Trust which runs school where Harvey Willgoose killed served notice to improve

The teenager was murdered in front of horrified children and teachers at All Saints Catholic High School in Sheffield on February 3 last year by Mohammed Umar Khan, also 15, who took a hunting knife to school.

An independent review was commissioned by St Clare Catholic Multi Academy Trust – which runs the school – and following the probe Harvey’s parents said the school could have saved their son’s life by acting on “too many red flags” shown by his killer.

Earlier this year, the trust released the recommendations from the report, saying it would implement them in full and that it had made a number of changes since Harvey’s death.

The Department for Education (DfE) has served the trust with a notice to improve on safeguarding grounds.

The letter, dated March 24 but published by the DfE on Friday, said: “In January 2026 you shared a report resulting from an external investigation following the serious incident at All Saints Catholic High School on February 3 2025, where a pupil was fatally stabbed on the school site.

“Given the seriousness of the findings of the external review, it is clear that the trust board has failed to comply with the safeguarding measures outlined in… the academy trust handbook.”

According to the letter, the review found:

– Government guidance for searching, screening and confiscation was not followed.

– Government guidance for a report of possession of weapons was not followed.

– There were multiple instances of poor record-keeping and communication in relation to safeguarding matters.

To meet the requirements of the notice in order to have it lifted, the trust must review and update its current safeguarding policies and establish regular updates and checks; commission an external review of safeguarding; ensure the board appoints a director or trustee responsible for leading safeguarding and that any safeguarding leads are trained.

The trust must also make sure information gathered through safeguarding activity is regularly fed back to the school’s systems.

If the trust does not carry out the measures it could lose funding.

“In the event that the Trust fails to meet the requirements of this Notice, to the satisfaction of the Secretary of State, it will be considered to have failed to comply with the terms of the academy trust handbook,” the letter said.

“This will amount to a breach of the terms of the funding agreement and may lead to termination.”

A spokesperson for St Clare Catholic Multi Academy Trust said: “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 has confirmed to the DfE that each of the seven requested actions for the trust to carry out are already under way 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.”

Khan was found guilty of murdering Harvey after a trial last year and detained for life with a minimum term of 16 years.