SLANT policy comes in for criticism from parents and pupils at Astrea academy

A policy which has become fashionable in some schools and which sees children sitting up at all times, nodding their heads and with their eyes following the teacher comes in for some criticism as part of a parent and student campaign against tough disciplinary rules in a large secondary academy.

“SLANT” - which stands for Sit up, Listen, Ask and answer questions, Nod your head, Track the speaker – has come to popularity in some schools in England having featured in the book Teach Like a Champion, by the American educationist Doug Lemov.

But the approach was mentioned by critics of policies instigated at St Ivo Academy, in St Ives in Cambridgeshire, by the Astrea Academies Trust. The general controversy about this is covered in a longer piece on this website, here.

A detailed piece of research from parents, setting out their views on the school’s behaviour and related policies as a whole, includes some comments about the high-profile approach to managing how pupils interact with teachers.

One parent is quoted in the document saying: “There has been an impact on my year 10 child especially. She is a well-behaved, conscientious student who feels that through the systems such as SLANT and morning address [where children have to line up in the playground for uniform inspection] she is treated like she is a much younger pupil. She feels like she had more responsibility and was treated as a more independent pupil when at primary school.”