What does Katharine Birbalsingh do different?

[User2346]

I can’t say I like her but I am intrigued as to how she gets the results which are remarkable.

I know the model of zero tolerance etc but this is copied in a lot of academies without the resounding success.

Is there something different with the teaching methods? Is there an element of selection weeding out children with SEN and EHCP’s?

I would love the perspective of parents who have their DC at the school.

I’d love to see the exclusion (expulsion) rates, unadulterated, over 10 years.

Definitely plus the number of EHCP’s.

Covert selection. I assume high levels of exclusion.

Absolutely. Pretty sure my rather bolshy ds wouldn't have lasted five minutes there.

My guess is it’s largely down to overt selection by the parents who want their children educated there. They are going to be very focused on education and intolerant of distractions.

Also a high proportion of self-selecting immigrants, who are going to be higher agency and probably higher capability than the population average.

Limited options at GCSE. Only 7 GCSEs (8 grades including Combined Science). Assume an extreme focus from year 7 on getting high grades rather than a broad education.

All of the above, and a very limited curriculum

I don’t know if many of you know what some schools are actually like now.

But the answer depends, as parents, on what you want from schools. Do you want a babysitting service, tolerant of violence, intimidation, and a total lack of work ethic from the pupils?

Or do you want somewhere where this is not tolerated and parents are expected to play their part? Or there are consequences.

I too would like to see the exclusion rates, I suspect it’s a lot less than you may think. I know, as a maintained school, there is little leeway the school has regarding intake.

Somebody needs to sort out what’s going on in schools, or the teacher recruitment crisis will become a catastrophe. Her way is worth looking at.

Yep- as others have said- low proportion of SEN, very narrow, drilled curriculum, self-selecting cohort, focused behaviour, lots of use of strict models eg for essay questions.

This. Why is it being seen as a bad thing that a school has a 'no tolerance of violence and shitty behaviour, pupils are getting good results'?

Do the children carry on achieving at university and work?

Purely on the basis of having worked nearby, and driven past the school regularly at pick up time, I would guess the major difference is a self selected parent group, mainly first generation immigrants, who have strict parenting styles, high levels of respect for teachers and an absolute expectation that their children will behave and work hard at school.

If that isn't you, or it doesn't sound like a place your kids will thrive in, you stay well clear of the school.

My headteacher visited & was v impressed. I don’t believe they select but I imagine some parents don’t fancy the idea for their children.

Apparently routine in dining room, lining up etc sets the tone. They do things like chant quotes but they are from set texts & if they start learning quotes from Year 7 by the time they get to Year 11 they likely know even a handful of Shakespeare quotes which will be enough for a grade 5 at least in English Lit.

She gets a hard time on X but I think she is doing a great job with a mixed cohort. I think people are jealous.

Do you have evidence that there are low levels of SEN?

Very limited curriculum: where’s DT, dance, drama, business, textiles, food ????
Looks like an exam machine rather than offering a broad, balanced education ?

Whilst I see where you’re coming from, the academy system is disastrous for so many children.

Children, like all humans, are all different. Some really suit KB’s approach and thrive and do very well. Lots don’t. It’s a mistake to assume that one school with its covert selective nature (as others have said) is not a fair representation of children across the board.

If this was the only option it would have a knock on effect of meaning more and more children meeting the criteria of SN, more children school refusing, more school leavers unable to enter the world of work, more youths going off the rails. Almost like what’s happening now since the widespread introduction of academies (iirc we're up to 80% secondaries being academies, and other schools adopting their draconian behaviour policies).

I have nothing against KB’s school, but we do need a greater variety in education than we currently have, and I predict this will get worse in the coming years as the education on offer gets narrower and narrower.

So the issue is..... it doesn't do extra curricular dance/textile/food.. some dc might not like how they teach?
Well what about the dc it does suit?
I was never interested in art/craft &design at school not everyone is. What about the children who thrive in this environment? They shouldn't be allowed it because some child who doesn't even go there wouldn't like it?

https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/1455a2ea-0784-421f-7d5c-08dd7ece5be0%C2%A0

not many exclusions. Seems a smaller school than most. Cohorts of 200+ seem more normal now. Easier to track a smaller cohort and intervene.

Not all schools fit all students. Would be interesting to see if a Michaela model would work in perhaps a deprived coastal area with a less diverse cohort.

I must correct my previous post, it’s an academy school, not maintained. Still almost no control over intake, that’s down to the local authority. No ‘self-selection.’ I have never heard the expression ‘covert intake’ before - but without factual evidence for this, it’s just supposition.

I’ve just looked at the results, they are extraordinary. And from one of the poorest boroughs in London. Better than a lot of the independents, whose intake is not ‘covert’ at all. There’s something more than rules and chanting going on there.

I’d hazard a guess that the children who are having problems with their behaviour are not at KB’s school.

Most academies have form for managing out children with SN. These children are then in environments that they cannot tolerate and so the cycles continue.

Record numbers of children school refusing. Ongoing mental health crisis. Huge amounts of SN support needed. Almost like academies aren’t the answer for everyone.

Has anyone said they shouldn’t be allowed?

Schools like this definitely have a place, but because their limited cohort thrive people seem to say that these schools should be the only option, and they nearly are, and it’s not working.

We need variety, not just limiting to one approach because it suits the pupils that are there.

What does she do differently?
lots of things. Some things I’d be on board with, other things less so.
But having worked in a school where there was a less than robust behaviour policy I can really see the upside of a lot of what happens at her school.
It absolutely won’t suit everyone, an almost military approach to discipline and respect, but I do think a lot of children would thrive despite parents think they wouldn’t cope. Not all, definitely not all, but a lot.

Well people are definitely complaining/moaning they exist.

Absolutely we need variety. This is variety is it not?
Unless 'variety' means 'only that of which I approve'?🤔

There are very firm boundaries, strict rules and insistence on compliance. There is a very formal approach throughout the school day, silence in corridors and respect for the teaching staff.
As pp have said, many are the children of first generation migrant parents who consider this kind of atmosphere to be positive, and want their children to achieve well.
I'm not saying that other parents don't value education, but that's an explanation of why this approach is popular with many.

You're absolutely right. Quite a different atmosphere has been created there and some children clearly thrive.