Parents of Murdered Schoolboy Highlight Missed 'Red Flags'

The parents of 15-year-old Harvey Willgoose, who was fatally stabbed by a classmate in February 2025, believe his death was preventable. An independent review into the incident at All Saints Catholic High School in Sheffield has confirmed there were "several missed opportunities" to intervene before the tragedy.

Family's Reaction

Harvey’s parents, Mark and Caroline Willgoose, expressed devastation at the findings, stating that Harvey was "let down" by the institutions meant to protect him. Caroline Willgoose has called for the installation of knife arches in schools and urged the government to increase oversight of academies, suggesting they sometimes prioritize reputation over child safety.

The St Clare Catholic Multi Academy Trust has stated it will implement all recommendations in full and has already begun making changes to its safeguarding procedures

The Killer’s History of Warnings

The review, conducted by Learn Sheffield for the St Clare Catholic Multi Academy Trust, revealed a series of "red flags" regarding the attacker, Mohammed Umar Khan:

• Incomplete Records: When Khan transferred to the school, his history of violence and references to weapons were never reviewed because the school failed to request or read his safeguarding files;

• Inconsistent Responses: In October 2024, students reported that Khan had previously carried a knife. While a search was conducted, no risk assessment or safety plan followed;

• Axe Incident: In December 2024, an axe was found in Khan's bag off-site. Although police were notified, the school failed to perform any internal follow-up, which the report labelled a safeguarding failure; and

• The Day of the Murder: On the day Harvey was killed, Khan was allowed to enter the school unsearched, despite an active investigation into a new allegation that he was carrying a knife.

Systemic Failings

Lawyers for the Willgoose family stated that "oversights, assumptions, and misjudgments" allowed the situation to escalate. The report found that school leaders failed to "join the dots" as Khan’s behaviour worsened between late 2024 and early 2025. There were also significant "policy gaps," including delayed entries into child protection software and a lack of clear management regarding who should monitor serious incident patterns.

Key Recommendations for Change

The report outlines 10 mandatory changes for the school, the local authority, and the Department for Education:

• Mandatory File Sharing: Schools must confirm that full safeguarding and behaviour records have been reviewed and signed off by senior staff before a student starts at a new school;

• Specific Weapon Policies: Schools should create a dedicated response policy for weapons and ensure staff are trained on how to properly search and confiscate knives;

• Improved Systems: Digital safeguarding systems should include specific categories for "knives and weapons" to track patterns more effectively; and

• Citywide Support: Sheffield City Council is urged to establish a support system for youth at risk of involvement in knife crime..

Updated DFE Guidance

The Department for Education (DfE) updated its guidance on Searching, Screening, and Confiscation to be more rigorous following incidents like the one in Sheffield. These rules are now more closely integrated with the Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) 2026 statutory requirements.

Here is how the guidelines currently stand regarding a school’s power and responsibility to search students:

The Power to Search Without Consent

Headteachers and authorized staff have a statutory power to search students without consent if they have "reasonable grounds" to suspect the student has a prohibited item.

• Prohibited Items: This includes knives or weapons, alcohol, illegal drugs, stolen items, tobacco/vapes, and any item that could be used to commit an offence or cause injury; and

• "Reasonable Grounds": This can be based on a report from another student, a teacher’s observation, or a history of behaviour. The new guidance clarifies that "if you have a reason to ask, you have a reason to search."

Mandatory Safeguarding Follow-up

A major change in the 2026 guidance is the "After-Search Procedure." Previously, a search might happen and be forgotten if nothing was found. Now:

• Recording: All searches (whether an item is found or not) must be recorded on the school’s safeguarding system;

• The "Contextual" Approach: If a student is found with a knife, the school must not only involve the police but also treat the student as potentially "at risk" themselves (e.g., being exploited by a gang); and

• Informing Parents: Schools are now expected to inform parents of any search that takes place, regardless of the outcome, unless doing so puts the child at greater risk.

Screening and Knife Arches

The DfE allows schools to require students to undergo "screening" (using a walk-through or hand-held metal detector) even if they don't suspect a specific student.

• Consent for Screening: A school can make screening a condition of entry. If a student refuses, the school can legally bar them from the premises; and

• Knife Arches: While the government supports the use of knife arches, they are not currently mandatory. It is left to the discretion of the headteacher or the Academy Trust. However, for schools with a known history of weapons incidents, the new guidance suggests "permanent or frequent" screening as part of a risk management plan.

Search Training and "Two-Staff" Rule

To prevent "oversights and misjudgments," the DfE now emphasizes:

• The Witness Rule: Searches must almost always be conducted by a staff member of the same sex as the student, with another staff member present as a witness; and

• Extensive Training: Schools must ensure that the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) and any staff authorized to search have specific training on "how" to search safely and how to handle a confiscated weapon to preserve evidence for the police.

Interaction with Police

The guidance now explicitly states that if a school finds a weapon, they must involve the police. Schools are no longer encouraged to deal with weapon possession entirely "in-house" as a simple disciplinary matter; it is a formal criminal and safeguarding referral.