Posts

Ofsted, LBWF, and the Whitefield School CCTV cameras

August 27, 2025 child safeguarding, Whitefield 0

This post examines how Ofsted and LBWF investigated allegations of child abuse at Whitefield School, and in particular what use they made of evidence provided by CCTV cameras. At first sight, it might be assumed that such a matter would be straightforward, but in fact, as the following paragraphs show, it turns out to be rather convoluted, and puzzling. Here’s the story. As previously reported by this blog (see links, below), the Whitefield scandal first became public in January 2017, when, following a complaint by a parent, Ofsted inspectors visited the school and found that a ‘small number of pupils’ had been placed ‘against their will’ inside ‘calming rooms’, in reality ‘three secure, pad... »

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The Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman reprimands LBWF over its complaints handling, citing ‘unacceptable’ delays, ‘poor quality, incomplete responses’, and waste of staff time

August 8, 2025 Ombudsman 0

Every year, the Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman sends each council a review letter which contains some tailored observations about their complaints handling. The review letter for 2024-25 just sent to LBWF, specifically CEO Linzi Roberts-Egan, includes the following: ‘During the year, there were several occasions when our investigations were delayed by your Council’s failure to respond in a timely way to our requests for information. In one case the delays were such that we took the unusual step of threatening to issue a witness summons before we received the information we needed. This is not a step we take lightly. In addition to the delays, there were instances of poor qualit... »

Update: the latest official figures show that 63 of LBWF’s 64 low-rise and high-rise housing blocks are still not fire safe, mainly because of ‘Resources’, and ‘available budgets’

August 6, 2025 fire hazards, fire safety 0

In 2020, triggered by the fallout from the Grenfell tragedy, LBWF finally addressed the fact that very few, if any, of its large and small housing blocks were fire safe, and began a large-scale remediation programme to put matters right. It might be assumed that, by now, this programme would have delivered substantial results, leaving LBWF tenants free from worry. But data recently released by the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) under the Freedom of Information Act again shows that any such assumption would be hugely misplaced. For the astonishing truth is that, as of March this year, all but one block still had what the RSH term ‘life-critical fire-safety defects’, some internal (flat ent... »

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LBWF’s Goddarts sheltered housing block in Walthamstow: fire safety assessors find serious issues for five years running, but, astonishingly, they remain unaddressed, leaving vulnerable residents in danger

July 15, 2025 fire hazards, fire safety 0

Goddarts House, Walthamstow, is a purpose built two-storey block, owned and administered by LBWF, containing 27 flats providing sheltered living accommodation. Its residents include the elderly, and those who have hearing, sight, or mental health impairment.  Some are wheelchair users. In 2019-21, Goddarts came to the attention of this blog because one of its residents, Roy Sutton, discovered that though LBWF insisted the front entrance doors to the 27 flats provided 60 minutes protection from fire, in reality they only provided barely half that. In the end, this saga of the ‘fake fire doors’ led to a court case and an internal fraud investigation (see links, below). Subsequently, Mr. S... »

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LBWF promises always to ‘put people first’, but as yet another example demonstrates, this is a fiction

July 7, 2025 Ombudsman 0

Renowned Waltham Forest campaigner James O’Rourke spends a good deal of time looking out for his brother, who has a learning disability and resides in supported living accommodation. Like many people in similar situations, taking on this responsibility brings Mr. O’Rourke into regular contact with LBWF, and this has caused him and his brother serial problems. In a recent e-mail to a senior officer about an aspect of his brother’s legal situation, Mr. O’Rourke explains in detail the kind of obstacles they have been forced to contend with: ‘Thank you for your recent update. While I appreciate your correspondence, I must express my deep concern at the consistent communication breakdown from wit... »

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