Nick Tiratsoo's Posts

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

August 7, 2026 child safeguarding, LCSPR, Whitefield 0

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’ statutory education, health and care (EHC) plans; (b) some of the LBWF staff involved in the case lacked professional curiosity, and adopted the wrong focus; and (c) LBWF had worked with the other s... »

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

August 2, 2026 LCSPR, Whitefield 0

(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-abuse-report-after-schools-legal-threat/   (3) Jonathan Ames in The Times, dated 31 July 2026:   (4) Noel Titheradge, the journalist who firsts broke the Whitefield story, for the BBC, date... »

The Whitefield Local Child Safeguarding Practice Review (2): more confusion and controversies

July 31, 2026 LCSPR, Whitefield 0

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 what appears to be some confusion about basic facts. At paragraph 1.2, right at the start of the document, the LCSPR describes how, in 2014-17, children were locked in the ‘calming rooms’ f... »

Burnham-ism: a warning from (Waltham Forest) history

July 23, 2026 Independent Panel, LBWF spin, The BNI, Uncategorized 0

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? Well, if this story is to be believed, plenty. In the early 2000s, the government gave LBWF many millions of public money to help the most deprived neighbourhoods in the borough. Now read on. Postscript ... »

The Whitefield Local Child Safeguarding Practice Review (1): what it says, what it – very regrettably – overlooks, and why it fails

July 20, 2026 LCSPR, Whitefield 0

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 ‘Learning from the past: The use of restrictive practices, including seclusion, in a school for children with additional needs’). First, a couple of observations about how the LCSPR was set up and then act... »

The Review into historic child abuse at Whitefield is due out next week, but questions persist about which organisations kept vital evidence, and which didn’t

July 3, 2026 LCSPR, Whitefield 0

It is said that the Local Child Safeguarding Practice Review (LCSPR) into child abuse at Whitefield School during 2014-17 finally will be released next week, having taken an astonishing 16 months longer than the official guidance recommends. However, even at this eleventh hour, research is still revealing new concerns about the existence of evidence relating to the abuse, and the following looks a... »

Nine years after Grenfell, 64 of LBWF’s 65 low-rise and high-rise housing blocks are still not fire safe. How can this have been allowed to happen?

June 26, 2026 fire hazards, fire safety 0

In 2020, after it was involved in several fire safety scandals, including litigation with a supplier, LBWF began a remediation programme (RP) to bring its housing stock ‘up to the most modern…safety standard’, this being forecast to cost £40m.. Previous posts on this blog have looked at the RP, and shown that in the early days there was some degree of progress, but more recently this has slowed. N... »

Journalist Andrew Kersley’s investigation of Waltham Forest resident Tracey Turnell’s tragic death causes a stir, but after at first feigning interest, the Greens quickly chicken out

June 9, 2026 Safeguarding 0

Journalist Andrew Kersley’s investigation of Waltham Forest resident Tracey Turnell’s tragic death, published on 30 May in The Londoner, has deservedly provoked much positive interest and comment (see below). But there is one grating note. After publication, the newly appointed Green Party cabinet member in charge of adult social care, Cllr. Martin Edobor, was in contact with Mr. Kersley and ‘said... »

LBWF is quietly paying consultancy Newton c. £5m. to help it make savings in services for those local residents most in need

June 4, 2026 consultants, LBWF demand management 0

From the beginning of the year, LBWF has been working with a big consultancy, Newton Consulting Ltd., on a project to deliver ‘change across its organisation, with a focus on…  Housing and Homelessness and Adult Social Care’. This is part of a new LBWF emphasis on ‘demand management’, that is, wherever feasible, remodelling its key statutory responsibilities in a way that produces t... »

‘How others see us’, an occasional series, No.2: The Londoner’s Andrew Kersley revisits the tragic death of Waltham Forest resident Tracey Turnell and eviscerates LBWF

June 1, 2026 Safeguarding 0

The Londoner has just published Andrew Kersley’s forensic investigation of the tragic death of Waltham Forest resident Tracey Turnell, the so called ‘body in the wheelchair’ case, here: https://www.the-londoner.co.uk/tracey-turnell-death-wheelchair-walthamstow/ It is well worth reading in full, particularly for those who still believe LBWF’s much repeated claim that it puts residents first in... »

Page 1 of 48123›»