‘Red flags’ missed before boy’s murder, say family
57 minutes agoJulia BrysonandAlex Moss,Yorkshire
Family handoutThe family of a schoolboy stabbed to death by a fellow pupil say “too many red flags” surrounding his killer’s behaviour were ignored, following the conclusion of an independent review.
Harvey Willgoose, 15, was murdered by Mohammed Umar Khan, also 15, at All Saints Catholic High School, in Sheffield, on 3 February 2025.
An independent review into his Harvey’s death, which was commissioned by St Clare Catholic Multi‑Academy Trust (SCCMAT), found school leaders “could, and at times should, have taken different action”.
The trust said it would “continue to take action” in line with the recommendations made in the report and had already implemented several “robust measures” since Harvey’s death.
Reacting to the report, which has not been publicly shared in full, Harvey’s mother Caroline Willgoose said it detailed how there had been “130 incidents of violence gangs, knives and anger” by Khan at his previous school, prior to his move to All Saints in spring 2024.
She said: “Harvey deserved better. All the children in that school deserved better.”
“To see in black and white the chances there were to step in, the signs that were missed and how many opportunities there were to protect my boy is something I’ll carry with me for the rest of my life.”
Speaking on the anniversary of Harvey’s death, she told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme earlier that the school had said “nothing” to her since he died.
“It’s heartbreaking because I feel like both of the boys have been failed. Not just Harvey but the other boy as well. He even asked for help, he told teachers at All Saints he had anger problems and can’t deal with his emotions.”
Asked what she wanted the school to do, she replied: “I want them to publish it [the report].
“I want them to apologise to all the children who were there at the time that have been counselled, that are never going to get over this, and I want to see step by step things put in place so this doesn’t happen again.”
Harvey’s father Mark Willgoose said he believed his life could “100%” have been saved by the school.
“If they were doing what they should have been doing, Harvey would still be here today,” he said.
PA MediaKhan was found guilty of Harvey’s murder after a trial at Sheffield Crown Court and was detained for life in October, with a minimum term of 16 years.
The report, which examined the events leading up to his death, revealed several safeguarding shortfalls, and made 10 recommendations for the school, its trust, the local authority and the Department for Education.
The recommendations have been made public, but the whole report has not.
The BBC has asked to see a copy of the report, but SCCMAT, which runs All Saints, said it would not release it, citing privacy concerns.
According to the family’s lawyers, Irwin Mitchell, Khan moved to All Saints from another school, but his safeguarding and behaviour records were not requested or reviewed beforehand.
The lawyers said when the records were later transferred they were not read due to unclear responsibility – meaning staff were not aware of historic incidents involving violence, weapons references and anger.
The intended behaviour plan was also not implemented on arrival.
Irwin Mitchell said the report also found that weapons-related concerns were handled “inconsistently”.
After pupils reported in October 2024 that Khan had previously carried a knife and brought a BB gun on a school trip, staff carried out a search but failed to investigate further, complete a risk assessment or put a safety plan in place, and records were incomplete.
In December 2024, when an axe was found in his bag off-site, police were informed but no in-school follow-up occurred, which the review is said to have described as a safeguarding failure.
Asked if Irwin Mitchell’s summary of the report was accurate, SCCMAT said it would be “inappropriate to comment on how it has been characterised” as it was not releasing the report itself.
South Yorkshire PoliceStating that there were “too many red flags” about Khan that were not acted on, Caroline Willgoose said: “There’s a knife problem out there, the one place children should feel safe is school.”
Harvey’s family and their legal team are now calling for immediate action to ensure the recommendations made in the report are put in place and upheld to ensure schools are safe and to prevent future knife crime in schools.
The recommendations for the school set out in the report include:
- Mandatory record‑sharing at the outset of any pupil school move, with senior sign‑off confirming full safeguarding and behaviour records have been reviewed before a pupil starts.
- Clarity in safeguarding and behaviour, including who monitors patterns of serious incidents.
- Create a clear weapons‑response policy.
- Fix systems and training including adding dedicated knives/weapons categories in online systems and ensure all staff are trained on government guidelines on how to search, screen and confiscate knives.
- Sheffield City Council to establish a city‑wide support system for pupils involved in, or at risk of, knife crime.
- The Department for Education to issue further national guidance on how schools respond to knife possession and reports of knife possession.
Amin said schools have a duty of care to their pupils.
“While it’s too late for Harvey and his loved ones, the family wants guarantees that decisive and meaningful action will be taken to implement these recommendations,” he said.
“We also encourage other school leaders across the country to review their policies and practices to ensure they’re fit for purpose and so other pupils aren’t put in harm’s way by similar failures.”
Steve Davies, chief executive of SCCMAT, said the external investigation was commissioned to “bring as much transparency as possible”.
“Harvey’s death was a profound tragedy for our community and our thoughts remain with his family,” he said.
“It is clear that the report identifies areas for improvement, including in relation to our processes, information sharing and training.
“We are engaging with an external safeguarding expert to advise on how we can implement the recommendations across the school and, where appropriate, the trust as a whole.
“We have already implemented a number of robust measures over the last year and will continue to take action in line with the report’s recommendations and external advice from the statutory safeguarding agencies.”
Additional reporting by PA Media.
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