MP's pledge to family over Sheffield school trust's formal warning after Harvey Willgoose's death
MP is in touch with bereaved family
An MP expects more action, after a formal warning over safeguarding was placed on trust which runs a school where a Sheffield schoolboy was murdered by another pupil
The Department for Education has issued a formal “Notice to Improve” to St Clare Catholic Multi Academy Trust after an independent review found serious safeguarding failures, following the death of Harvey Willgoose at All Saints School, on Granville Road, Sheffield, in 2025.
Sheffield South East MP Clive Betts, Harvey’s family’s MP, said the NOI was a formal regulatory step focused on safeguarding and set out clear, time limited requirements for action.
He said he welcomed ‘this significant set of requirements’.
He added it had taken a long time to get to this point, but the improvements were a positive step forward, and were only part of other measures he expects to see in due course.
He added he had spoken to the family and would continue to work with them to ensure the requirements were actioned.
The warning comes more than a year after Sheffield pupil Harvey Willgoose was murdered by fellow student Mohammed Umar Khan at All Saints Catholic High School.
The Government said that academy trusts have a duty to protect children, follow statutory safeguarding guidance, and ensure that all staff, volunteers, contractors and leaders are suitable to work with children, and the review found that St Clare Catholic Multi Academy Trust had failed to meet these responsibilities.
Harvey’s mother, Caroline Willgoose, has welcomed the Government’s intervention.
Khan, now 16, was found guilty of Harvey's murder in July 2025. In October of that year he was sentenced to 16 years' detention, when The Star also won the right to name the teen killer
The Notice to Improve sets out detailed actions the trust must take to ensure children are safe, including reviewing and updating safeguarding policies and making sure there is a clear process to regularly check that policies are followed.
Staff must be trained on safeguarding rules, and the trust must have a designated director or trustee responsible for safeguarding with proper oversight of the leadership team.
The trust must also commission an external review to identify gaps in safeguarding and create a plan to fix any weaknesses.
Other requirements include making sure systems for moving pupils between schools or reintegrating suspended pupils follow safeguarding rules, and that staff are trained to manage these processes safely; and the trust has been encouraged to ensure that support is in place for all staff during this process.
St Clare Catholic Multi Academy Trust said in a statement: “Harvey’s death was a profound tragedy and his loss is remembered every day by our community. Our thoughts and deepest sympathies remain with Harvey’s family.
“The Trust is working closely with the DfE in relation to the notice. The DfE has requested that the Trust undertake a number of actions.
“The Trust has confirmed to the DfE that each of the seven requested actions for the Trust to carry out are already underway in line with the various processes that the Trust has been involved in over the last year. The Trust has provided information on these actions and confirmed that we will continue to work closely with the DfE on this process.
“The Board of the Trust will be collaborating with the DfE and other key partners over the coming months to finalise the actions and ensure that the notice is another step in this process as we continuously strengthen and improve best practice. From the outset, we have proactively engaged with the statutory safeguarding agencies and will continue to do so with a clear focus on providing the best possible environment for students.
“Safeguarding will always be our highest priority, and we remain fully committed to supporting our whole community as we move forward together.”