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.

But many kids don’t feel happy and safe in “regular” schools because of the constant disruption and violence from the kids whose parents don’t think they need to follow the rules, as others have described eloquently on this thread. I agree that Michaela sounds super strict but for many kids that would be preferable to never being able to learn because little Johnny disrupts every lesson but it’s not his fault because he has (parent diagnosed) ADHD and therefore the school can’t do anything about his behaviour..:

It's not stifling innovation, all it's doing is enforcing a mandatory amount of hours for certain subjects which are typically seen by schools as useless. Whereas in an ironic way the middle class and private schools really values theatre and the arts, and that's why the industry is dominated by them, they also have the money to survive a tough industry without worry of being homeless etc. Theatre, music, art are cultural capital which many poorer kids don't have access to, and even for English GCSE they tend to not go on the trips to the theatre as their parents cannot afford them. Most have never been to the theatre or art galleries etc. They deserve those opportunities as well, and it's ridiculous to not have them on offer even if it's just for KS3.

The CAR isn't going to enforce a complete 'one size fits all' either - the intermin report was very fair about how actually maybe we should take some things/amount of content out, maybe we should refigure it so it's easier for teachers, evolution not revolution is Becky Francis's main line. It will also focus on oracy, AI, new digital exams, media literacy and also more broad ways of assessments which will be better for the future. Alongside making the curriculum more worldwide, and hopefully reversing the changes of Gove which took a lot of topics out, or meant there was less choice as 1 topic out of 2, or 2 topics out of 3 had to be British modules. Nothing wrong with British modules, but it took a lot of other options of the curriculum - if anything that's the 'one size fits all' approach more than BP.

This along with the 'how awful of you not to prioritise Johnny and his desire to kick the shit out of you! It makes him feel so much better when he does'..

I like how much they read at Michaela's school - the reading every day in form time is something every school could emulate and would make a positive difference. Reading is key to everything in education so yes, addressing poor literacy rates is the highest priority, and that needs to start in primary - children shouldn't be advancing to secondary school if they can't read enough to learn but of course its far more difficult to hold a child back in the UK if they aren't ready for the next year.

I just feel sad that not all children get to do creative subjects, I still think they're very important.

No extra money to fund all that, no extra teachers etc.
I will reserve judgement until I see the final report but whether or not the CAR has any impact will depend on funding. And that certainly isn't forthcoming.

I'm more worried about the Schools Bill and so is KB. Anything BP gets behind is usually to the detriment of children + education. At this stage I'm not sure she even knows she's SoS for Education.

DD's London girls comp has mandatory reading time in form every day and a no phone policy. It's a super mixed intake, including some challenging areas and the only selection is on distance. It also has loads of creative arts, and really good GCSE results (they do also do BTEC etc). There's no special sauce- expectations are really clear of behaviour but the school focuses on radical reward rather than punishment. Lots of the kids at the school never have an adult tell them they're doing well at home. Yes they have detention and exclusions but not only that.

There are other ways that aren't the extreme methods of KB.

It's also not the worst thing in the world to have kids with ASD in your child's class you know, you don't have to problematise it. It's not catching. There's some ableism on this thread.

DD has ASD, has an EHCP, but also got GD in her SATs, has brilliant behaviour and tries her best every day. She'd probably do pretty well at Michaela actually, although I wouldn't choose it personally.

One point about your daughter's school, @BasilPersil It's girls only.
So selective. Not just on sex, but on the parents who want a girls' only education for their daughter.
I suspect people know ASD "isn't catching".
However, the impact of children with additional needs, not properly cared for managed and supported, has a huge impact on all students.
Pressed too soon.

Most of the secondaries around here are single sex (I expect the legacies of the grammar system, like in a lot of big cities) so it's not especially unusual for the area or a big factor in school choice for parents. The partner boys school (joint 6th form) has an almost identical ethos.

Of course unmet needs are problematic (and there are links to out of school challenges), but it's a false equivalence to say SEN = poor behaviour, and a lot unmet needs can be met with very simple reasonable adjustments- you only have to look on the SEN boards here to see how often super strict schools like Michaela won't allow minor uniform adjustments or an early lunch pass which would hugely reduce staff time on the consequential behaviour.

The answer is not a million Michaelas which don't support these adjustments- the other academically capable kids with SEN go where exactly? Public education is with the public, in all of their differences.

But you don't need extra money to change the curriculum (in terms of content and the structure of exams), it will be done over a really long time, with consultation with exam boards and further training as new specs have been developed. Yes more teachers will be needed to teach the creative subjects, but it also requires a shift in schools actually valuing them. The schools bill whilst not making any major revolutionary changes, will actually help many families, and will finally mean that the academy trusts have some more regulation, KB might not like it but many other industry leaders like Steve Chalke are. I mean you clearly are more in favour of less regulation and, which is fair enough and you clearly don't like BP's longer form plans either, I'm not saying I support everything she does but I think she has good plans, it's just dependant on the execution of that.

The way they structure lunch is interesting. They have tables of six, they each play a role in serving lunch or water, laying the table, clearing up. The teachers sit with the kids (not at every table I assume?) and they have a conversation topic of the day and are encouraged to speak in full sentences to help develop conversation skills.
I can see real benefit in this and a more formal lunch is probably very normal in private schools but this would be something that could possibly feel quite restrictive if it’s not something the kids are used to.
Id love to know what the kids themselves think of it and how they’ve benefited from it.

SEN is too broad a sweep. It encompasses so much, @BasilPersil
What is true to say is this; unmet additional needs, plus emotional and social problems are making mainstream schools difficult places. I've been teaching for decades in state schools. A girls' only, a boys' only, and many mixed. Michaela and the like don't have all the answers, but they're clearly meeting some students needs. Certain things are being addressed there, it's always worthwhile considering how successful schools succeed.

Very true but it also depends on how you measure success. I know some schools which do very well, but do lots of international education, personal development, an still have good grades but wouldn't be as high, however I feel that has more prospects long-term. Some schools have a larger intake of FSM, or EAL, often the schools that have very high grades, have low progress 8 scores because the students did so well in their SATs, not always though. But there are schools that do much better than KB is many other ways, pastoral, SEN etc who help students through really tough times and who wouldn't be fit for KB.

A kid with EBSA (looking at how she's talked about it) or struggling with their mental health, who actually needs to spend 2 hours in a wellbeing room or sensory room not be forced into a lesson and actually just wants a break at lunch to chill and not be in a more pressured environment, but just wants to sit outside. A kid who has such a horrible home life, they just need to have some empathy from teachers and occasionally to be cut some slack whether with homework or their attendance, it doesn't mean not having high expectations but trying to value the other aspects of their education in a more holistic way and hopefully trying to make sure they can stay in education and progress, I don't think her school would be the right place for this. There are also schools that do better in terms of grades something like Brampton Manor etc and doesn't have the same exact approach.

If you "cut slack" with attendance, where does that lead? What are you saying?
The same with homework. Are they both optional?
All decent schools are aware of significant issues in young people's lives and act accordingly, @TheLivelyViper . That's the way it should be. What should not happen, and what I've seen far too much of over the years,is low expectations for certain groups.

I can see the benefit too but I would have hated it as a child myself if it was every day. Once a week or so I wouldn't have minded.

The primary school where I am has teachers sit with the students for lunch which encourages sensible conversation and proper use of cutlery (my DD's primary school teacher was a real stickler for that). The upper school didn't have teachers joining them for lunch before but recently introduced it, as there were behaviour problems in the dining hall. My DD is not keen on it at all but apparently they still managed to have a low key food fight without the teachers even noticing.

The michaela school and teachers can't be that amazing if the children need to do 3 hours of homework every night in order to achieve these grades. If they can't get the curriculum taught within school hours even with all the draconian rules, that's a problem.

If the michaela school doesn't teach any creative stuff, and the parents are meant to be doing that at home - when, exactly? Kids get home from school at say 4pm, followed by 3 hours of homework, then dinner, then maybe a shower and an hour of tv/gaming/reading before bed - when do they get downtime? When do they have time to learn music, or textiles, or do sports or drama? When do they get to figure out what it is they actually enjoy?

It sounds like a shit existence. They get a bunch of good grades but when do they get to do anything else that isn't just memorizing stuff to pass an exam?

Well firstly I don’t know their school days but presumably they finish about 3 and live locally so not much of a commute. All homework is to be done at school I believe to ensure they all have the right conditions to do it. I doubt very much they all have 3 hours of homework every single night and they are made to sit there twiddling their thumbs if all done but someone who is in the know might be able to confirm

to get the full pass rate of all children and then results up to the 8\9s - extensive homework is what it takes. This is not an academically selective school. Some will be exceedingly clever kids who do not need to do as much work down to be people who perhaps struggle with certain subjects. And yet they all do well. My children always did a few hours of some work a night, plus sports and other things and managed just fine. Weekends are free for other interests. We found the kids were not very interested in tv/gaming during the week as preferred to do other things. 20 mins of reading before bed is more than achievable.

if people are motivated then there is always the time.

Someone else posted an extract above from their homework policy.

I think you'll fine that stereotypically 'good school' judged from just an academic sense tend to not be aware of such issues. There was an article a few months ago from the head of a secondary not too far from Michaela saying how KB is sending too many SEN kids and kids with complex issues to her and some of the other schools nearby, that they tell patents unofficially that actually if want something more pastoral or we can't cope with your child's needs but x school can. In her article she said that theres no massive difference between her and Michael, as in its not a special school or anything like that, but that KB doesn't want those kids bringing them down essentially, tends to be kids with mental health issues, disabilities etc. She said that it started a small number so she didn't mind, but now theres so many that its not fair to do that, she said some of them are incoming Y7's who they know have issues and then after their 'bootcamp' they try and pawn them off. Again another head a little bit further from them said something similar and how every school in area should help each other but not overwhelming some schools with pastoral, sen etc.

My old Sociology teacher actually had some time there as a trainee and she said if anything it taught her how not to be a good teacher, how to not be relational, and also that she didn't really have any choice or control of her teaching (yes she was a trainee but even more senior teachers had this, and they lacked autonomy, she said she thinks any longer and it would have stole her enjoyment out of teaching and also she knows her classes and should be able to adapt things for them), there's also lots of reports about how kids who report anxiety and mental health issues are treated again with the Harris Academy now being investigated by the LADO after years of reports, and students having major issues. I wouldn't be surprised if a similar thing happened with her, I could be wrong.

My cutting the slack with attendance I mean using the methods we know works with EBSA or students struggling. It's not about the students who are going on holiday for no reason. It's not fining or forcing them in, over time that just makes it more likely for them to leave completely as they associate school with more and more negative things. It might be a part-time timetable even if it's for longer than you may want, you go at the child's pace, it's allowing a child who struggles to ask for help, to stay in a sensory room, or with a staff member they trust when they tell you they just can't do x even if they don't say why. That builds trust, and supports them, school is not just about grades, there should always be a holistic approach, we should value creative subjects, and sports, and different methods of assesment (oracy, presentations, portfolios, and yes exams), also personal development, student leadership that actually contributes to the school, doing plays and music activities, trips which improve world values e.g religious places, museums, plays, citizenship and PSHE and RSE that doesn't just hit the basics and does a PowerPoint by death approach of one topic and pretends that's a good standard. These things are just as important as grades as should be treated as such. Hopefully if they get it right, with the new Ofsted grading of schools (or at least better) as they've indicted they'll be a lot more of the judgement based on inclusion, personal development and wellbeing and attendance (but not just the stats but approach and strategies for those with complex reasons impacting attendance, rather than just a punitive approach).

@TheLivelyViper
I know full well what a good school is like, and how they are judged.
Every week I make judgements on teaching and learning, according to Ofsted criteria.

The michaela school and teachers can't be that amazing if the children need to do 3 hours of homework every night in order to achieve these grades. If they can't get the curriculum taught within school hours even with all the draconian rules, that's a problem.

I know two kids at a top private school and they do 3 hours of homework in the GCSE years and 4 hours per night in the A level years....

How do you think schools like Queen Elizabeth, St Pauls, Westminster, Henrietta Barnett maintain their grades given the kids are tutored from birth to get in, in the first instance? They are not so different - the parents of all of these schools are very driven.

It’s interesting, though, isn’t it @TheLivelyViper , that all those children you say (without evidence) are ‘offloaded’ in year 7 must have parents who wanted them to go to Michaela, rather than the school they ended up in. In my experience most parents, however competent they are at being parents, want the best for their children. So, if it has a reputation for getting rid of the struggling/ebsa/sen kids why on earth would you choose it in the first place?

No one is forced to go there.

micheala’s ethos is to get high academic results for the children in her care. That can just mean a pass for those who otherwise wouldn’t up to straight 9s for some children. What is wrong with her saying that if your child has high SEN needs then they shouldn’t attend?. She has limited budget and has focussed all her attention on those children rather than focussing on SEN. I don’t understand what is wrong with that. She has seen the potential of certain children and doesn’t want to dilute what she is doing by diverting budget into SEN. SEN is very expensive- it is far better to concentrate children is larger schools where there are economies of scale and they can employ specialist teachers. All schools aren’t the same, they have different offereings. I don’t see her saying I can’t accommodate SEN children easily who need extra support as an issue whatsoever.

Our non selective independent school hours are 8.30-5pm plus 1-1.5 hours homework up until Yr 10 when it jumps to 2 hours. Plus Saturday morning.
Homework 6 nights a week.

Michaela finishes presumably around 3-3.30pm so plenty of time to fit things in. Work ethic is the key. Very few children get 8/9s without putting in graft. Of course there are some who will easily without work but the majority need to work hard.

What is wrong with her saying that SEN can’t or shouldn’t attend is that it is illegal.

It sounds like people are sniping at a system that achieves real, quantifiable results and social mobility for disadvantaged kids because it doesn't manage to be everything for everyone. Very destructive reaction instead of working on parallel systems for kids who don't fit this model, which seems to work for the majority. Another example of why we can't have nice things since at some point some snide, who doesn't like her attitude, will shut it all down.