Mossbourne Academies: investigations into alleged emotional harm and abuse. Why are needlessly strict academies unaccountable?

[ParentOfOne]

The Guardian has published a story https://www.theguardian.com/education/2024/dec/07/london-academies-emotional-harm-mossbourne-schools-observer-investigation

about allegation of emotional harm and other forms of mistreatment at "one of the country's leading academy trusts", which runs the following schools in Hackney, North London: https://www.mossbourne.org/our-schools/

It is a follow up to a similar story, on the same topic, published a couple of weeks ago: https://www.theguardian.com/education/2024/nov/23/teachers-at-mossbourne-academy-in-hackney-screamed-at-and-humiliated-pupils-say-angry-parents

The previous story was based on testimonials from 30 parents, but now 70 parents, more than 30 former students and eight former teachers have come forward

"A dossier of allegations, shared with the Observer and sent to the education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, included Mossbourne teachers being trained in “healthy fear” and “screaming” sometimes “centimetres apart” from children’s faces, several reports of children fainting in line-ups while being shouted at, and children with special educational needs and disabilities (Send) being punished unfairly and “pushed out” to other schools. Many former students said they had suffered mental health issues due to being afraid in school which had lasted long after they left."

Here there were some discussions about how notoriously strict these schools were https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/secondary/5019841-mossbourne-community-academy-any-experiences but no one mentioned this kind of emotional abuse.

My opinion remains that:

• I hate how so many schools have become academies. That's a backdoor privatisation, with teachers being paid less, while the CEOs of these academy trusts earn more than many University vice-chancellors
• I hate that academies are de facto unaccountable to anyone
• It is false that academies do a better job. Some work well, some don't, but lack of transparency and accountability remain big issues. E.g. see academic research by the LSE https://www.lse.ac.uk/social-policy/Assets/Documents/PDF/Research-reports/Academies-Vision-Report.pdf .
• Academies are simply good at showing Ofsted what they want. If this kind of s* happens in a school rated Outstanding, it means ratings are useless
• I am all for strict discipline, and I will absolutely stand by the school if they punish my child for misbehaving. But I absolutely dread needlessly draconian rules, put together by sexually repressed headteachers who didn't get enough love from their mums, and who get off on exercising this kind of authority to crush their students' spirit. I had made some examples here: https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/secondary/5168466-how-common-are-detentions-at-secondary?page=9&reply=138524258 where I also talked about a secondary school in London banning bicycles and giving detentions to students caught cycling to school

Regrettable incidents? 😡

Please do not minimize, some of the incidents are awful, it's hurtful to the families and students involved.

The apologists on this thread should read the narcissist's prayer:

That didn't happen
And if it did, it wasn't that bad
And if it was, that's not a big deal
And if it is, that's not my fault
And if it was, I didn't mean it
And if I did, you deserved it

Come to think of it, the Mossbourne leadership could do with reading it too.

I read someone's account of her time at Mossbourne on the BBC instagram post about their follow up article about Mossbourne.

She writes:
Little safeguarding support, no compassion, care or empathy was shown when I went into foster care in year 8..............screaming in a child's face for being 5 minutes late following a massive change to home circumstances and moving to foster placement 1+ hour away from the school, screamed at and isolated with no support....

Although the circumstances are quite different in my son's situation, the pattern is the same.

1. Traumatised child
2. In need of pastoral care
3. The child is 5 minutes late due to extenuating circumstances directly related to a traumatic event that an adult would find difficult
4. Instead of compassion and pastoral care the child is punished

Personally I think that disproportionately punishing a traumatised child, and failing to provide them with pastoral care and safety, is a form of abuse. Can you imagine for yourself experiencing a traumatic life event, then having your trust broken further in this way?

To the posters talking about school shoes, and raised voices, trust me, you are missing some key evidence.

Honestly, this is all giving me total Holland Park School flashbacks. I still don't understand why the disgraced former head of HP never went to prison for his actions. "Toxic" doesn't begin to describe it.

Yes. It shows how skewed we are in regarding grades as the be-all and end-all in education. As if, once the child has this piece of paper with certain letters on it and not others, they are guaranteed to be set up for life. When really, their mental and emotional welfare needs just as much attention.

FWIW I had an excellent education - which was great - and good grades - which no employer asked to see, ever, and which made absolutely no difference to my professional life.

But the care I received (or failed to receive) in school has had huge knock-on effects, which dog me even now, at 50.

@doorkeeper Good point about Holland Park School. For those who aren't familiar with the story:

www.theguardian.com/education/2021/aug/04/allegations-of-toxic-working-environment-at-top-london-school-holland-park

www.theguardian.com/education/2021/sep/08/the-trauma-stays-with-me-ex-pupils-of-london-school-tell-of-toxic-and-abusive-environment

www.theguardian.com/education/2022/may/04/investigation-finds-school-failed-vulnerable-children-and-misled-ofsted

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-61325597

In 2021, 26 former teachers and more than 100 former students publicly complained about a toxic environment at Holland Park School in West London, which had been rated outstanding.

The allegations were what we have come to expect from these draconian yet (only) apparently outstanding academies: zero safeguarding, toxic environment, illegal offrolling of unwelcome students, regularly shouting, etc.

From the last link, some of the findings not allegations but findings) of the investigations:

• An inappropriate response to the case of a teacher who was found to have had a relationship with a pupil
• Inappropriate use of the isolation room
• Open discussion at staff meetings about the personal appearance of teachers
• Rapid promotion of newly qualified teachers (NQTs) to positions of senior leadership without appropriate training or experience
• Inappropriate sharing of confidential information
• Staff questionnaires relating to the Ofsted inspection of January 2020 were destroyed at the instigation of some senior leaders

Like now with Mossbourne, the initial allegations were belittled by the same type of bootlickers who are belittling those who dare call out Mossbourne and its methods.

The headteacher, Colin Hall, conveniently retired. To my knowledge, he did not face any consequences: no trial, no fines, no lifetime ban from education or civil service, nothing. https://schoolsweek.co.uk/head-at-school-facing-toxic-culture-investigation-to-retire/

Holland Park School was rated outstanding in 2014. These allegations came out in 2021. In 2022 it was rated inadequate - but only after 26 former teachers and more than 100 former students publicly shamed Ofsted and forced it to intervene, not because Ofsted noticed anything on its own https://reports.ofsted.gov.uk/provider/23/140134

The school has now been taken over by the United learning trust, another group of academies, and hasn't been inspected yet: https://reports.ofsted.gov.uk/provider/23/149632

The bootlickers who think that an outstanding rating by Ofsted proves anything should reflect on these events and be ashamed.

@zaxxon, good points. FWIIW, it's all about balance.

My secondary school was an absolute jungle and the kids were, well, feral.
I was never bullied nor terrorised but it was certainly not an environment conducive to learning.

I most certainly do not want a school with no rules for my kids, because I have seen first hand how bad it can be.

Again, I want strict but reasonable, not strict and batshit crazy.

It's all about balance.

Some form of rating and inspection are necessary.
There are countries where inspections almost never happen, they are not published, exam results are not published, and families have no way, other than words of mouth, to assess a school. That's wrong.

But it is also wrong to make everything about ratings and exam results.
Goodhart's law: once a measure becomes a target, it stops being a good measure https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goodhart%27s_law , because people will find ways to tweak it and distort it in any way possible. This book on the topic is interesting, too: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36644895-the-tyranny-of-metrics#:~:text=A%20solid%205%20star%20book,happen%20in%20the%20real%20world.&text=The%20Tyranny%20of%20Metrics%20is%20a%20clear%20expression%20of%20mainly,shouldn't%20be%20counted%20on.
That's exactly what's been happening with schools in general and academies in particular.
Making it all about inspections and exam results has been an incentive in offrolling students, using draconian policies to disincentivise unwelcome students from applying, prioritising exam results to the detriment of mental health.

Again, here, too, it's all about balance.

Which is why I remain of the opinion that, if Ofsted says a school sucks, it's likely to suck, but I find the difference between good and outstanding irrelevant, and I know that those ratings can hide many skeletons.

Oh dear.....

A very experienced head offered me some advice a long time ago.
I quote, "because everyone has spent years at school they therefore believe that that some how makes them an expert."

There appears to be a lot of "experts" here pontificating. Some employing insults and put downs. As a teacher - I know I don't know what I'm talking about- I would never allow my students to so blatantly dismiss another student with such language....I might even make them write an apology or heaven forbid make them miss their break!!

You seem to have created a middle class "echo" chamber of angst, devoid of rational debate, flip flopping from one subject to the next endlessly chasing your tails with righteous indignation. While poor underprivileged children will be the ones that suffer from your crusade.

Personally I grew up working class, single parent, went to inner city comprehensive, My school was "laissez faire" that meant that the middle class kids in the top set got the best teachers and those at the bottom got the most inexperienced. Rules, we had rules no one followed them, classes absolute chaos, even if you wanted to learn you couldn't too busy dodging chairs.

Depression...psychological damage.....yup plenty of my school mates ended up sitting in HMP or worst, that is the reality. Talk about damage yeah I know all about damage.

A plague on all your houses, you guys have too much time on your hands.

@Odyeseus a plague on all your houses? Merry Xmas to you and best wishes to your child. 😉

@Odyeseus, on the contrary. Lots of people have posted reasons why the likes of Mossbourne should be scrutinised like any other organisation. Most have been perfectly civil. On the other hand, all we have had from Mossbourne apologists is minimising and zero sum thinking.

We aren't the ones who need to apologise, and we certainly don't need patronising responses or 'look, I know Shakespeare ' type insults.

A happy Christmas to you and yours.

@ParentOfOne I do agree with your last paragraph. The pp above though speaks of how dreadful some schools were but fails to recognise some schools are dreadful now, but in a different way. Neither are correct.

For what it’s worth, most dc respect firm but fair rules. They don’t like sergeant major teachers and being embarrassed in front of other dc. It’s also true that schools and teachers have no idea what to do with the many Sen DC that are in the schools. So the strict schools try and avoid having them because their strict culture just doesn’t suit these dc. Parents in general know this. Some don’t and think that strict is what dc need. Obviously it’s not. Others will find these schools perfect but these dc are probably quite compliant anyway.

I think parents have to assess everything about a school and not just the results other dc get. A good school is good. Outstanding isn’t necessary and Ofsted will look for evidence to support parental complaints. So complaints can trigger an inspection.

Thank you, I will pass on your sincere wishes to him.

And a happy new year to you to.

These people call other posters "obnoxious twat" and approve of their daughters rolling up skirts, they are neither middle class nor working class 😂

This line about SEN has been trotted out time and time again but it is total nonsense. Both Mossbourne and Michaela have a higher proportion of SEN students than average.

It doesn’t suit the narrative but many students with SEN cope much better in a calm, quiet, structured environment. The schools which have lessons constantly disrupted, DC fighting and bullying and running about corridors will not suit many SEN DC.

@TreeSquirrel Are your cognitive skills so truly impaired that you still fail to realise the fallacy of the false dichotomy between a draconian, Tranchbull-like (the character in Matilda) discipline, and anarchy and chaos, which you keep peddling, and which has been debunked many times over?

@Odyeseus There are many words to describe those who are more offended by the choice of words used to call out abuse, than by the abuse itself. I trust I don't need to come up with any such words myself.
You accuse me of "an echo chamber devoid of rational debate" yet I have debunked your nonsense and substantiated every single claim, quoting child psychologists specialised i trauma, quoting other examples (Holland Park School) in which Oftsed's outstanding was bull and Oftsed hadn't noticed seriously disturbing problems, quoting the accusations of hundreds of pupils affected by these methods.

What can I say, you do you

I would never allow my students to so blatantly dismiss another student with such language....I might even make them write an apology or heaven forbid make them miss their break!!

So if one of your students calls out their abuser with very strong words, you would feel compelled to force them to apologise, but would not feel empathy towards the victim, nor would you feel compelled to investigate. Well, you are unfit to be a teacher and unfit to be a parent, then.

@ParentOfOne

The fact is behaviour is not great in many U.K. schools (particularly those serving poorer communities). It is one of the biggest issues teachers are complaining about.

There are then some like those I mentioned up thread where behaviour is out of control and dangerous. There are others (largely following similar approaches to Mossbourne) where behaviour is excellent.

What there aren’t is many schools which have great behaviour and results like Mossbourne without strict rules and consequences.

@TreeSquirrel What there aren’t is many schools which have great behaviour and results like Mossbourne without strict rules and consequences.

For the squillionth time: and you know this how? Any proof for this?
How about the impact on mental health? Surely your approach is not "f### mental health"?

The problem is these schools don't seem to change behaviours. They just attract the children with the best behaviour and for any that don't they seem to just get rid of them.

Therefore these types of schools are discriminating against certain children like those with sensory issues or those with chaotic home life's as everything to them is black or white.

Also people simply don't see how it is acceptable to turn a blind eye to these allegations on the basis that these types of schools get good results.

The idea that these schools benefit the disadvantaged and children with SEN is probably exaggerated when you consider that they are simply taking well behaved children which a fair few from disadvantaged and SEN backgrounds are.

We have a fair few Harris schools in my area and there is little evidence that results have gone up across the borough as a whole.

As a teacher, you would evidently allow your students to write an overwrought screed employing a great deal of emotional language but not a shred of supporting evidence, since that is what you have done here.

You also apparently allow students to write on a topic without having done the reading. As you would know if you had read even one of the numerous news articles on which this discussion is based, the issue at Mossbourne is not a matter of strictness vs “laissez faire” but of whether a culture of bullying and abuse has been allowed to flourish. That may explain why so many teachers have spoken out against the school. But that evidently doesn’t square with the “teachers against the world” complex you have chosen to induce here.

Teaching is a profession, not a mystery religion beyond any possible understanding by mere mortals. Nor are schools absolute monarchies. If something would be child abuse at home or in public, it would be abuse at school too. Parents have a right to speak out on behalf of their children. Deal with it!

Oh look! The poster who calls girls “harlots,” but unaccountably requires smelling salts when she is called “obnoxious” has arrived to bring some much-needed decorum to this discussion.

We must treat their opinions with the seriousness they deserve.

There are loads of grammar schools that are not strict but have great results. Obviously they don’t exist everywhere and strict does not, in itself, bring about great results. Are the big 6th form schools in Hampshire strict? I don’t think so. It’s more about upbringing, personality and wanting to learn, Michaela and Mossbourne stand out because they have shouted about being strict. Pleasant schools do very well in other areas with motivated pupils but are not strict because they don’t need to be. Horses for courses with the strict schools.