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.

Exactly this.

If all the schools with such a love of learning because they're not concentration camps were so successful how come it doesnt show in their results. How come it doesnt show in their life long results. We know that the kids from the lowest performing schools, do not go on to perform as well in life economically, socially etc

Cant believe people rail against a system that could change that for many children.

Drilling kids to answer questions in a specific way and learning stuff by rote can be successful for GCSE but then things get trickier when students have to think for themselves. I would be interested how these kids do at a level and university.

The A level results are good, and many do go on to Russell Group universities. However, it is selective at A level, as are other state schools.

Apparently 81% of the kids went to Russell Group unis in 2021. Don't see later results
Unis generally prefer kids who have aced their GCSEs and A levels to kids who haven't. I have never understood the grades don't matter theory.

Fair play then.

All schools at primary and secondary teach to the test, very few, if any state schools are teaching around the curriculum. This is because there isn’t time and also because they are judged on the scores the dc get in tests and exams, not whether they also know a play that isn’t on the syllabus or a historical period that isn’t on the exam.

Private schools may teach around the syllabus but as you’re paying you still want the grades as that is how your dc are going to get into the universities and jobs which will make the difference to their opportunities in life.

I think if your worst problem at 18 is that you need a bit of help with independent study techniques at your top university then it’s not a bad problem to have at all. Much better than not having any decent qualifications but somehow also a lifelong love of learning and enquiry 😁

This is an interesting thread. I remember talking with someone about the Michaela school - she was horrified by it. But I remember being exhausted at school, not because of the work (which was fine) but because of the low level disruption (and sometimes chaos) in the classrooms and corridors. How delicious it would have been if the people who were disruptive were removed and everyone else could get on with their stuff.

Initially, I was horrified by Michaela. Then I started thinking about each element of the approach and realised the only one I wouldn't want to see is teacher tracking.

I think I'm the same as you - my initial instinct was to be against the whole approach, but the more I've read and seen, and the more I reflect on my experience of teaching, I can see the positives.
Can you explain the tracking, please?

Can you explain the tracking, please?

It's eyes following the teacher when they are talking I think ie not staring out the window. Michaela kids get detention if they don't track.

Right. We do that where I teach. They're instructed to track the teacher.
Also, we use the SLANT approach, which I believe they do as well. Both methods have come into more common usage.
Edited to add: Ours don't get detention if they don't track, just a reminder.

A lot is self-selection. Would you choose a school for your child that insists on silence in class and in the corridors? Where students are given detentions for not tracking the teacher? I would never choose such a cruel environment for my children. I think kids learn best when they feel happy and safe - these kids must be in constant fear. Just the thought of her and her crazy school makes me shudder.

Yes. I'd prefer it to the happy-go-lucky 'grades don't matter' school.my DD went to, and she agrees.

Yet, as demonstrated by the results, the students are clearly learning and making progress.

I remember a neighbour of some family friends saying that when she was at school (she was in her mid sixties to early seventies when I was ten), they had to sit up straight, face the front and have their hands clasped in front on the desk (if they weren’t writing). So I tried it and it was like a revelation - it was so much easier to concentrate.

Many children simply don't feel safe in schools hence rising number of EBSA.
Some secondary schools are incredibly scary places, have you been in any recently? Chairs being thrown, teachers attacked etc. How can any child feel safe in that environment?
Many SEND children simply can't function in that sort of environment either, the rigidity of Michaela = calm + respectful environment which for many is a haven.

Michaela offers something for a cohort with high of children from deprived backgrounds, second generation immigrants etc. It gives those children a chance at social mobility.

Of course it doesn't suit everyone, it doesn't claim to. You can't argue with the results though, and those results allow those children to climb the ladder which, after all, isn't that what we want?

This is a school that helps its pupils get good grades in a system where they don’t have to suffer low level shitty behaviour. What is to be criticised? Good opportunities for some of the poorest kids, my kids would give anything to be in a school where they can actually learn, what planet are people on that they think in bog standard state comps, pupils are being taught a rich beyond the exams curriculum. I am actually laughing at this. Crowd control with some learning thrown in. We do have issues with success in this country though so perhaps it’s that.

This is a school that helps its pupils get good grades in a system where they don’t have to suffer low level shitty behaviour. What is to be criticised? Good opportunities for some of the poorest kids, my kids would give anything to be in a school where they can actually learn, what planet are people on that they think in bog standard state comps, pupils are being taught a rich beyond the exams curriculum. I am actually laughing at this. Crowd control with some learning thrown in. We do have issues with success in this country though so perhaps it’s that.

The point about a calm learning environment is key. KB is able to defend Michaela's approach on homework and family lunch with reference to this. She understands that finding a place to study in a crowded home is difficult - so pupils do homework at school. She knows that not all families eat round a table and learn the conventions about cutlery use, conversation, and clearing plates - so they do these things every day at school.

The school's GCSE and A level results are the easy way to tell the story of Michaela's success but the softer measures about resilience, poise and cultural capital are an equally impressive part of the story.

What is to be criticised is the narrow curriculum and the way they manage out any child who doesn't easily fit the mould, including children with SEN. It's nothing to boast about when you go for the easy option every time.

This is by no means the easy option! Easy option is just letting behavior slide. It’s much harder to apply consistent rules That children can understand /this makes them feel more secure. Lazy parenting (junk food, no family meals or table manners, giving toddler parent’s phone or iPad to shut them up and chaotic schools do no favours to children, least of all those with SEN.

There is absolutely no evidence of this. Provide it if so. Narrow curriculum or more time to spend on core subjects? Doesn’t suit you then don’t send but it clearly works for many.

I don't have SEN kids but since I last posted, at least 3 posts on the boards by parents of SEN kids complaining that they are being bullied in nornal schools or cant focus due to chaos. Surely, as many have said, a calm disciplined approach is good for some SEN kids too.

Are there any kids for whom a calm, disciplined approach is not good?

I would say for children with ADHD who would struggle to meet the expectations and feel they are continually punished but agree that for the vast majority of children a calm environment is most suitable.