Mossbourne Community Academy - any experiences?

[LimeSqueezer]

We've been offered a place at MCA in Hackney, but have another option. Obviously, amazing academic results at GCSE and for the (incredibly selective) 6th form.

Any views on the experiences of children? Are they actually happy there? It seems like a rather joyless place. I've heard they cover the GCSE curriculum in Y9 and Y10 and then spend all of Y11 in mind-numbing exam revision, which is how they achieve such good grades. I've also heard that while it's a diverse school, the friendship groups are not, and the sets have mostly upper middle class white kids in top sets and Black kids from the Pembury estate in the lower sets. Anyone know how much truth is in these claims based on current students?

It also does not seem open to communication with parents, based on its very limited and unwelcoming open evening (with lots of queues) and unwillingness to speak with parents at any other time, even for kids with SEN. Apparently, teachers will not respond to emails, but will only call parents. How does that work when parents can't pick up the phone because they're at work?!

I have a friend who's DD goes there - she is very happy. They are very good academically but have strict discipline, like the other Mossbourne.

Both Mossbourne academies have excellent results, but they are INCREDIBLY strict. I've heard of children having nervous breakdowns etc - but on the whole, kids are happy there.

I'm really glad to hear friend's child is happy, but not about kids having nervous breakdowns!! It does seem like a potentially anxiety-inducing environment for some children if they always feel they may be about to get a detention for the slightest mistake or even misunderstanding.

Not all kids have these problems, most of them are fine and happy.

The strict discipline issue - I'm afraid its the same throughout Hackney. But at least this school is excellent academically.

How long do you have to decide? I would recommend reading Re-educated by Lucy Kellaway, who was (is?) a teacher there. She is very frank about the school’s ethos and the positives and negatives.

I took my son to the open evening a couple of years ago, and while the academic results were impressive, I was concerned by the ethos. One of the teachers giving a talk in a classroom, kept saying things to the kids such as 'you just moved your pencil, I'd give you a detention for that!'. The entire open evening seemed to focus on the punitive elements - and very much the attitude of 'we're Mossbourne, if you have any concerns, tough'. My son is really well behaved, but gets anxious - he'd be a nervous wreck in an environment where the teachers were trying to catch him out.

We went with CFSB in the end - really good academics, really strict discipline, but much healthier environment (shame it's single sex but you can't have everything).

What did you decide to do @LimeSqueezer ? I'm in the same position as you @WildishBambino, clever kid who obeys the rules but a bit anxious.

The reviews I'm reading online are atrocious.

We decided to go private, despite the many drawbacks. Just couldn't accept the seemingly substantial risk of DC having such an awful start to secondary school. It feels like Mossbourne tries to implement a pre-emptive punishment of the children to break their spirit and ensure their compliance by being extra strict at the start of Y7. They don't distinguish between actual naughtiness and failure to comply with the letter of every single arbitrary rule, including things like not touching another child or their property (even to give back a dropped pencil) under absolutely any circumstances. CFSB seemed more humane.

I'm glad you made a decision, OP - its so tough! But from what I've heard, most of the academies in Hackneys are exactly the same: one of the teacher friends explained that this is a system developed in the tougher areas of the USA where kids can only be controlled by being disciplined very strictly. There is this idea that kids in Hackney are feral and this is the only way to deal with them if you want any decent results. I know that City of London academies are just as strict, and City Hackney academy, too. Haggerston used to be very good in this respect but it is now also an academy and I would imagine will get stricter, too.

I don't know much about CFSB though and hope it will be great for your son; I've heard only good things about this school.

I highly doubt that. Mossbourne has a serious class division issue, the students that enjoy mossbourne are often the white, middle / upper class students. My daughter amongst many others have all said it is these students that get better treatment from teachers and staff unfortunately. For them, Mossbourne is usually smooth-sailing

This is an uncomfortable read https://www.theguardian.com/education/2024/dec/15/academy-trust-england-safeguarding-review-mossbourne

shocking read for the parent of a child at a ‘normal’ comprehensive.Strict school 'harmful' to some pupils, review says https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwyvlj1zel0oStrict school 'harmful' to some pupils, review says https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwyvlj1zel0oStrict Review

wow. Will tell my child how lucky they are. School first. Children second. Parents … not relevant.

Man passes misery on to man, so will we have generations of kids who have gone through the school (s) thinking this is an ok way to behave in their future work or personal relationships? Or are we meant not to worry about that as long as the majority have stellar exam results?

The report is shocking, but also entirely consistent with my OP filled with concerns based on local parent chit-chat and attending open evenings. So, it's not like these things should have come as a massive surprise.

Everyone knew forever its a horrible school but because it as close as people can get to a public school without paying anything everyone was prepared put up with it.

I know of a kid who literally ended up in a hospital with a breakdown because of it. If a child even slightly non-conforming their life would be hell. And its not the only school that is horrible to children. City of London Academy Shoreditch Park and City Academy Hackney are just as bad.

My DC is at Shorditch Park and he really likes it. They are strict that’s true but within that they are warm. He gets overwhelmed by the homework and they are stepping in to help. Sends support is also incredible. So if there’s an issue please provide receipts. Thank you 🙏🏻

My DC is also there and is struggling with detentions and refs - he is literally missing a ton of lessons for being taken out of the class for talking and fidgeting. He is ND but gets very little support. They are nice to talk to but not all staff are equally warm and supportive.

Edited: my DC is good academically and has no problems with homework but he is taken out of the tests regularly, not allowed to retake them, not allowed to join in class and missing tons of learning.

My understanding is that only happens if it’s distributed to the class…. And they go into a shadow class with their trusted adult. And do the same lesson. Maybe it’s not quite as good quality in the shadow class.

It’s such a difficult one because while I understand your distress, my son is doing incredibly well because of this approach. In his junior school disruption was tolerated, and the disruption by others massively impacted my child’s learning. To the extent that there was a belief he might had a processing issue… Turns out he just needed a quiet environment and he’s thriving, and loves the clarity around the rules.

Within that every child has the right to learn, and I would certainly be very intensely engaged in how they will support your child to achieve their potential. It is a very strict school, and they don’t always get it right. I have stepped in to get support with homework and any detentions that felt excessive and they have been very respectful and responsive with me. I’d be keen to know how things develop for you and your child. I think because they are strict it can be a lot to get used to and will not be right for every child. It doesn’t mean they are like the school in the report though. That’s a whole other world of dysfunctional hell!

please do update us.

I have been heavily engaged with the school but its getting to the point where I feel I might have to move him. His ILP is not followed, he is constantly in internal exclusion where he is not given any work and not allowed to take tests, last year he had terrible results because he did not take tests. He gets into internal exclusion on the accumulation of the removals from class, and a lot of these are because he talks in the corridor, not in class. He is not given any class work, he is basically excluded from learning.

There is never a single incident, its always an accumulation of small misbehaves like chatting, being fidgety etc. We had a CAMHS psychologist's report saying removing my DC from class and punishing him heavily would not work, but the school is not interested. They say he is doing this deliberately and has to have sanctions.

I understand he might need to get sanctions but he is basically is not allowed to learn anything. its quite depressing.

I can really feel how stressful and as you said depressing this must feel if your child is missing out on learning. That sounds incredibly distressing.

For us, the structure has actually worked well, and my son is doing better than he did in a more permissive environment. I think the strictness has helped him feel settled and focused. That said, I completely recognise that what supports one child can feel unworkable for another, especially where neurodiversity is involved.

I hope you’re able to get the right support in place for your son, whether that’s within the school or by exploring other options. Every child deserves access to learning and to feel understood.

Thank you. I completely understand that my DC might be disruptive and needs sanctions but it seems so cruel that he is deliberately prevented from learning anything, and is excluded from school life - especially as we had a psychologist's report saying his behaviour is mainly due to his ND issues. He spends his time sitting in empty classroom doing nothing (well, he is allowed to read so he is doing that a lot). I have to tech him stuff as he is never in class.

We were in a very similar position to you around a year ago. We ended up looking at schools in Newham to the east of the borough as the travel was pretty much the same as looking somewhere further west in Hackney. We looked at Bobby Moore Academy and Eastlea Community School. Their focus is completely different and genuinely felt different to some of the academies. Newham has loads of secondary schools, many under subscribed (olympic legacy!) so don't be put off by location/distance if you do end up looking to move

Could I please message you direct?

Sure!