Michaela Academy given outstanding, is it the way forward for education?

[Gettheleather]

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/education/2016/dec/30/no-excuses-inside-britains-strictest-school

This is the school I'm talking about. I've read a lot about it and I'm almost persuaded it could work. It has recently been awarded outstanding by ofsted. What does everyone else think? My only concern is that if it was nationwide we'd have a whole generation of academics and there are other valuable skills we need in the workforce.

I don't have a problem with grammar schools, but if we are going to have them there needs to be enough specialist provision for other 'different' kids too. Not just take off the top 20% and dump everyone else together to go hang.

I'd like to see the lowest achieving 25% of students creamed off and put in schools with significantly enhanced resources and funding (lower ratios, better paid staff, flexibility to achieve qualifications over longer time period etc). That would help in so many ways. I'm not suggesting grammar schools have those things BTW, just suggesting that it's what the most complex learners need.

@DoctorDonnaNoble the other non grammar schools in Poole are struggling though and the grammars are a huge factor in that. I suspect they are watching Magna with interest.

Magna's OFSTED is interesting because looking at the data they seem to have huge parental support compared to other local schools - despite their tough reputation. Is this because the parents who want tough discipline are sending their students there? Magna may be making the impact of the grammars even worse because they may be creaming off the "supportive parents " or "compliant students" after the grammar has taken the most able. I don't know if this is happening, just speculation.

@Lowdoorinthewal1 we certainly aren't paid any better! It probably is quite different in areas where it's 20-25% (it's much lower with us and over a large area so lower impact). But I fully agree it would be lovely to see a wider variety of provision. We had an excellent school locally who had the unit for students who could 'just' cope in mainstream, they also had the specialist staff to teach children with disrupted education (travellers and some military children in the main). However, due to their in tact they always fell below the 'baseline' achievement at GCSE and were closed as a 'failing' school. Their value added score was fantastic and much better than many other local schools.
Anyway, back to the point, there's something about these hyper-strict schools that doesn't sit right with me. That's not what I want from my students. Debate is healthy.

Michaela does have pupils from PRUs who are apparently doing well. They also say they have kids with SEN diagnoses but they seem to think that most diagnoses are a form of pseudoscience? All a bit odd.

No idea how self selecting their parents are. I think it's a good think if we do have a wider variety of provision so that parents are forced to make a choice one way or another - I think the act of positively choosing a school probably creates more supportive parents.

I'd certainly self select there if I could! I'm just hoping one of the senior teachers leaves and sets up Michaela 2.0 nearer where I live...

@Alyosha it's just not possible to offer that kind of provision outside of cities and big towns. I wouldn't send a child of mine to a school like that. I'd prefer them to be able to think for themselves and understand what they write (really the exemplar essays I've read are dire, but flashy enough to 'fool' non-specialists).

As a teacher I am quite strict - probably have a reputation for being overly picky. I do think that many schools could be stricter overall. There are things that appeal to me about Michaela School but also some things that worry me. As a parent I wouldn't rule it out . I would rule out Magna

Doctor - surely this is just a pedagogical difference though, other English teachers disagree with you (well on twitter at least!).

I live in London :) and it's a pity that there aren't more rural free schools.

I think "thinking for yourself" is very difficult if you don't have a very strong base of knowledge. Michaela thinks, and I agree, that the best way to develop critical thinking skills is to first know an awful lot, and then start from there...

The marking policy is also interesting at michaela. No multi coloured laborious writing of feedback. It certainly needs more publicising that ofsted found a school with this policy outstanding.

@Alyosha not pedagogical. Write like that and you will not access the top bands at GCSE or A Level. I've had this argument before with verbose students who use a lot of words to say not very much and then wonder why they don't get above a B.
I have never worked in a school that required multi-coloured marking nonsense. OFSTED have said repeatedly it's not necessary. They're not alone in their attitude to marking.

My DS is Mr Average. Quite good at some things, needs a bit of extra attention with others. August born so strengths are minimised and difficulties magnified.

I would consider sending him to a state school if the top 20% of kids were drawn off (so he didn't feel defeated) and the bottom 20% were drawn off (as I know from professional experience they absorb the majority of additional resources). Then I would think he could get the attention he deserves. As it is, I pay for him to go to an Independent school to avoid the grammar/ Magnabootcamp choice.

There really needs to be a better range of provision, either in separate schools or in much better resourced 'comprehensive' schools that can actually cater for individual profiles under one roof.

Subjugating children that are different in 'correction units' is repulsive.

I might be wrong and am probably going to be accused of having a chip on my shoulder. But I feel uneasy at the idea from middle class professional in some schools that working class kids need to be educated in some form of boot camp.

Doctor - some English teachers disagree with you. I am sure we will see what happens in August 2019!

the idea from middle class professional in some schools that working class kids need to be educated in some form of boot camp.

I don't think anyone believes they "need" to be educated in a system with very strict discipline.

I think that the belief is actually that, because their intake don't come from advantaged homes, they are already behind their middle-class peers. So the idea is to make really effective use of every minute at school, in order to be able to catch up with - and maybe even overtake - their more advantaged peers.

So the strict discipline is there primarily to ensure no valuable learning time is wasted. The children buy in to it, in part, because that's how it's presented to them.

And since Ofsted reports that around 20% of school time is wasted on low level disruption, I think these schools have a point. Middle class, advantaged kids can afford to waste that time; disadvantaged children can't.

If Doctor works in a super selective as it sounds like, she probably is pretty well versed in what students need to do to get the highest grades or she'd be out of a job. I don't know about the Twitter teachers.

"other English teachers disagree with you (well on twitter at least!)." Michaela have described themselves as being like Marmite (love them or hate them) and it's certainly the case on twitter that they have as many detractors as supporters (but I suspect many more people like me who just avoid the whole three ring circus that results when Michaela is mentioned on Twitter and keep opinions to ourselves).
In real life I've not met a single teacher who is aware of the existence of the school or what they stand for despite their ability to make the headlines and create huge Twitter storms.

MaryTheCanary

"If it has come to the point where you have to employ a detention director then surely it means your policies aren't working."

Why? It suggests that the school is centralizing discipline under a single person, rather than leaving exhausted teachers to chase up their own students*

It suggests that there are too many rules that cant be followed.
DD has dyslexia and doesn't know without carefully thinking about it for a few minutes her left from her right. Putting her in detention for something so meaningless as to which hand to carry you pencil case in is just creating work.

Ds has been to 2 senior schools. Both of which were in very deprived areas. Both were fantastic schools, one was in special measures. Neither had enough pupils being put into detention/isolation to justify employing a separate person to head a separate department. If you are getting that many children going into detention compared with other similar schools across the country then it does suggest there is something wrong in the rules and how they are actioned

Do they definitely give detentions for carrying the pencil case in the wrong hand?

@MuseumGardens yes, I do work at a super selective.

It isn't on the list

How many pupils are in this school?
How are they funding this position in the current climate of school cuts?

@aayla they'll have funded it by not spending money elsewhere. They don't spend money on textbooks so that's a saving at some level. I don't think the funding of the detention role is the issue. Different schools prioritise different areas for funding.

The pencil case and homework diary in correct hand is Magna. It's so they are instantly ready to work when they start the next lesson.

Magna were certainly in the papers for putting kids into "isolation" for having a folding 30cm ruler rather than a flat clear one. It's all part of their "No excuses " and "Tough love".

So how does the pencil case thing work for left handers?

Oh, you are just the sort of unsupportive parent causing all the problems Ceto.

What about people with one arm? Or no hands? OMG. PERMANENT DETENTION.