A TRUST under intense scrutiny spent more than £400,000 on legal fees in an attempt to challenge a damning safeguarding review, newly released documents have revealed.
A Freedom of Information request submitted by Education Uncovered found the Mossbourne Federation paid £191,267 to conduct a parallel investigation alongside Hackney Council’s independent safeguarding review of Mossbourne’s Victoria Park Academy.
A further £209,220 was spent on additional legal services, bringing the total to just over £400,000.
Thurrock councillor Gary Byrne, who has repeatedly raised concerns about Mossbourne’s practices since the trust took over three former Ortu schools in January last year, said the revelations showed a misuse of public money.
Mr Byrne said he first became aware of complaints from parents about what the federation described as a “tough love” culture.
“What I saw went far beyond discipline,” he said.
“Parents and pupils spoke of bullying, public humiliation and serious safeguarding concerns. These were not isolated complaints – they were consistent, detailed and deeply troubling.”
He took those concerns to the BBC, where several parents later spoke publicly about their children’s experiences.
Hackney Council subsequently commissioned an independent statutory review led by former social care chief Sir Alan Wood, which concluded there was a “climate of fear” within the federation and upheld many of the concerns raised by families.
At Thurrock’s Mossbourne Fobbing Academy alone, more than 90 children have been withdrawn, with another 108 on waiting lists to move schools – around 20 per cent of the pupil population.
Mr Byrne criticised the federation for spending the equivalent of “£500 per pupil” on legal fees instead of investing in support.
“This is taxpayers’ money. This is education funding,” he said.
“It could have been spent on safeguarding improvements, SEND support or pastoral care. Instead, it was spent trying to discredit an independent review. If there is nothing to hide, why spend such vast sums fighting it?”
The Mossbourne Federation confirmed the spending figures in its FOI response.
The federation has been approached for further comment.
