The testimonies below describe, for the first time, the longer-term mental health impact of experiences consistent with those identified in the Local Child Safeguarding Practice Review of Mossbourne.
While the review focussed on recent experiences at the newer academy, Mossbourne Victoria Park, the majority of testimonies submitted concerned the original school, Mossbourne Community Academy.
Many of the students who have shared their anonymised accounts are willing to go on the record and comment publicly.
The voices of these adult former students are of national importance, as they point to the need to understand the potential mental health impact of similar practices at further schools, and to act to ensure all children are protected.
The accounts were among those submitted as part of the process that triggered the safeguarding review. They are shared here, at the request of the former students concerned, in the public interest. It is recognised that there are many caring teachers at Mossbourne who are deeply committed to pupils, and who may have wished to act to prevent the experiences described.
Please note that many of the experiences described are distressing.
Jim Gamble, the safeguarding commissioner who called for the review, has said that it “provides overwhelming evidence that a culture prioritising compliance and control led to harmful, humiliating practices that went unchecked due to a defensive leadership culture and a failure of governance”.
While many children are also reported to have thrived at Mossbourne, there may be a further group; those who fitted-in, achieved academically, but nonetheless carry lasting emotional or psychological effects that have never been recognised. This may also be true of other schools.
Sir Alan Wood, who led the safeguarding review and has since been appointed to Ofsted’s governing body, included in his conclusion “…concerns extend across the Federation… This review also has national implications. The “No Excuses” model, when implemented rigidly without adequate safeguards, can become one of ‘zero tolerance” that causes serious harm to vulnerable pupils.”
Mossbourne may be an outlier, but the methods it pioneered since 2004 have been widely copied. For that reason, while acknowledging the academic benefits, the former students whose accounts appear below are calling on the government to learn from experiences such as theirs:
We call on the government to conduct an inquiry into the effect that the rapidly changing environment in many schools has had on children’s mental health and development, and to act on the findings to protect all young people.
For over two decades, governments have presided over a largely unmonitored social experiment. A combination of increasingly punitive discipline, rising exam pressure, and academy structures with limited accountability may be contributing to an escalating mental health crisis.
Like a canary in a coal mine, the harm identified by the safeguarding review of one of the first academies signifies an urgent need for action. As adult former students still feeling the long-term impact of our experiences we believe voices like ours need to be heard.
Testimonies from former students
The following accounts are reproduced largely verbatim from submissions made to the safeguarding process, with minimal edits to remove identifying details.
ID 485
I attended MCA from 2010-2015 and my mental health was greatly affected during and after my time there. As soon as I arrived I was afraid. This fear lasted for many years due to the overzealous and intense fear instilled in us from day one. We were made to feel as if we were in trouble before even doing anything wrong, for not already being aware of the long list of extremely strict rules. I came to the school a happy child however I had previously experienced symptoms of anxiety and depression. Being at Mossbourne exacerbated these symptoms immensely. I would regularly have full-blown panic attacks before leaving for school and would often not want to attend.
I have many accounts from my time at Mossbourne; one that resonates in particular is when my [family member] passed away. I was chastised by a senior teacher at the time for ‘milking my situation’ due to my attendance suffering because of the mixed anxiety, depression, and grief I was experiencing. I was crying during this conversation, and afterwards made to sit outside their office in the hallway, where you are visible to everyone. My mother had a meeting with the said teachers’ superior over the incident, as my mother found my treatment appalling. There were several other times she had to make complaints regarding the school’s conduct.
After leaving MCA, my mental health was greatly affected and deteriorated when I attended college, which I ended up dropping out of. My college was very aware of the negative after-effects that Mossbourne had on myself. I am very willing to go into greater depth about my experience at Mossbourne as there are many more accounts of what I believe to be unfair and inappropriate treatment. Multiple friends of mine, and myself have for years shared our experiences and often wondered with whom and how we would share these.
ID 222
I went to Mossbourne Community Academy & Sixth Form from 2014-2021. My very first day I was screamed at for dropping a pen, having my elbows on the table and crying because I did not know my times tables. I was a well-behaved and good-mannered student and still their extreme discipline squeezed the life out of me. From the very start, Mossbourne cultivated a ‘culture of fear’ which defined my whole teenage years. Only now, 3 years after leaving Mossbourne, have I started to unlearn the deep anxiety and self-doubt which my school instilled in me. When I reflect on my experience at Mossbourne there is a lingering sense of sadness and worry. I will not forget the dread of walking past certain infamous (mostly male) teachers, the overwhelming pressure around grades/homework and ultimately the feeling that everything I was doing was fundamentally wrong.
It is hard to describe what it was like going to Mossbourne; I remember becoming more and more aware of the extent of what I experienced as psychological abuse at school during Sixth Form and even then I found it difficult to communicate quite how disgusting I found the actions of some of the teachers were to my parents. The level of strictness was dehumanising and cruel. I witnessed multiple examples of comments and treatment I experienced as racist, sexist, and discriminatory in the classroom. Having said that, there were also caring and honest teachers, but they looked broken down by the system too.
Looking back, I know I am not alone. The constant state of fear at school was normalised. It felt like their system was designed to ‘break you’, and then put you back together in their shape. I can’t shake the anger at how Mossbourne was so inhumane to children and their parents.
ID 627
I experienced significant anxiety related to academic performance and attendance [at MCA over 10 years ago]. I experienced incredible burnout and completely broke down in college because of the difference in enforcement of structure and rules. I became unable to function without the strict rule and fear of punishment if I didn’t complete my work. I had developed no intrinsic motivation and had no ability to encourage myself to study or complete my work. I am in the process of attaining an ADHD diagnosis as I completely rebounded out of Mossbourne and struggled immensely. I severely underperformed and had developed no ability to be resilient – despite achieving some of the top grades in the country at GCSE level.
It was a very well established rule that you couldn’t go to the toilet during lessons – even if the toilets were too busy to go during the break. There were toilets on the second floor of some blocks that teachers wouldn’t let you go to during break or lunch because they didn’t trust that you were going to the bathroom. So, it meant there were only two bathrooms that the girls could go to during break or lunch. There were also teachers who would sit outside the bathrooms and decide whether or not you could go in there.
Even when you had your period teachers would only let you go at their discretion, which varied from teacher to teacher. I think some felt that some girls would use that as an excuse to get out of class and, depending on how close it was to the end of the lesson, they would say to wait.
ID 457
When I was in [school year] around 12-13 years old, I had my period for the first time. I was made to sit outside the [subject] office all day. Not once was I allowed to go to the toilet until I started crying and bled through my trousers onto the chair and a teacher saw me and I asked them for permission after being rejected permission several times by [teacher] telling me ‘to sit back down’ and ‘where do you think you’re going’. I started to bleed through my trousers and the chair and yet again they didn’t allow me to go to the toilet and would just dismiss me without allowing me to tell them what was happening. I ended up going home that day [late evening] with soaked blood because of repeated refusals by this teacher.
This was just one of my horrible experiences with this school, an experience that frightened me to speak to teachers and gave me a lack of confidence in this school, something I’m only gaining back now 2 years later.
ID 240
I was a student at Mossbourne Academy from 2007 to 2010. I am now 30 years of age.
I felt targeted as an independent thinker and non-conformist at Mossbourne. I felt they treated me as dangerous, as I refused to accept mistreatment, unlike many of the other children that appeared to me to be terrified and institutionalised. I was put in isolation by myself without explanation for whole days at a time and felt forgotten about sometimes. I spent most of year ten isolated, not told why, and by myself for an unknown amount of time.
I have countless stories and examples of foul treatment to me and many other students that I witnessed, including what felt like trigger happy expulsions and groups of minority ethnic working class boys of more than 5 being split up as gangs, whilst middle class white groups were not hassled.
But mostly I remember a draconian school, not just strict (which is fine), but more so a culture where it felt to me like staff were encouraged to be bullies, to impose ridiculous, unnecessary powers over students to create fear. Any attempts at reasoning with them appeared to me to be seen as insubordination. The whole school felt to me like a prison camp and had a sour fearful atmosphere and created no sense of safety from the staff and no mutual respect was created between them….the atmosphere was not of respect but of fear. The staff I understand were also under immense pressure and also bullied if they didn’t conform… I understand many of them left because of this (the nice ones anyway).
The results had a sheer impact on my mental health and caused me 4 years of much trauma, stress and loss of faith in the system… I was powerless. It was one of the hardest chapters of my life and am still dealing with traumas from this in therapy. It also causes my mum years of stress and impact on her and she was on my side and would be prepared to speak out.
ID 617
Despite having first joined the school in 2013, I and many of my peers suffered from mental health issues due to being at the school and some still suffer, including myself. I would dread going to school every day and have difficulty sleeping with the knowledge I would have to go to school the next day. I did not know it wasn’t normal to fear going to school every morning.
Consistent, if not daily, public humiliation in the form of shouting/screaming in front of others, issuing detentions, singling out for incorrect uniform or equipment, being too quiet, smiling when ‘inappropriate’, even saying bless you when someone sneezed.
As we were not allowed to go to the toilet I had to in a way train myself to hold it. I also intentionally did not drink water so that I would not need the toilet, leaving me dehydrated and with headaches. This was particularly bad for young girls who are starting their periods for the first time, with irregular and unpredictable cycles. If it was a period related emergency we would have to announce it to the whole class to potentially be allowed to go, and then have to stay back at the end of the day in detention.
I remember in classes particularly in year 7 there were occasions of students wetting themselves out of fear or having been denied access to the bathroom.
Towards the end of my time at the school I was admitted into Camhs, and despite being able to leave to go to my appointment once a week (which was an ordeal to set up in itself despite being when I didn’t have a lesson) there was no support despite knowing how at risk I was. I felt alone and did not feel safe enough to discuss my dangerously poor mental health with any staff at the school.
ID 005
I attended Mossbourne Community Academy. I had teachers regularly scream in my face, mock me in front of other pupils, put me in isolation for little reason, telling me I was weird or making comments about me having a learning disorder, giving unnecessarily harsh punishments as if to “break me” due to my perceived arrogance, search me for what I felt was little reason. Some of this conduct was done by [senior members of staff]. Teachers would sometimes make comments I felt were inappropriate, often bullying students until they cried and then forcing them to wait outside offices while other pupils walked past. [Certain teachers] would always yell at children who had different learning needs in what I felt was a cruel and unusual fashion, and appeared to me to provide no reasonable adjustments for them to properly access learning and school. I now have been diagnosed with several mental health disorders as a result of the traumas put upon me by teachers and senior management.
ID 150
I went to Mossbourne Community Academy from year 9 through to year 11. While it was good for my grades and there were many teachers who I think conducted themselves correctly, I felt that Mossbourne has an environment which fosters a serious imbalance of power and can make students feel insignificant. Students are often shouted at. One teacher even told me as I was older, I wasn’t as well behaved as the other children who had been there since year seven as I hadn’t had the ‘year 7 treatment’ which in a nutshell appeared to me to be trying to break down a student to get them to follow orders through shouting and harsh punishments. Often things like eye contact would get me and other students in serious trouble as it was seen as argumentative and challenging.
I felt that senior leadership teachers had no sympathy towards students, and did not conduct themselves in a manner befitting a teacher, often losing their heads. I was told this is just what school is like but after being at other schools I would say that this does not have to be the case. The ‘federation’ is so heavy on obedience and discipline that I don’t think they foster independence and while people might do well in exams it is not good for the development of children.
ID 033
I was a previous student at the sixth form of MCA. I experienced what felt like repetitive mental abuse throughout my last year at the school, leading to poor attendance and help from CAHMS which ultimately made the situation worse. I was strong academically and fortunately made it through, however the treatment I received from the school can not be taken back.
I am still attending therapy and struggle to attend university due to Mossbourne. My peers are similar, always recounting their experiences — relying on shouting as motivation. My friend is attending therapy too.
I was either shouted at directly in front of my peers in my [subject] lessons, or taken outside of the classroom with the door left open for my teacher to yell at me (allowing all my peers to still hear and slightly see what was happening). Yelled at in the hallways and at the desks outside of offices. You would receive detentions for going to the bathroom. I begged a teacher outside an office to let me go to the bathroom as I was going to vomit – they were persistent on me not going, and lastly tossed a bin towards me and told me to do it in there.
If I were to be late, I would bunk the day instead of coming in as I would receive several 6pm detentions. I stopped coming into school due to anxiety of going into [subject] (vomitting, fainting, suicidal thoughts, hallucinations). I would lash out in LSU so they would kick me out, as I would’ve rather worked at home than at school. Whenever excluded, I was either given the wrong work or none whatsoever. When fainting in school, this was not communicated to my teachers, leading to detentions for missing class. Dismissal of my anxiety and suicidal thoughts.
ID 544
Since attending MCA, I’ve been diagnosed with anxiety. I also experience periods of depression and my general sleep is very bad- I never feel like I get enough sleep, even after 12/13 hours, which is very different to how I used to be before MCA. As I attend therapy now, my thoughts often always link back to experiences at MCA, especially about the students who used to get screamed at and humiliated. That thought makes me very emotional to this day. I would often break down in the middle of lessons, sometimes so uncontrollably that I would be allowed to sit out of lesson. I also experience panic attacks much more frequently since.
Even now, as I’ve gotten into my dream university with my dream course, I’ve traded it for a lot of my mental and physical well-being and that matters to me. I’ve learned to value my health above all else, and wouldn’t choose to go to Mossbourne again, if given the chance.
…some teachers would often yell at the whole class for not being good enough. My [subject] teacher was a strict individual, who wouldn’t let me not answer a question despite me genuinely not knowing. This went on for 5 minutes, and I was visibly tearing up however they wouldn’t let it go. My [subject] partner was humiliated by them frequently, making her cry while the whole class would watch. They screamed at her one time, and she sobbed, screaming back. They would take all her stuff and make her sit outside the office.
One teacher was so against letting my friend go to the toilet. She had genuinely started her period, and they asked her “Can’t you hold it in?” This was shocking – it suggested to me how ignorant some of the teachers could be to any form of student wellbeing. My peers were told they absolutely couldn’t go to the toilet when asked and after relentlessly begging a teacher, they would be told to be very quick and had to make up lost time after school.
ID 410
I attended MCA [over 10 years ago] all the way up until sixth form..
All throughout my years, I experienced what I felt was relentless bullying from some teachers – mostly senior staff. MCA prides itself in academic success in one of the country’s lower socio-economic backgrounds, yet, students were made to feel less by staff members if they could not afford certain attire.
Senior leadership would often be seen screaming centimeters from a pupils face whilst pupils were visibly upset and shaken. People do not communicate like this in any aspect, not in a professional setting at least. The only place that this is usually done is in the Army. Children who attend Mossbourne are as young as 11, they should not be experiencing the same treatment as adults in the Army.
I felt minority students experienced a clear racial bias, with their hairstyles often being deemed ‘unprofessional’.
Detentions were unnecessarily harsh, many times they were given for things such as having a blue pen instead of black or making the margins in your book too small. A teacher could be heard screaming at a pupil on the second floor all the way on the ground floor clear as day.
I know of people who sought therapy after leaving Mossbourne Community Academy due to their experience. I understand the pressure and stress had caused one person to self-harm.
Teachers would exclaim that students should have used the toilet on their lunch break but sometimes there would be 3 sometimes 4 hours until the end of the day. Girls would express they would need to use the bathroom and unfortunately bleed threw their uniform when it was their time of the month. A few times a student would express a sudden illness and unfortunately would throw up in the middle of the class due to not being allowed to use the bathroom.
As a former pupil, there were times when students would be accused of incidents that were untrue – myself included. For me, I had expressed that what I was being accused of was untrue. After an investigation, all pupils in my class said the accusation was false but I was still severely punished as they told me verbatim, “we always take the word of a teacher over pupils” no matter how much I communicated and expressed myself, along with numerous other pupils, I was still unfairly punished for something I didn’t do.
ID 404
I lived in constant fear of doing something wrong in and outside of the classroom. The rules made it impossible to feel safe and like having something perfectly normal (e.g being ill) was your fault and you should be punished for it (by getting a 6pm detention).
ID 248
I attended Mossbourne Community Academy (MCA) Sixth Form from 2019-2021. Coming from a supportive secondary school, I was utterly stunned by what I saw as mistreatment of pupils in MCA from my very first day and throughout my time there. The subsequent 2 years at Mossbourne Community Academy were undoubtedly the worst of my life.
Within just months of joining, I began experiencing frequent panic attacks and severe depression. While I don’t solely blame the school for my deteriorating mental health during this time, I believe they played a significant role. Had school been the safe, supportive environment it used to be during my secondary years, I don’t believe I would’ve suffered nearly as much. During my time at MCA, I was hospitalised because of my mental wellbeing.
I felt unsafe and unprotected throughout my time at this school. I voiced my struggle to a member of staff, who immediately dismissed my feelings and shut me down.
I have always been considered a well-behaved child in school; some might say a bit of a goody-two-shoes. Yet, at MCA I was constantly anxious I was doing something wrong, and my confidence plummeted. I began to dread going to school and eventually I stopped attending altogether until I was put on attendance report. I used to have anxiety dreams about being told off by certain teachers in the school and nightmares about my sixth form experience which would wake me up in the night.
Much of my time in class was filled with the echo of teachers screaming and yelling at pupils until they cried – and most of the time even beyond that point. Some of the teachers seemed to me to take pleasure in humiliating students, showing no empathy. Their behaviour felt less like discipline and more like bullying.
MCA felt to me like it relied on the intimidation of its pupils, fostering a verbally and emotionally abusive environment. However, I believe this culture of fear isn’t just limited to students; even teachers deemed inferior by leadership seem to face similar treatment.
Even 3 years later, being in the vicinity of the school overwhelms me with anger and sadness.
ID 468
I attended MCA sixth form from 2021-2023 and although individual teachers fostered a positive learning environment whilst in the classroom, transitioning from another local school made the toxic culture of Mossbourne even more clear. The way in which many teachers would interact with pupils in transition times always screaming and threatening sanctions, applying more volatility and anger towards the younger students in order to enforce discipline from an early age. I mentored a year 7 student who was suffering from anxiety and panic attacks, in my view because of the hostile environment around the school while going from lesson to lesson.
ID 344
I was a student at Mossbourne Community Academy [starting over 10 years ago] and had a very negative experience of my time there. Despite being a fairly well-behaved student (out of fear), I still have a lot of personal experiences of being treated poorly.
Due to the atmosphere and philosophy of the school, I developed serious mental health issues around self-esteem and not feeling good enough. The staff’s response to academic performance would make you feel like a failure if you did not attain good enough grades. It got so bad for me that I would have suicidal thoughts and would sometimes self-harm. These mental health issues persisted even after leaving the school and entering a university that had a much healthier ethos, which meant that I had to attend both counselling and therapy to work through these issues and begin to rid myself of these thoughts. I know of a good amount of my peers who also had to reach out to mental health services following their departure of Mossbourne.
I had a really bad experience where I unexpectedly got my period during the school day, but was not allowed to go to the toilet during class. Only when the symptoms of my period got so painful to the point that my discomfort was visible, did a teacher exempt me from the rules to go to the toilet, but at that point I had already bled through my skirt and had to go the rest of the day trying to hide it. …I did know of other students that had wet or soiled themselves due to this rule.
Regarding any issue, most students would not even try to reach out for support because they were so scared to voice anything that would disrupt the normal day to a teacher. However, when anything was raised, it was always painted as not the staff member’s fault. When my parents tried to speak up against a teacher, my parent was banned from the school. They seem to me to do anything but take accountability for their actions.
ID 122
I went to Mossbourne community academy [for 5 years] and in my experiences there were multiple teachers that appeared to derive joy from bullying students. [One teacher] loved making students they deemed “useless” miserable, often bragging about their powers and the lengths to which they was able to inflict “discipline”. Their shouting at people whether from a balcony, in class, in an office or on the way home was very common, getting on their bad side meant they would watch you like a hawk and seek validation from other teachers so they could belittle you more. Other teachers appeared to me to be comfortable yelling at year sevens to instill “Mossbourne values” into them, detentions were given for everything, drinking water, asking to go to the bathroom, dropping a pen, year seven was a horrid year.
In my experience the first few years are filled with terror and what I feel are borderline abusive attempts at “discipline”. I also felt there was a lack of help for those with mental health or learning difficulties. Multiple people who I knew from primary school dropped out and became involved with gangs because instead of the school breaking down concepts, they took their difficulty understanding as behavioural problems which then led to them seeking support in other ways, often giving up on education.
ID 074
Long-term depression is still ongoing for me due to the actions of MCA and I do become very distressed whenever the school is brought up in the house given what has happened to both me and my siblings here. My mum’s health has been affected by MCA’s repetitive, disproportionate and out-of-line calls to her, even at times up to twice a day.
MCA adopt what I feel is an almost Iron Curtain policy. I experienced a refusal to speak with professionals, or adhere to their recommendations in order to even slightly make education more equitable for me, which consistently put me at a disadvantage… I had suffered extreme levels of fatigue both from the mental stress I was under as well as the consistent 8AM – 6PM days where I would be called, I believe unduly, to the LSU and then to 6PM detentions for even the most minute of issues (e.g. not having done homework because I was in the LSU and not given this as work to do; being overloaded and MCA not adhering to the EHCP and a plan whereby I would have rest breaks even in class).
Due to my being on medication, I needed access to the toilet as my medication makes me drink more water. Multiple times I have been denied this and shouted at in response to my request. I understood that teachers knew I was on medication, relevant staff were aware and would have been obligated to circulate this knowledge.
ID 433
I didn’t eat or drink in school for the majority of my 5 years at Mossbourne as I was too scared to need the toilet during a lesson and be denied the option to go. This led to me asking my therapist at the time to request a toilet pass for me in my final year so I wouldn’t be denied this option again, after being admitted to hospital for an eating disorder. It took me medical help and support to feel safe enough to ask for a basic right when they had told us in year 11 that we weren’t allowed to go to the toilet during lessons anymore as it was a crucial study time.
I witnessed regular shouting at peers (and especially younger students) on a day to day basis but I’d like to point out that this began to grow normal in this school by year 11. We were made to feel like going to a school that got good grades required this kind of strict discipline where we would be sanctioned for being one second late to class when teachers knew corridors were packed due to the one-way system. Students have been pointing out the problems in this school for years, and it’s a well known fact between children in other schools in Hackney, but I believe the school took for granted the fact no parent would take it seriously enough to report or even believe the child. I struggle to see how inspections missed this.
ID 342
During my time at Mossbourne Academy and its sixth form, I was subjected to what I experienced as verbal abuse and consistent targeted mistreatment which I felt did not relate to my behaviour. In year 7, I was called dumb and stupid by [teacher] because I was struggling to understand the lesson. Also, I had got in trouble for not having the right equipment/PE clothes – however this was due to my parents not having enough money to provide those items and I wasn’t able to ask my parents for certain things. This made me feel very ashamed and was met with many detentions and rude & insensitive remarks. During my time at the sixth form, I was targeted by [teacher] – which was met by confusion by other staff as I was always a good student who was never in trouble. I had a lot of anxiety and depression surrounding school which led to a lower self esteem and confidence. It had got so bad that I would cry at school and home and had to tell my mum at which she had to go into school and tell [teachers] to stop bullying me. Finally, this was very distressing as I was a very shy, anxious, not confident teenager which only exacerbated these characteristics.
ID 136
I attended Mossbourne Community Academy and Sixth Form. From my first day in Year 7 through to my last day of Year 13, it was clear to me that racism was present throughout the school. Students of colour appear to be disproportionately given detentions, have to sit outside head of year offices all day, and are also disproportionately the ones sent to the ‘Learning Support Unit’ or LSU which I felt was designed to hold the most ‘naughty kids’ in school away from the other students. White middle class and upper class kids (who tend to dominate the makeup of higher sets like set 1 and 2) appeared to me to be given far more leeway, and are vilified far less throughout their time at the school. Even the hair rules disproportionately impact/are geared towards certain hairstyles; uneven hair lengths were almost always picked up on and sanctioned for black kids but not for white kids. To me, the school appears to have insulated itself under a duplicitous progressive veneer, labelling themselves as the emblematic success story of a London state school. This only serves to obscure the racial inequality that I feel pervades its structure, teaching and everyday practices.
ID 313
I was a student for 5 years at MVPA, and attended MCA for sixth form for 2 years. I strongly believe that this school contributed to me developing an anxiety disorder, from which I still suffer, and to depressive episodes starting from the age of 13 (year 8). It also had a very adverse impact on my family. Some notable moments:
…Being repeatedly told by [senior teacher] that ‘if you are were well enough to stand, you’re well enough to come into school’ – I followed this rule completely and even attended school when suffering from [serious condition] (although I did not know it was this during the infectious period)
…I received a detention in year 7 for not going to line up quickly enough, and for a year and a half after that, I lined up 5-10 minutes before break ended each day and refused to talk to anyone due to intense fear of getting into trouble. This severely impacted my ability to form friendships, and at no point did a teacher seem to notice this or check in with me, despite them monitoring the playground constantly and being able to see the pattern.
…my [sibling] was also attending the school, and suffered from anxiety which was partly induced as a result of the school’s practices. During this time, they would come up to me during break 4-7 times a week, often crying and suffering from extreme anxiety, and I would have to calm them down and help them finish their school day, sometimes going to talk to teachers with them Even when these conversations happened 2 metres away from teachers, at no point did a teacher check in with us or ask if this responsibility for managing my [sibling’s] mental health was stressful for me – they seemed to prefer that [their] mental health challenges were managed my me and not them. As a result I did not tell my parents about this habit because I thought it was normal. Had I told them earlier, it may have helped with [their] mental health sooner.
…My [sibling] and I both developed extreme anxiety around bringing all our equipment into school (as you would get a detention for forgetting a rubber or second black pen). I developed a routine that I would have to get out of bed every night at 10 to check my calculator was properly turned off so it wouldn’t run out of battery, and my [sibling] had three specific points on our walk to school where they would have to check if they had their planner or would get incredibly stressed.
…When walking to school with my [sibling], I don’t remember there being more than a week long stretch when they didn’t cry in on the way to school, due to the stress that the school gave them.
…When my [sibl;ing] was in year 7, she accidentally walked between a teacher who was talking to another student. He pulled out their planner to give a detention and saw [the family connection] because of the last name, and said that they were a “disappointment to their family”, and made them write a 1 page apology letter. They cried for hours at home.
ID 537
I was hospitalised for 3 months for mental illness at the start of sixth form. Upon my return, I was placed in isolation for two months in a room where I would copy from a textbook for the full school day. I would eat lunch in this room and was not permitted contact with my year group.
I was left in isolation independently reviewing A level content with no prepared catch-up or one-on-one help for missed lessons. I felt humiliated and alienated as though to have been deliberately discouraged. The pandemic took hold once I had a full time table and I was expected to continue working and submitting homework, with no supportive provisions put in place.
I believe this approach, which isolates students socially and academically, is harmful, especially to children who are already emotionally / mentally vulnerable. It contributed unnecessarily to my emotional distress and academic hardship.
ID 706
During my time as a student at MCA [over 10 years ago], my concerns were often disregarded as me ‘seeking attention’ or ‘making up stories’ especially if this regarded a member of staff. My mental health was often disregarded, even when I had supporting correspondence from CAHMS and my GP at the time. I was told that I understood that my behaviour was wrong, which meant that punishment was required even when I was struggling at home, and with my mental health.
The constant berating of my behaviour and character worsened my self esteem immensely. Being suspended also caused immense stress to my mother who was already struggling, which worsened our relationship and the environment at home, which then had a significant impact on my behaviour in school.
Some teachers would scream in student’s faces, especially if we were seated and they were standing. As a child then, it was incredibly intimidating and did provoke some fear. Tactics that I felt were manipulative were used to try and make other students tell on me.
We were never allowed to use the toilet outside of break or lunchtime. There was an instance during my time at school when a student couldn’t hold on any longer during line up. Everybody saw and this was extremely humiliating for them.
BAME students including myself were often banned from wearing our hair in certain styles that originate from our culture, as they were seen as unprofessional. Groups of friends were often referred to as a ‘gang’ if we were in groups of more than 4, even though we were not gang members. LSU was often, in my experience, predominantly filled with BAME students. I often experienced micro aggressions being used against certain students including myself, frequently referring to us as ‘aggressive’.
Educating Hackney 