Teachers at super-strict academy told to hand out 25 detentions a week - whatever their pupils’ behaviour

Staff also told to award reward points - but to "sanction" pupils who fail to "track the teacher," or who slump at their desks

 

Teachers at a controversial academy are being given targets of handing out at least 25 detentions to children each week – regardless of the behaviour of their classes.

Staff at Ark Alexandra Academy, in Hastings, East Sussex, are being monitored on whether or not they hit this benchmark, as well as on the number of reward points they hand out, with pressure being put on those who fall short.

Staff at the secondary have also been instructed to hand out “sanctions” to children who fail to “track” their teacher with their eyes, or if they slouch in their chairs having been told not to, as the school ramps up expectations on pupils and staff, in a drive to improve what teachers there have been told are the “basics” of school behaviour.

The revelations will increase the spotlight on Ark Alexandra, which has faced criticism in recent months from the local Labour MP and the National Education Union over the number of pupils and staff leaving it, but whose academy trust, Ark Schools, says it is thriving.

The school, which operates on two separate sites which it calls “campuses,” was revealed by this website two weeks ago to have seen its year seven to nine year groups from 2023 reduce by a sixth by the time they reached older age groups this academic year, following the introduction of hardline policies on behaviour, equipment and uniform. 

The details: detentions and reward points

Education Uncovered has seen a document, provided to staff at the school last week, in which the number of staff who had handed out “25 or more negatives” to their pupils the previous week, in each of Ark Alexandra’s two campuses, is listed.

The document states that the school as a whole has a “target” of 25 staff members, in each campus, dishing out these 25 negative behaviour points. The bit of the document which relates to this is shaded in red, suggesting the target had been missed.

I understand that teachers are expected to award 25 negative points each week, regardless of classroom behaviour, as the school leadership argues that this shows how committed the academy is to improving pupil behaviour.

Each negative point will translate as a detention, I understand, ranging from 15 minutes to an hour in duration.

Staff are also expected to award 100 or more “golden ticket” reward points every week, recognising good behaviour.

Staff are being reminded by the school’s leadership that there is an “expectation” that 25 negative behaviour points are awarded each week, with, I understand, letters sent to those who issue fewer than this number, with a reminder to ensure that they “hold the line” on behaviour.

Latest development

A recent staff meeting saw pressure on staff to follow the school’s directives on behaviour management ramped up, I understand.

Staff were reminded by an assistant principal, that “every single student” needs to sit up straight and not slouch, throughout lessons, and that all had to “track”: either following their teacher with their eyes, or focusing on the whiteboard at the front.

It was imperative, staff were told, that pupils who were slouching or not “tracking”, were “sanctioned”. Staff were also reminded to reward children who were “exceeding expectations,” so that they could qualify for reward points.

Staff were also reminded that they need to make sure their pupils are “ACTIVE,” an acronym standing for Alert, Contribute, Track the speaker, Interested, Vocal and Equipped. Those not using it would be informed by their line manager, staff were told, with the meeting seemingly including heads of department in this directive, with senior leadership to follow up if even these middle managers were not using “ACTIVE”.

Ark Alexandra’s behaviour approach is overseen by Rhys Spiers, its executive principal. The academy also has two heads of school: Alex Birks-Agnew as head of William Parker campus, and Tommy Ittu, as head of Helenswood campus.

Mr Ittu told staff at the recent meeting that he would ask the leadership team to “ramp up” behaviour expectations, with no children to be slouching or have their heads on their desks this week, and that if this happened, staff would be “followed up” about it. This was because it was a “basic” expectation for this not to happen in classrooms, and that pupils were missing out on vital learning when such “basics” were not followed.

Staff were also reminded at the meeting to expect “perfect” uniform from pupils, and for children to enter and leave classrooms in silence, with exit routines from classrooms at the end of the day emphasised.

Ark response

Ark Schools, which oversees Ark Alexandra from its base in White City, West London, was approached for comment.

In response it denied that teachers are set targets of awarding a specific number of negative points– despite there being well-sourced evidence that handing out 25 of them in a week is indeed the expectation of staff, from the school’s leadership.

An Ark spokesperson said: “Ark Alexandra doesn’t set behaviour targets for staff, but they are encouraged to reward positive behaviour. The focus is on ‘catching’ students behaving well, rather than catching them out.

“As a rough guide, we suggest staff aim to award four times more reward points than behaviour points. This has helped us create a culture of warmth and high standards.”