Well we wondered if Michaela would work elsewhere - Great Yarmouth, sick buckets and mandatory smiling

[noblegiraffe]

The previous Dep Head of Michaela has just been made head of Great Yarmouth High School, a school with high absenteeism and 30-odd percent GCSE pass rate.

People thought his initial letter to parents was a bit forthright www.inspirationtrust.org/news/?pid=968&nid=19&storyid=1246

But now details are coming out as the behaviour policy has been leaked to journalists. If teachers think you are faking illness to get out of lessons then they will give you a sick bucket. If you don't smile you're being rude and will be punished.

And then stuff like the attached photo.

Parents aren't taking it particularly well. www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-41228803

I understand the point about eye contact, but what about kids with ASD who find it really difficult? I hate making eye contact and feel uncomfortable. Michaela/this new school doesn't sound very sympathetic to kids with SN.

It's appalling. And would set up an autistic child to fail from the word go.

Michaela put all SEN kids in the bottom set.
My two are academically incredibly bright. But they need understanding to achieve. I've just pulled ds from a private school because his mental health was appalling & they didn't understand his needs. Discipline is one thing, this would destroy him.

We're charter. We're smarter. It's who we are (my bold).
This seems like a joke.

We will punish you. (their bold)

This is fucking terrifying.
Christ on a bloody bike.

Just been looking at this on Twitter. I absolutely and completely support the development of oracy, but "you will be punished"??

Michaela started new as a Free School, chosen by parents, with an induction for all their (new to secondary) students that modelled their expectations. A 20 page booklet given out to existing students across all year groups, who by the sounds of it have had a poor educational experience up 'til now, is quite a different proposition.

I wonder what on earth the teachers make of it. At Michaela at least you had buyin from teachers from the start. This lot have a new head rock up and tell them to punish kids for pretty much everything.

I'm currently discussing it on a drama teachers forum. I'm quite sad that the person who took over my old job is advocating in favour of this.

If ever there a school that needs
Something to change, it is GHYS. But I am really, really not sure that this is it.

From their website "Your children will avoid detentions, isolations, or confiscations if you are a supportive parent. The responsibility lies with you."

They've not met any headstrong teenagers then .

I know of schools with similar issues that have almost done the opposite (and been successful). A friend went to be senior management at a school in an area of high social deprivation and with lots of family issues. They made a 'no shouting' rule for staff. It was more than just that, but was based on the premise that many of these children had only ever experienced adults shouting at them, being aggressive, using force to exert power over them. And they shit down to it and didn't respond. Instead they took a more 'touchy feely' approach in trying to listen, talk and communicate.

A kid is late? Don't shout, let them come in and start work. Later speak to them and find out reasons. Could be dad was locked up last night, got drunk and locked himself out, had to take a younger sibling to school, no clean clothes to wear. Listen, talk about the importance of being on time and help them to try and solve issues where possible (can you speak to your social worker, can we leave an emergency set of clothes somewhere).

If it was overslept, get them an alarm clock, talk about sleep etc. Anyway the point was don't immediately lose it and assume it's their fault. Listen and help them correct it themselves if they can.

It's social selection to make Trust look better.
They have told a disabled child to make himself better.
The schools progress 8 wasn't too bad.
The Inspiration Trustbhave been in control for two years already and CEO used to tweet about how good it was. She just wants to remove 'difficult' children and attract the highly aspiring parents to make it look outstanding when it is back door selection.
Nasty way to treat children too.
It might not do as well as Michaela as GY hadn't got the aspirational very strict Afro Caribbean or Asian families. Much less likely to work with WWC.

Did you see the woman being interviewed on sky news trying to keep eye contact with the interviewer throughout the conversation?

It was hilarious, and totally made the point that what they are asking is impossible.

If anyone wants the full behaviour policy, it's here: www.dropbox.com/s/tmr7cxzgwjli9d8/greatyarmouthcharterrules090917.pdf?dl=0

I've just had a quick flick through and it's pretty intense.

There's going to be a major problem getting a bunch of kids to buy into 'Charter teachers are strict because they care' and 'Teachers are never late to lessons' and all that sort of stuff about teachers being experts if you were taught by those teachers last year and know that really, they were probably occasionally a bit slack. Or you were taught by a succession of supply teachers because Great Yarmouth High School isn't a great draw and so 'Charter teachers care' will jar when you know that they didn't even usually care enough to stay.

Exactly. Or because once when they were pregnant they actually forgot they had lesson because 2 week timetable confusion, until 20mins into the lesson. Purely hypothetical obviously.

I'd love to hear what othe drama teachers think about the policybif only asking questions where the facts have been given & never asking questions such as "what do you think happens next"?

I'm SLT (at a school where students and teachers have both respect AND their own minds) Just read their behaviour policy and cringed all the way through it.

I'm presuming the Executive Head there has Tenko on box set.

I just cannot imagine this document being distributed at my school and being met by the kids with anything but scorn.

What's he going to do? Batter them into submission with detentions unti they chant 'We're Charter, we're smarter' with a fixed smile?

Is the sullen Y11 who had to be asked five times to remove their hoody last year ever going to SLANT? And if not, then what?

How on earth is this going to play out?

My son would just crumble.

Magna Academy seems similar ish. Local article as students put in afterschool detention for not getting high enough test scores.

I'm sort of fascinated by these super strict schools. Apparently Magna is high performing with underprivileged students.
They certainly look smarter and behave better on way to/from school I don't want to send a child there!

Another 2 local schools have a "no excuses " approach. Is this the way academies are going?

They'll have to back down when teachers and kids start leaving this -concentration camp- school

I remember the head of Michaela saying that they had to be so ruthlessly self-publicising on Twitter and so on, so that they would actually get people to apply for jobs there. Not enough locals wanted to work there so they needed to cast their net wider.

Will teachers be willing to travel to the arse end of Norfolk for the pleasure of working in this school?

I'm sort of fascinated by these super strict schools. Apparently Magna is high performing with underprivileged students

I suppose it depends on how you define high performing. As an (ex) teacher I'm a bit cynical of the old A-C, or numerical equivalent. It doesn't necessarily mean they are any better than maths, science and English. But they are expert in passing those exams.

It also doesn't measure how we it prepared them for onward life, college, a job etc. I'm certain it doesn't instill a lifelong love of learning. Probably quite the opposite.

That is horrifying. I don't have additional needs but am a very socially anxious introvert. I was paralysingly shy as a teen. I never answered questions and hated speaking in front of the class. I was also depressed and anxious. I wasn't being rude ffs - a couple of teachers did think I was and it really hurt, I remember it 20 years or more later.
This sort of approach is not the way to encourage quiet kids to increase in confidence - it will do the opposite. It would have destroyed me.

I suspect it will be 'successful' but I think there will be lots of children and teachers moving elsewhere. They will end up with the children of parents who support the regime and lose any children with special needs, behavioural problems or anxiety who might bring their results and reputation down. My dd is a really really hard working but very anxious child. She would fall to pieces under the fear of getting things wrong. I don't think it would be conducive to learning.