A trust that operates the school where 15-year-old Harvey Willgoose was fatally stabbed has been issued a formal notice to improve. The teenager was murdered in front of horrified students and teachers at All Saints Catholic High School in Sheffield on February 3, 2025, by Mohammed Umar Khan, also 15, who brought a hunting knife to school.
Independent Review Findings
An independent review commissioned by St Clare Catholic Multi Academy Trust, which runs the school, revealed several missed opportunities to manage risk before Harvey's death. Following the probe, Harvey's parents stated that the school could have saved their son's life by acting on numerous red flags exhibited by his killer. The trust earlier this year released the review's recommendations, pledging to implement them fully and noting several changes made since Harvey's death.
Department for Education Action
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, states: '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 that government guidance for searching, screening and confiscation was not followed; guidance for reporting possession of weapons was not adhered to; and there were multiple instances of poor record-keeping and communication regarding safeguarding matters.
Required Actions
To have the notice lifted, the trust must review and update its current safeguarding policies, establish regular updates and checks, commission an external review of safeguarding, ensure the board appoints a director or trustee responsible for leading safeguarding, and ensure all safeguarding leads are trained. The trust must also ensure that information gathered through safeguarding activity is regularly fed back to school systems. Failure to comply could result in termination of funding.
The letter warns: '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. This will amount to a breach of the terms of the funding agreement and may lead to termination.'
Trust Response
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 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 spokesperson added: '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.'
Background on the Killer
Khan had allegedly previously carried a knife, brought a BB gun on a school trip, and kept an axe in his gym bag, which his mother discovered and reported to the school in December 2024. A concerned parent also warned the school in October 2024 that Khan had been showing other pupils an axe at school. There were claims that Harvey warned a teacher Khan was 'acting like he had a knife' shortly before the fatal stabbing, and that staff allegedly failed to escalate those concerns. Khan was also allegedly abused by his father, his mother had mental health struggles, and social services were concerned about conditions in the family home. Harvey and Khan had once been friends before falling out during a social media dispute linked to another pupil. The confrontation lasted just nine seconds, and the fatal stab wound pierced Harvey's heart after breaking through a rib. Khan was found guilty of murdering Harvey after a trial last year and detained for life with a minimum term of 16 years.
