children’s services in Hackney.

A council insider from the borough’s children and families directorate has said they and others are “relieved” that the investigation is taking place, accusing the trust’s “leadership and culture” of causing “large-scale suffering” to pupils.

It is understood that the trust has also launched a separate, KC-led investigation into itself, recommended by the Department for Education.