Nick Tiratsoo's Posts

Ofsted, LBWF, and the Whitefield School CCTV cameras

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 ... »

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

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 respon... »

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’

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... »

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

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... »

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

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... »

STOP PRESS The police confirm their investigation of the Whitefield School child abuse scandal continues, which seemingly contradicts what Council Leader Grace Williams has told residents

The Metropolitan Police Service [MPS] has just confirmed its investigation of the Whitefield School child abuse scandal is continuing. The facts are that in April 2024, the MPS was told that previously unknown offences of ‘perverting the course of justice and misconduct in public office’ were alleged to have occurred in relation to Whitefield; and as a consequence, in November of the same year, it... »

Whitefield child abuse scandal latest: details of the new independent expert review revealed, and the key issues that remain unresolved

On 27 November 2024, the day after the BBC reported the full awful details of the scale and severity of the child abuse at Whitefield School between 2014 and 2017, LBWF Leader Grace Williams announced that ‘safeguarding partners will commission an independent expert to carry out a Local Children Safeguarding Practice Review (LCSPR) to ensure the lessons of this distressing case are learned’. As th... »

‘How others see us’, an occasional series, No.1: Stella Creasy

Brutal, from columnist, critic and feature writer Sarah Ditum at Unherd: ‘It’s possible that there are other egos in parliament as big as Labour MP Stella Creasy’s. It’s unlikely, though, that anyone can match her combination of relentless self-promotion and extraordinary political incompetence. Few have achieved such blanket publicity for themselves while accomplishing so little, and this w... »

LBWF Cabinet member Cllr. Victoria Ashworth takes a new job in Greece…but reportedly wants to remain a councillor in Waltham Forest too (yes, you read that right) UPDATED

In April 2025, Cabinet Member for Stronger Communities, Cllr. Victoria Ashworth (previously Vicky te Velde) announced on Linkedin that she had become Port Chaplin for the Mission to Seafarers, based in Piraeus, Greece. Shortly afterwards, it is said, she told her Labour Party colleagues that, despite her new job overseas, she intended to remain a councillor in Waltham Forest until her four-year te... »

New research reveals that LBWF has long been involved in Whitefield School’s finances, and this again raises questions about who knew what, when, about the child abuse scandal.

In recent discussions about the child abuse that occurred at Whitefield School between 2014 and 2017, the Labour leadership in the Town Hall has intimated, particularly in conversations with councillors, that LBWF has little or no culpability. Whitefield, it is underlined, has always been run by a trust, first the Whitefield Academy Trust and then, from 2023, its successor, the Flourish Learning T... »

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