Katharine Birbalsingh | Schools Week

New Michaela Stevenage school scrapped over lack of ‘basic need’

Headteacher Katharine Birbalsingh says opening second school would be ‘financially detrimental’ to other settings in the area

‘Put the blinkers on and ignore Ofsted’ says government social mobility tsar

Katharine Birbalsingh says she doesn’t see inspectorate as a ‘force for good’

Katharine Birbalsingh, Headmistress, Michaela Community School

A customised Marmite jar stands on Katharine Birbalsingh’s desk, with the name “Michaela” emblazoned across it. It’s a stroke of marketing genius. The education world seems to be divided into those who adore the no-excuses, knowledge-focused, silent-corridor secondary school she established, and those who recoil at its very mention. Controversial policies include ditching SEND labels, giving […]

Detentions are a kind of ‘violence’ against pupils, says expert

Detentions were “a kind of violence” against pupils, said a conflict expert during a heated panel debate on pupil behaviour. Maria Arpa, chief executive of the Centre for Peaceful Solutions, which helps to prevent community conflict, said that detentions aimed to improve behaviour by telling pupils they should do the right thing because otherwise “someone […]