Anyone got any opinions on the Michaela School?

[noblegiraffe]

My Twitter is currently full of talk about Michaela as the teachers there have released a book today and are holding a conference explaining what they do. It's a no-excuses school where kids walk the corridors either in silence or chanting Shakespeare, behaviour is expected to be perfect including no slouching. Everything possible is done to reduce workload of teachers - no marking in books, lessons are all joint planned and taught uniformly, no differentiation, they write their own textbooks.

Does anyone's kids go there? Anyone decide against sending their kids there? Does anyone know how it is viewed in the local community?

Yes, but they feed into the local secondary, who also have a disadvantaged intake and get good results. Admittedly, their job is getting slightly easier since the number of low attainers on entry has been falling.

Secondary is different. There are a whole load of external factors that can send kids off the rails and schools can't control and don't always apply to primary. And AFAIK Michaela hasn't yet shown they can deal with those. I'm not sure it ever will or can because it will involve looking at all the children who start the school, not just those that make it to GCSE level.

Secondary is different. There are a whole load of external factors that can send kids off the rails and schools can't control.

True. If you can't control the external social and family problems then you have to either admit defeat and accept that this is the way these kids behave and there's nothing much you can do about it or you have to take the attitude that having a zero tolerance approach to the disruptive effects of bad behaviour so that all children can learn is exactly what is needed to help these kids break out of the endless generational cycle of poor attitude and low achievement. I don't know how successful the latter can be, as I've never worked in a school like Michaela. However, I do know how unsuccessful the former usually is, as I've seen it in the majority of schools I've worked in.

Rafals I think that brings us back to what Michaela are aiming for, which isn't just "good" results, but really good results. And not just results, but children who have been taught, and retain, a wide spectrum of knowledge that goes beyond the narrower demands of the curriculum, and who also have been given an ability to present themselves well, using good eye contact, shaking hands, speaking clearly and politely, etc.

I'm not sure it ever will or can because it will involve looking at all the children who start the school, not just those that make it to GCSE level.

Well, according to the headteacher, the number of children who have left the school is "tiny", so far. But really, the only answer to this kind of question would be for the school to get in a team of outside observers, who can do a factual report on all the statistics and demographics. Perhaps they will do that at some point in the future. Plus the Ofsted report may provide further information, I suppose.

With the no-excuses policy it's not just bad behaviour that's being prohibited, but any sort of behaviour that isn't 100% attention on the task at hand. Sam Freedman commented on Twitter that during his visit he was astounded at the levels of concentration the kids were showing.

I've seen a lot of children with mental health problems at school not exhibit poor behaviour, but certainly struggle with the learning expectations of a 'normal' school when they are dealing with depression, panic attacks, self-harm. Disengagement. Lack of homework. Not producing their best work in class. Should that be punished? How do they deal with the girl who has just been raped? No excuses?

One other thing I've not seen mentioned is that visitors to the school talk about behaviour in classes. But not all the children are in class. Some are in isolation. How many and what for?

My last post has made me wonder about their Sex Ed.

I know teen pregnancy is not funny, but I wonder if there's a knowledge organiser for that.

What about young carers? Are there excuses for them? The school is very clear that they expect 2 hrs homework a night and will give detention if not done or not done well enough or neatly enough. Plenty of reasons a child caring for their parent might not be focusing in class at any particular moment in time.

These are interesting questions.

This is a fascinating discussion, thank you all.

I don't have much to add, but just to say I think it is possible for very well funded schools with dedicated staff to have this kind of effect in a white mono-cultural working class area.

Brooke Weston Academy in Corby started back in the very early 90s as a City Technology College (remember them?).

Corby was built as a new town in the 50s around a steel works and populated mostly with Glaswegian immigrants. The steel plant closed from the late 70s, leaving a town with loads of unemployment, low wages for those in work, etc etc. (The council at one point sold council houses for £1 if you would sign up to actually live in them.) No-one with the least other option would have gone to school in Corby in the 1980s . . .

The school above has a long school day, ultra strict etc, it gets very good results and - while the local economy has improved greatly since then - it has done right from the start I believe.

Should say I don't imagine Corby is that mono-cultural any more, but it definitely was in the early 90s.

very well funded schools with dedicated staff

That's probably the key. The North West and struggling coastal areas all struggle massively with teacher recruitment. The National Teaching Challenge which was set up to counter that has just been binned due to lack of interest.

I wonder how Michaela-style schools would get on with a string of supply teachers when consistency is the key.

Good point, noblegiraffe. I must say that while I'm all for zero tolerance on bad behaviour, I'm not sure I am in favour of such stringent measures on individuals' efforts on school work itself, as that does not have such an impact on the learning of other pupils.

I actually think that pupils should be allowed to take more responsibility for their own success or failure in school work. They need to learn to work because their results are important to them, not because it's their teachers' necks on the line if they fail to make 'expected progress'. This is one of the major problems in schools imo. The pupils know full well that their teachers are far more worried about their results than they are. There's no urgency to make an effort during the school year because once they get near exam time they know the teachers will pull out all the stops to make sure they improve, however little the pupils care. Help should of course always be available, but students who refuse to make use of it and who persistently can't be arsed should be allowed to fail (unless there are real personal extenuating circumstances).

I don't know if it's that black and white, Eolian.

I do think there are some unhelpful beliefs that children (and parents/teachers tbh) are given. And they are quite ingrained by secondary. Even on MN, which is quite MC you see it when parents ask for advice. Things like children are either good at maths/science/academics or not, they all get there in the end etc.

It's something that had to be fought against in the 'reading wars' and I'm not sure we're there yet especially when it comes to the rest of the curriculum. Challenging that is one of the things that Michaela does well. And if that changes attitudes it will be great. But I don't think it needs to be done in quite the extreme way that they appear to be doing it.

Eolian Your post

"If you can't control the external social and family problems then you have to either admit defeat and accept that this is the way these kids behave and there's nothing much you can do about it"

reminded me of something I read yesterday from Michaela's new book.

It's a quoted report from one child's primary school. (I've abridged it, by the way). The sentence I''ve put in bold literally made me gasp.

"Darnell has a problem with authority…His problems are emotional. He’s typical of boys round here. He gets distracted easily and dislikes detentions. He attends the local Behavioural Unit 2 days per week. The other 3 days, he is in school until 1:30 pm because he simply cannot cope with the full school day….He has tantrums…he throws chairs…he often hits other children….He sees red daily….He has bad reactions when things go wrong and takes punishments very personally…I think a full timetable from September would be very damaging or him."

This is his Michaela form tutor's report 4 months in:

"Darnell is focused, hard-working and very enthusiastic in lessons…He started off the year in the first week of school in terrible habits: slouching, overreacting and sulking….he still sometimes rolls his eyes when he gets a demerit, and he still sometimes sulks if he gets a detention. However, his self-control and his behaviour have improved massively since the start of the year. In his interactions with teachers, guests and staff, he is polite, professional and considerate…He has not shown any violent behaviour since coming to Michaela. On the contrary, he has behaved like a gentleman, studying hard, succeeding in his subjects and enjoying lunchtimes playing basketball…His attendance is sky-high at 100%. He leaves school every day at 4 pm, and has not had to take any days or time off in a behavioural unit…Darnell is on track to achieve fantastic academic results, and his habits of politeness and consideration are improving every day He has achieved a complete turnaround... "

And this is Darnell himself:

"Since I’ve started Michaela the three things I’m most of proud of is my behaviour, attitudes and reactions…I have had lots of talks with MsFacer to help improve my habits. Mr. Smith has helped me improve my attitude of how I see things because I would always look at things negatively – now I try to look at things positively…Now I’m in Michaela if I’m in isolation or detention I try and reflect on next time “what would I do differently next time?” I think I have changed a lot since primary school. I remember one time I had a brilliant week at school and every day I came home my Mum felt so happy. I wanted to see that beuse I don’t like to see my Nan or my Mum crying. I have also changed because I want a good future.”

I've just seen on Twitter why Bodil Isaksen is no longer on the teaching staff at Michaela, she's director of some prisons program which will be like Teach First for prisons.

Obviously this is great for her, but I'm a bit surprised given how enthusiastic everyone is for Michaela that she'd leave a job half done.

kesstrel that report for Darnell is fantastic, really great. Clearly a lot of time and effort has been put into him - another benefit of a small, well-resourced school.

The report on Darnell is indeed fantastic, but it's in the book. So obviously they're going to choose an impressive sounding case study. If anyone were to write a book about my school they could find impressive sounding case studies too. Doesn't mean the system works for everyone.

I am still genuinely interested in two specific things:

1. What about children with serious SEN?
2. Can this work in an existing school or does it have to start from scratch?

Kesstrel - why did "he's typical of boys round here" make you gasp? Typical means it's common. Perhaps lots of boys round there do have emotional issues.

Number 1 - I think many parents would opt-out of choosing that if they felt it would be an issue.

And number 2 -honestly I think that would be nigh-on impossible.
They have started small with a very rigorous boot camp each year to ensure everyone clearly understands each rule. Those with behaviour entrenched as poor in the same school would not be able to do a Darnell turnaround.

I'm not sure it's typical that a group of boys in an area have emotional issues, unless they are refugees or another group with a particular difficulty. I think it's more likely that the primary school chose to deal with his behaviour by tolerating outbursts or putting in reduced timetables to minimise his contact and hopefully reduce his stress. Michaela seem to have a different approach - which seems to be a mixture of breaking them down and building them up. It seems that they pay a lot of attention to those in "isolation" in terms of follow-up etc. There's no point in isolation and other such sanctions unless there is clear follow up. And with very few resources in many schools, that doesn't happen.

It seems to be a bit like 'joining the military was the making of him'.

I found it quite difficult reading actually - having taught students with anger issues and difficulty expressing themselves emotionally. I'm not sure the answer is just that he needs a bit of strict discipline. Sounds inappropriate. Sounds like they're suggesting that kids with SEN just need rules and boundaries. Which is not the case.

Perhaps lots of boys round there do have emotional issues.

Except that it appears that Darnell didn't, did he? That teacher just decided he did because he was behaving badly. And she was dismissing all the other boys "round here" in the same way.

How many others of those adjudged to "have emotional issues" because they are behaving poorly actually do have them? One of the biggest categories of SEN is "behavioural and emotional issues". But what evidence do we have that the majority of those children (who mostly don't have proper diagnoses) are actually "SEN" in the sense of requiring special accomodation and lowered expectations? As opposed to just being expected to take responsibility for their behaviour, and guided by sanctions and encouragement to do so?

We used to (and to some extent still do) label pupils as SEN who were actually just victims of poor, unevidenced, non-phonic reading instruction. I suspect that many poor children are ending up up labelled SEN for emotional and behavioural issues, who are actually just victims of low expectations and poor, unevidenced behaviour practices.

the answer is just that he needs a bit of strict discipline.

Except that's not it at all. Did you miss the bit about his teachers talking to him so frequently? Reducing the school's ethos to "a bit of strict discipline" is simply wrong. They put a huge emphasis on love, on kindness, on empowerment, on instiling a sense of competence and "I can do this" in children.

As Cauli said:

I think it's more likely that the primary school chose to deal with his behaviour by tolerating outbursts or putting in reduced timetables to minimise his contact and hopefully reduce his stress.

Which didn't seem to work very well, did it?

Does anyone know how much funding per pupil this school gets. I tried to look it up but the information is not available . Incidentally why do free schools get any any exemption from FOI requirements? That is a nonsense.

The reason I ask is that a lot of their systems seem staff intensive. My local comp get £5191 per pupil. Could the system work on that amount?

Well they don't have things like interactive whiteboards or projectors or textbooks. Photocopying seems to be minimal as they stick with the teacher created knowledge sheets. The area isn't rich so presumably the rent is lower? There is no upkeep in terms of gardening as there are no grounds. They've cut out all the stuff like vending machines and charging up money on lunch cards. So a lot of admin is cut out. They have a narrower curriculum than most schools so no dance or drama or music or technology or food tech I don't think. That cuts out a lot of specialist rooms and teachers and technicians and equipment.

So it's a bit like easyjet in terms of the money saving. Zero frills.
The book they have published will presumably be bringing in more money - but I don't know if that will go to the school or the teachers who wrote it.