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

A school culture that "is not right for everyone" is not the same as a school culture that inflicts lasting damage on some of its students.

No amount of good progress for some pupils - not even 99% of pupils - could justify the other 1% being brutally treated.

Why are you so invested in defending this academy, Treesquirrel? Do you live in Hackney? Genuine question.

Your zero sum thinking is exhausting. Why are you unable to see the merits of a middle way? Many schools are able to manage this. Why can't the likes of Mossbourne?

Is Mossbourne one of those schools that has a completely different approach in the Sixth Form? Because looking at their Oxbridge and med school stats, it is difficult to believe they do not encourage independent thought in the Sixth Form? Is it one rule up to Year 11 and then get a whole lot of high achieving students in and relax the atmosphere?

Mossbourne was / is the first choice school for lots of parents of my DC’s friends. (We weren’t in catchment so never a consideration for us - our local option was generally seen as “worse” but not as “strict”.)

The outcomes at Mossbourne fantastic, and that’s why parents want it. It has the same expectation of the child, no matter their background - that part is great. But… everyone talked about whether or not their child could “handle” it; that you had to conform and be strong enough to cope with being shouted at all the time. I knew it wouldn’t be right for mine and we moved slightly away and actually chose private school (which is a massive privilege which my parents couldn’t have afforded for me).

All this - while difficult to read, especially the part about the 10-year-old on transition day - has been locally known for years. I’m glad it’s coming to light now.

Being strict and screaming at children isn’t the only way to level the playing field and get the results. However, doing it another way requires system change and real innovation. Those things don’t happen in state schools at the moment.

@TreeSquirrel "Except it’s not just a “few hard-nosed individuals” that succeed. Mossbourne has one of the best Progress 8 scores in the country, meaning that the average student gets nearly 2 grades batter than expected per GCSE.
That is absolutely transformational for the life chances of disadvantaged DC. The school culture will not be right for every DC, but equally a school where there is no discipline, disrupted lessons and bullying won’t be right for many either.
"

For the nth time, where the hell is the proof that that is the only way?

Many commenters here seem to think, or at least imply, that if these schools stop shouting at and terrorising children then anarchy and chaos would reign supreme.

Yes, I totally understand that a gentler approach which might work for my kids might not work with kids from different backgrounds. That's not my point.
I totally support banning phones and punishing children who misbehave, don't do their homework, etc.

My points are: why on earth would it be necessary to resort to these terror tactics in order to achieve discipline? Why would it be necessary to shout at children, to punish them for taking one second longer to get a pen out or for looking at the clock in class, to give the detentions for cycling to school or for wanting to take off their blazer in a heatwave, why the <insert expletive of choice> would any of this be necessary?

As for academic success: no, I do not want a school to be nurturing to the detriment of academic success. But:

• academic success is useless if it comes at the cost of mental health problems. We used to have schools with corporal punishments which achieved good academic results. Do we want to return to those times? Today many Asian countries are clear examples of how academic success can come at the cost of mental health, too. Not something to emulate.
• academic success in what context? Terrorising children this way teaches them to keep their heads down and not to question authority, it doesn't teach them to be creative, to be sceptical, to ask "why? where is the proof?". When haedteachers say the usual nonsense about uniforms and academic success, I would want my kids to have the maturity and the sense to ask: "why? Where is the evidence? Show me the research" I would want them to do a research of their own and to find that, in fact, there is no link whatsoever between uniforms and academic performance. That's critical thinking. That's what's needed in the modern world. And it's the exact opposite of what these schools teach.

I am not going to dox myself with details of my work, but let me just say that I have often seen at work examples of people working on always the same type of project, all almost identical to the previous one, and feeling completely lost when they had to face a new project with some new challenges requiring a new approach.

But… everyone talked about whether or not their child could “handle” it; that you had to conform and be strong enough to cope with being shouted at all the time.

This is truly appalling. Abusive. As stated.

And, coming back to the blazer thing. It's not acceptable for pupils to even have to ask to take a blazer off.

That's where the problem lies. Many kids will be too scared to speak up.

I don't have to ask my boss whether I can wear a thinner shirt in summer or layer up in a polo neck and drink tea all winter.

You can’t excuse child abuse by claiming it “works” for some students. There are lots of things that may “work” but are not allowed, eg corporal punishment.

China outperforms the West on every single front now. And no, they don't lack creativity - Chinese poetry is one of the most imaginative in the world and Chinese art is sublime.
On the industrial front, we will never catch up with them because we are lazy and shockingly uneducated and it's going worse and worse.
British colonial snobbery towards China which the Brits looted is so misplaced these days.

(I'm not Chinese or Asian, it's just beggars belief how out of touch with reality people are).

@Ubertomusic I'm not sure why you quoted me as I was just referencing a book I found interesting in relation to critical thinking.

Please can you not quote me in the context of your reply?

You don't know my heritage but it has upset me that you've linked my interest in a book to your commentary.

If you read the book I referenced you'll see that it is absolutely unrelated to your comments.

Sorry my post upset you, I cannot edit it now to unquote you. Please don't take it personally, I actually think your comments on the thread are very sensible.

Sure, they may have good poetry but poetry is not what I'm referring to, it's creativity and innovation in business. I happen to work in an industry where this is commonplace and know for a fact that they consult Western agencies for creative advice, especially Scandinavian companies. I work with colleagues who are based in China and know rather a fair bit about the education system in china 😃. But don't let facts stand in the way of your funny prejudices. You have just outed yourself as rather ignorant on the topic of China.

@Ubertomusic China outperforms the West on every single front now.

I am not sure how representative that was, but the Chinese and the Koreans I have met in the workplace, and two Korean friends I still hang out with were all very scarred psychologically from the emotional abuse endured at school.

If you want your child to endure that, you do you.

I do not want that for my child, and I remain convinced that good academic outcomes can and should be achieved not at the expense of your mental health. But, again, you do you.

Maybe it wasn't completely unrepresentative, by the way

https://koreapro.org/2023/11/how-south-koreas-academic-pressure-fueling-youth-mental-health-emergency/

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9244660/

https://www.sixthtone.com/news/1012956

https://fortune.com/2023/07/06/china-gen-z-mental-health-crisis-suicide-academic-depression-education/

No problem. Understood. If anyone else is reading this, I was just saying that Black Box Thinking is a very interesting book!

It just came to my mind in the context of shutting down open discourse. One thing I can't abide is a polarised debate because it often inhibits learning and improvement. Personally I find that when people polarise a debate they're often being driven by fear and / or ego.

[And again, I say this in the context of referencing the book Black Box Thinking. If you read the book you'll understand why it came to mind today]

British colonial snobbery towards China which the Brits looted is so misplaced these days.

No one is doubting China's rise as a global power, especially seeing that they are now colonising vast areas in Africa😉

But please bear in mind that China's education system is very rigorous and results-oriented, focusing on rote learning, memorising and standardised testing. The emphasis is on mastering material and meeting strict standards, rather than fostering innovation or problem-solving.

This approach produces good results, especially in subjects like math and science but leaves little room for open-ended exploration, critical thinking or creativity.

This limitation is why Chinese companies subcontract creative work to European agencies.In any case, creative exchanges between global businesses is positive, and Chinese companies bring their own strengths to the table. It's all good.

That said, it’s ironically (although unsurprisingly) paternalistic of you to defend the Chinese against the "big, bad colonial UK." Those days are long over and the Chinese know exactly where to get what they need. They don’t require Western validation. Saying they're ace at poetry is rather patronising, as that's not what they looking for when seeking creative input.

The point was made that rigorous and results-oriented learning is short sighted.

You are arguing against the education and assessment system we have in this country rather than the approach taken by these specific schools. There’s an discussion to be had about whether GCSEs and A levels focus too much on rote learning at the expense of creativity, but that is the system we have.

Schools like Mossbourne and Michaela are working within that system in order to maximise the life chances of their students. The best way of doing that is to help them get the best grades possible to maximise their future choices and opportunities.

The disadvantaged DC at these schools will get on average two grades better than expected. There are other schools where they will get two grades worse than expected. Almost without exception, the behaviour in those schools is awful.

Which DC will have the better life chances?

@TreeSquirrel Again, you imply that these needlessly draconian methods are the only ways to achieve good academic results, but you fail to substantiate why that would be the case. Spoiler alert: it's not. I refer you to the many posts above on this very point.

@ParentOfOne

I think Mossbourne would dispute that their methods are draconian. In any event, the vast majority of the schools with top progress 8 scores use a similar approach.

@TreeSquirrel Do you have any evidence or any research on these methods?

Any research that, for example, shouting at children, giving them detentions for cycling to school, forcing them to wear blazers in a heatwave, punishing them if they look at the clock on the wall etc are necessary for, and conducive to, a healthy learning environment and academic success, and doesn't cause mental health issues?

On this, may I humbly remind you that, decades ago, the education world was full of teachers and headteachers convinced that corporal punishments were necessary and conducive to a healthy learning environment, that they knew better because of their experience, etc etc. Yet we now know they were wrong.
So, no, the word of a headteacher who thinks this is best is worth nothing.

I think Mossbourne would dispute that their methods are draconian
Abusers rarely admit that theirs is abuse. Yet shouting at children and organising seminars on 'healthy fear' to terrorise children are abuse. And, again, the parents who fail to see it should be stripped of their parental responsibilities, IMHO.

I don’t live anywhere near Hackney. What I object to is a school that provides life-changing outcomes for disadvantaged DC being castigated.

As I said upthread, there are alternatives for parents who don’t want schools to have rules. This one has “planned fights”, “staff receive injuries from pupils”, “pupils and staff feel unsafe” and students “leave lessons because they want to”.

Alternatively, at this one, pupils use “racist and homophobic language”, and “vandalism, including offensive graffiti, poor behaviour and bad language are rife."

Not coincidentally, both have some of the worst outcomes in Britain. These are not right for anyone and show what happens when there is no discipline in a school.

It’s nothing to do with the word of the headteacher. The success of these schools is demonstrated by their Progress 8 figures, Ofsted reports and the fact parents are desperate to get into them!

You're still going at it with the blinkered zero sum thinking. Do you genuinely believe that it's an either/or? And do you genuinely believe that great academic results cancel out mental ill health inflicted by a schools methods?

Canvey is one of the most deprived areas in the UK. What drives parental disengagement with schools is poverty and a lack of opportunity. Sort that out and watch school outcomes improve - but that would take some actual work and investment. Easier just to shout at young people.

@TreeSquirrel The one and only thing which is "shown" is that these schools obtain good academic results.
This says nothing about the mental health of their students.
Nor does it mean that these methods are the only way to achieve good academic results.

Again, in the past we had schools where corporal punishments were applied, or bullying was common, which obtained good academic results.
Today we have multiple countries in Asia where academic results are good, but at the cost of a mental health crisis epidemic.

I also notice you replied with the example of a school with no discipline, and poor academic results.
Again, you continue with this nonsense, as if there were no alternative, as if the only alternative to these petty capricious draconian rules were anarchy and chaos, as if it weren't possible to punish misbehaviour without terrorising children.

Are you functionally illiterate and incapable of comprehending the text you have read, and incapable of comprehending the flaws and fallacies of your thought process?

Or do you comprehend them, but you are a troll intentionally acting in bad faith, twisting words and misrepresenting facts example and evidence?

I cannot think of a third option.

I'm just sitting here waiting for TreeSquirrel to castigate me for my missing apostrophe in the post above...

For these schools, negative media coverage of their ultra strict culture is what they want. They then become more oversubscribed with the children of pushy parents who prize attainment over all else, and generally children witb additional needa are pushed out or off rolled. Progress 8 goes up, parents who care about progress 8 more than anything else want to get their kids in even more. And it creates 'sink schools' in the surrounding areas and the gulf widens. That's why it tends to happen in big cities, a small town with one secondary school can't play that game so there's not the incentive for the draconian reputation.
That's the game- but it is galling when they act as if its anything in particular they're doing education wise that's getting those results. Or that their neighbouring school down the road could now 'learn from their example' - they can't catch up with a school that started the marketised schooling, parental choice game first.