“As adult former students of Mossbourne Community Academy we are still feeling the long-term impact of our experiences and believe voices like ours need to be heard.

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.”

Over 20 of the students’ testimonies can be found here. They can be a difficult read and 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.

Dr Chris Bagley is an Educational Psychologist, Lecturer, Research Supervisor at The Institute of Education, UCL and Director of Research at States of Mind. He says:

“It is important to note that the 'harmful, humiliating practices' found at Mossbourne are not an aberration, they are common across the UK and continue to be championed by some. 

Thousands of children, young people and educators are experiencing huge distress as a consequence of the punitive behaviour policies and rigid standards that permeate the school experience. Crucially, there is nothing inevitable or 'evidence-based' about these approaches, which have been shown, for a very long time, to promote harm and reduce human flourishing. The psychological fallout from an educational experience characterised by forced compliance can be deep and long-lasting, as many have pointed out in their brave, moving testimonies. 

The fundamental structure of schooling, as it stands, encourages grade seeking at any cost. This needs to be recognised and the demands and success criteria must evolve, otherwise schooling will continue, in some instances, to engender a 'culture of  fear' rather than one of nurture and learning".

The full students’ testimonies can be found here

Here, some of the adult former students explain why they want to see an inquiry.

Payal says: “All I want is to make sure other children can go on to do what they've always wanted without being put down, or leaving education with life-long mental health issues.”

Michael says: “An education system cannot succeed if it neglects the young people within it. I worry about the students who are still there. There was a constant atmosphere of fear. That fear often turned into anger — anger towards teachers, anger at the system, and ultimately anger directed inward. For many boys, that unresolved anger becomes a vicious cycle, especially when there are no healthy or supportive outlets. Where there should have been understanding, nurture and care, there was instead fear, resentment and emotional distance.”

Chloe says “This has all been weighing on me, my family, and my friends for years. We all felt something was really wrong but there was nothing we could do. A lot of children have an unstable home life, there are kids from minority groups, low income families, and kids with undiagnosed mental health issues. I feel these kids were targeted and suffered the most, I would like that to change. Using fear as a motivator when someone has been through abuse or has anxiety is cruel. It is cruel, period.”