Mayor of Hackney ‘deeply concerned’ as Mossbourne ‘punishment no matter what’ regime exposed in review

Mayor of Hackney Caroline Woodley expressed concern over the safeguarding review. Photograph: Hackney Council

The Mayor of Hackney has said she is “deeply concerned” by a safeguarding review into one of the borough’s top schools that revealed “punitive” behaviour policies had caused significant harm to some children.

On Tuesday (9 December) an independent investigation found the strict behaviour code at Mossbourne Victoria Park Academy (MVPA) had fostered a culture of “punishment no matter what” that was particularly harmful for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

Children from ethnic minority backgrounds were also twice as likely to receive sanctions.

The report, authored by Sir Alan Wood, stood up claims made by multiple parents last year. He found staff were routinely shouting at, isolating and publicly humiliating pupils.

One ex-pupil told Sir Alan: “During Year 9, I started to self-harm because the teachers made me feel as though I didn’t deserve to live because of my grades”.

Others said they felt “punished for struggling” with their mental health or recounted panic attacks they had while placed on a “time-out desk”.

Staff testimonies, meanwhile, described a “climate of fear” where teachers were encouraged to reprimand children in public, and that senior leaders framed “empathy as a weakness”.

Mossbourne Victoria Park Academy. Photograph: Google

‘A seminal report’

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), Mayor Caroline Woodley said she was “deeply concerned” by the “seminal” report that highlighted “punitive” sanctions and lack of reasonable adjustments for pupils with SEND.

“It is impossible to read without thinking of the impact the issues identified will have had on the children, parents and carers involved […] Likewise, the findings relating to the disproportionate impact on Black and Global Majority pupils, particularly Black boys,” she said.

Mayor Woodley added that the council was committed to embedding inclusive and anti-racist principles in the borough’s schools.

Earlier this year, the LDRS reported her vocal criticism of ‘zero-tolerance’ behaviour policies. “Any child with special educational needs is going to fall foul of [these policies] at one point or another,” she told councillors at the time.

‘Paradox of success’

As an academy, MVPA is not subject to local authority control but is still accountable to the Department for Education (DfE). The DfE described the report as “serious and deeply concerning”.

The City & Hackney Safeguarding Children Partnership’s investigation examined 73 accounts relating to MVPA, alongside testimony from parents, pupils, teachers and external professionals. Sir Alan, a former Director for Children and Young People’s Services at Hackney Council, said the report revealed a “paradox” of “success, but not for all” at MVPA, noting that while many children were thriving, others experienced significant harm.

He called for major changes to the school’s governance, leadership culture, behaviour code, support for SEND and handling of complaints.

Responding to the review, Independent Chair of the City and Hackney Safeguarding Children Board, Jim Gamble, said: “If the safeguarding, welfare and inclusion of all children are not at the heart of what we expect of schools, then the foundation upon which academic excellence is built is incomplete. When it comes to the safety and welfare of our children, no individual or institution is above scrutiny.”

School’s co-operation ‘not encouraging’

Hackney politicians joined the chorus of responses thanking Sir Alan for his “rigorous” report into the school.

On Tuesday the borough’s education chief, Cllr Anntoinette Bramble, called its publication a “critical moment”. She said the council’s goal was to ensure education in Hackney struck the balance “between high expectations and clear boundaries, while fostering inclusion, empathy, and resilience”.

Independent Socialist Councillor Penny Wrout, who represents Victoria ward where MVPA sits, said she hoped the school would learn from the safeguarding review – but she shared her doubts.

In a statement to the LDRS, she said: “We should remember that Mossbourne’s record on cooperation with outside agencies raising issues about welfare in the school, has not been encouraging to date. Let’s not forget Mossbourne originally labelled the call for a review as ‘vexatious’.

“Despite saying the school would work with the safeguarding review team, in fact it was difficult for Sir Alan to access the information he needed, with Mossbourne communicating only through lawyers for much of the process.”

The local Labour Party added that it would be discussing with MVPA and the government how the school could align with the borough’s education strategy, despite the local authority’s limited sway over the academy.

A Hackney Labour spokesperson echoed Sir Alan’s warning that good academic results “cannot be” at the expense of those children treated differently.

The multi-academy trust Mossbourne Federation said it was carefully reviewing the report, and said it echoed a number of issues raised by a separate KC-led review into its complaints procedure published in November.