Mossbourne Victoria Park Academy was accused of causing girls to menstruate into their unforms and children to develop incontinence issues due to strict rules and restrictions on toilets breaks
The leaders of an East London academy where vulnerable pupils were found to have potentially been harmed by its disciplinary culture have refused to apologise to children affected.
A safeguarding review into Mossbourne Victoria Park Academy (MVPA) in Hackney, celebrated for its outstanding academic results, concluded in December 2025 that the school’s culture of “punishment no matter what” had been “particularly harmful” for a significant minority of vulnerable pupils.
The report, commissioned by the City and Hackney Safeguarding Children Partnership and authored by Sir Alan Wood, looked at 342 reports from parents, pupils and staff describing a climate of fear, institutionalised shouting, a lack of reasonable adjustments for SEND children, and practices designed to humiliate pupils. Sir Alan called on the school to end the practice of isolating children in corridors – known as ‘desking’ – and teachers screaming into pupils’ faces.
Sir Alan urged the school to distinguish between “acceptable voice raising” to gain attention, and “unacceptable shouting” used to humiliate individual pupils. It concluded: “Academic excellence that traumatises some pupils is not true excellence.”
On Wednesday (July 8) figures from MVPA and its multi-academy trust Mossbourne Federation argued that their behaviour policy was “fit for purpose” but it was the culture and “implementation” that needed changing. As they faced a grilling by councillors for the first time since the report’s publication, senior figures from the trust said they had made “enormous progress” but they would not “throw the baby out with the bathwater”.
‘Gender discrimination’
Since MVPA is an academy, Hackney Council has limited enforcement power over the school, which is directly regulated by the Department for Education (DfE). The DfE was originally due to attend the meeting but pulled out. During the tense meeting, two cabinet members accused the trust of “gender discrimination” by requiring pupils to make up extra time if they take bathroom breaks during class.
A dossier of complaints which led to the damning review – normally reserved for cases of serious harm to children – included five reports from parents that pupils with no prior incontinence issues were soiling themselves or menstruating through their uniforms, either because they were prohibited from going to the toilet or were too afraid to ask.
MVPA’s Principal, Matthew Toothe, said the school was “unwaveringly caring” as he denied the toilet policy was “restrictive”, arguing that an alternative policy would fail those children who missed learning time. Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Early Intervention, and Cllr Laura Louise-Fairley, Deputy Cabinet Member for SEND, said this discriminated against menstruating girls.
Councillors challenged the leadership’s broader response to the report’s findings, claiming they had yet to see evidence of change. Cllr Fairley reported that one Year 6 child who had gone to MVPA on a transition day was sanctioned for not bringing a pen. She called on the senior leaders to say sorry to pupils identified by Sir Alan’s review.
‘Politics of apology’
Toby Campbell-Gray, Chair of the Mossbourne Federation, said the trust was focused on acting on the recommendations but despite pressure from councillors he refused outright to apologise for suffering experienced by schoolchildren.
“We’re not going to get into apology politics for lots of reasons,” he said, as he implied that certain practices could remain. This included desking, which he said could be “restorative” for pupils, including those who sometimes were asking to be removed from the class.
Peter Hughes, CEO of the Mossbourne Federation, said the school’s code of conduct had now been updated to make clear that “no child is belittled or [made] to feel less than”.
Independent Children’s Safeguarding Commissioner Jim Gamble, who oversaw the report in December 2024, has been critical of the trust’s response both leading up to the review and post-publication. In January, Mr Gamble shared his surprise that nobody from the senior leadership had yet resigned over the report’s findings. He has also called into question the £400,000 the Federation spent on legal fees including on its own parallel KC-led inquiry – the equivalent of nearly £500 per pupil.
When asked by Labour backbencher, Cllr Daniel Rea, whether this was an “appropriate” use of public funds, Mr Campbell-Gray said the trust would have “preferred to have spent less” and admitted this decision may have been a mistake, adding: “It is what it is”.
Mr Campbell-Gray took over as Mossbourne Federation Chair in March, following the resignation of Henry Colthurst.
Though Mr Gamble said he was pleased by the new chair’s “fresh perspective”, by the meeting’s end he became visibly frustrated with the leadership’s refusal to apologise to children who had “suffered in a place where they should have felt safe”.
“When an apology is warranted, it should be delivered. That candour is what differentiates those who can reflect and learn from those who simply will defend and continue to defend because they can,” he said.
Turning to the DfE, Mr Gamble did not mince words, claiming that “the so-called regulator” had failed to hold the school to account by sanctioning the leadership. “Leadership sets the tone for the culture, and governance should oversee and challenge when that culture has clearly gone wrong,” he said.
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