Michaela school - experiences?

[teathyme]

This is purely out of curiosity as I live nowhere near it. I saw an interview with the HT and whilst I didn't agree with everything she said the results are very impressive. I know sometimes on paper things are very different to on the ground so just wondered if anyone had experience of it and what they thought?

Loads of schools don't feed kids if no money on lunch accounts, it's canteen style and if no money loaded up via parentpay then no food. If kid was to say they were hungry in a way to raise staff concerns there would be safeguarding referrals and I'm sure school might find a way around but mostly they just don't know who has eaten.

I've been to a Michaela open evening and decided it wasn't for my kids. But there were some very good things, the "textbooks" they had written and were working through were very well written. Lots of other local secondaries were a Mish mash of PowerPoints and YouTube videos.

I thought the silent corridors thing was nuts but was in Preston Manor (school down the road from Michaela) and shoved across corridor while pregnant and began to see how scary corridors could be.

I prefer strict schools.

Ark Academy is literally next door to Michaela, and the school is strict. I would happily send my children there. I just don't like the way the head of Michaela criticises other heads and labels them as lefties and gets involved in culture war debates. How does she know how every headteacher in the country votes? Not all teachers are left leaning or vote Labour/Green Party. If she really cared about improving schools and education in the UK, should would not be behaving the way she does, and be so insulting. She is clearly is being paid to play a character/role.

@sammyvine
She gave a speech at the Conservative party conference back in 2011. She’s politically motivated. I’m amazed she’s still a head and not an education political guru. She’s no doubt aiming for that.

I just watched the ITV documentary about this school fully expecting to hate it, but I must say I am so impressed with the head, the teachers, the kids. It clearly works. I agree with everything she says, especially about setting high standards for the kids regardless of their backgrounds/ home situations.

Having said this, my daughter would HATE this school 😂It would be her nightmare coming true (particularly the phone detox 🤪) and she would be in constant detentions. I can see how a child who doesn't want their lessons disrupted by bad behaviour would love this school and I think it provides great opportunities for disadvantaged kids to get an excellent standard of education.