A note for readers…
This is a personal blog, which aims to scrutinise the powers that be in Waltham Forest, from the Council (hereafter London Borough of Waltham Forest or LBWF), both elected members and staff; to our MP... »
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The two most often asked questions about the child abuse at Whitefield: why was it allowed to happen, and why did the truth take years to establish?
When people first read about Whitefield, they often end up by asking the same two questions: how could the child abuse at the school between 2014 and 2017 have been allowed to happen, and why did it t... »
LBWF responds to its critics over Whitefield with what looks like an attempted smear plus manipulation of the Freedom of Information Act. Can this be for real?
Two days ago, I sent the e-mail reproduced below to Cllr. Paul Perkins, the council Leader. It speaks for itself. It is certainly disappointing to find that the Greens are not stamping out the kind of... »
Fifteen reasons why the Whitefield Local Child Safeguarding Practice Review is not fit for purpose
The Local Child Safeguarding Practice Review (LCSPR) about Whitefield seeks to address ‘two central questions’, which are ‘How and why these events occurred?’ and the contingent ‘How can the WF SCP [W... »
Private Eye reports that LBWF is England’s third most complained about council, while LBWF admits its own complaints procedure is so bad it brings ‘financial and reputational’ risks
The latest issue of Private Eye (no.1681, 07/08-20/08/26) includes the following: Coincidentally, the LBWF 2025-26 Annual Governance Statement (AGS) has just been published, and this gives a dismal pi... »
New research reveals that LBWF repeated its failings over Whitefield many times elsewhere, suggesting it has had a more general child safeguarding problem than previously ever admitted
As hitherto reported (see links), the recent Local Child Safeguarding Practice Review (LCSPR) of child abuse at Whitefield during 2014-17 concludes that (a) there were various problems with the pupils... »
The Whitefield Local Child Safeguarding Practice Review (3): Leigh Day now pursuing civil claims including against the London Borough of Waltham Forest, and related press coverage
(1) Part of Leigh Day’s press release, posted on 30 July 2026: (2) Marco Marcelline in the Waltham Forest Echo, dated 30 July 2026: https://walthamforestecho.co.uk/2026/07/30/council-buried-whitefield... »
The Whitefield Local Child Safeguarding Practice Review (2): more confusion and controversies
Further to an earlier post (see links) there are two additional points that are worth making about the contents of the Whitefield Local Child Safeguarding Practice Review (LCSPR). The first concerns w... »
Burnham-ism: a warning from (Waltham Forest) history
Yes, definitely, let’s devolve power and money to the localities, because ‘communities know better than anyone else what’s right for them’. Power to the people! What could possibly go wrong? Wel... »
The Whitefield Local Child Safeguarding Practice Review (1): what it says, what it – very regrettably – overlooks, and why it fails
This post looks in some detail at the recently published Local Child Safeguarding Practice Review (LCSPR) regarding the historic child abuse at Whitefield School (or, to give it its formal title ‘Lear... »