Following a survey of teachers and senior leaders in both the state and independent sector, a reported published by HMC last week finds the current British educational system is perceived to be failing to prepare young people to thrive in the 21st century.
The current education system is too focussed on qualifications at the expense of broader aims. 94% of respondents favour urgent complete or partial reform of GCSEs. (HMC report)
It is also seen as falling short in promoting the values, creativity, critical thinking & problem solving skills young people need for personal agency. It furthermore fails to motivate students by responding effectively to their needs.
Reading through this report and its recommendations to the government was like reading a list of reasons why I created Little Forest Folk and then Liberty Woodland School, and why I have taken the decision to extend our school to secondary phase.
I had never wished to open a nursery or a primary school. I simply wanted an educational experience for my children which could see them as the incredible young people that they are. Which challenged them and nurtured them, equally and at the same time. Which developed their curiosity, creativity, independence, confidence, resilience and independence through their early years-experience at Little Forest Folk. An early education full of joy, wisdom and wonder, delivered beautifully by our dedicated teams at Little Forest Folk. Following their exemplary early years education, through their primary years I wanted a school that gave children the keys to the world through teaching them to read and write, alongside a solid foundation of and love for the beauty of maths. Which developed them to be highly emotionally intelligent, resilient, independent, ferociously curious, creative young people with positive mental health and high levels of emotional and physical well-being. Which saw children for the wonderful, diverse individuals they are, and which through development of the whole child supported children to discover their passions and interests, empowering them and motivating them through their passions and interests into lifelong self-driven learners. Liberty Woodland School primary delivers all of these dreams, and much more for our lucky, lucky children.
I have recently found myself hit by what parents worldwide will recognise as the great paradox of parenting. It moves in both slow motion and fast speed. I blinked and my little girl, who was the reason I created Little Forest Folk and then Liberty Woodland School primary, was suddenly 10 years old. Racing rapidly towards her secondary school years. In hope, I looked at many, many schools both locally and further afield and was once again hugely frustrated by the slow pace of the education system in reacting to the very necessary change needed in education in today’s world. I cannot wait for the system to adapt to the modern world. My child is growing up too fast for that.
The world has changed since the (British National) curriculum was devised. While the acquisition of knowledge and qualifications are understood to be important, these are currently limiting broader learning. There needs to be more emphasis on curiosity and a love of learning, so young people develop the flexible, adaptable mindsets they need to upskill and reskill in later life. Cultural and social awareness are essential if they are to engage positively in an interconnected world, while skills in digital literacy and engagement with new technologies are at a premium. Crucially, creativity and critical thinking lie at the heart of problem solving and innovation, and are essential if young people are to feel empowered in a changed and changing world. In none of these respects is our curriculum perceived as successful. We need to find new ways of developing and nurturing the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values young people need to take control of their own futures and to play their part in creating an ethical, sustainable, and respectful world. (HMC report)
Yes, yes and yes! Teachers know this. Young people know this. Parents know this. So why are schools still the same? Many are using glossy new whiteboards and shiny iPads, but they are using their innovative technology and equipment to continue to teach in a way which I believe does not adequately prepare our young people for the future. What are my dreams for my own child? I want my child to be prepared to be a person who has the maximum number of opportunities available to her in the future. Who can be intellectually challenged and supported to thrive as a lifelong learner in the 21st century. Who is empowered and developed through learning skills and attributes to be a game changer in the unknown future that lies ahead. I want her to be emotionally intelligent and resilient, able to manage with calm and resolve when challenges are thrown her way in life. Having an understanding of mental health and a firm grasp of the tools within her arsenal to support her own positive mental health. I want her to be happy. I want her to know herself. I want her to have a positive impact within society. I want her to continue on the path that she has been thriving on since her first jumps for joy in the puddles of Little Forest Folk.
And so, once again it’s time to innovate and expand the re-imagining of education that began 7 years ago in a forest in Wimbledon. Our first challenge for secondary school was that of pedagogy. How do we ensure that our young people can continue to be excited and self-motivated to learn through an ethic of excellence via our intellectually challenging project-based learning, whilst still providing them with a widely recognised qualification to enable them to not have any doors closed to them in the future? Discussing GCSE’s and the reality of the GCSE experience with school Heads was depressing. Even within progressive schools, with forward thinking Heads and dynamic teaching teams, if GCSEs are your benchmark of success, then you have no other choice as a school than teaching to the test. If you decide to use GCSEs then of course you need to set your young people up for success in their GCSEs which means several years of lost genuine deep, meaningful and purposeful learning as instead your entire learning will be focused around passing these tests. This not only leads to hollow understanding and a lack of engagement and motivation but is also stressful for our teachers and our young people, leading often to struggles with mental health and overall wellbeing.
As a school we want to provide our children with globally recognised evidence of their learning, with globally recognised qualifications. But not at the detriment of preparing our young people adequately for the future. Traditional schools with their heavy knowledge-based learning, large numbers of pupils and limitations on young people’s ability to self-direct their own learning are not the forward facing schools I believe our young adults deserve and need in the modern world. Our young people now carry the knowledge of the world at their fingertips, in their pockets. What use is it for them to spend so much time learning to regurgitate learned knowledge in a test. How is that going to help them develop the skills the World Economic Forum report on the jobs of the future as being essential – collaboration, creativity, problem-solving, self-motivation, the ability to work independently and much more.
I recognise the power of project-based learning to drive students forward with purpose to push forward their own learning, feeling empowered and successful as leaders of their own learning. I observe daily the incredible achievements of students for whom learning is deeply meaningful and purposeful, with projects selected for their contemporary or community resonance to be highly engaging and provide opportunities to grapple with real=world challenges in real-world situations in a safe and supported environment. These students can and will change the world. I love to watch them learn joyfully and creatively through incredibly academically rigorous projects, they are happy, they learn deeply and their knowledge as a result is better retained.
We strongly believe in developing children to be the best version of themselves they can be, to prepare them for the exciting and as yet unknown future ahead of them. We have selected the International Baccalaureate as the best avenue for students to evidence their learning in a way that allows for a pedagogical approach which continues to emphasise the challenge of Liberty Woodland School learning. We are excited to be working with a programme which empowers children to take ownership over their own learning and helps them develop future-ready skills to make a difference and thrive in a world that changes fast. We are also excited for the opportunities available to our young adults when they leave us with a qualification which makes them more likely to enter into a top 20 UK university, or indeed thrive in whatever they choose to do in life.
What we do here at our secondary school will go so far beyond learning. We won’t bury our heads in the sand about the challenges facing our children, including as a primary area of focus, the current mental health epidemic amongst the teenagers in this country. We pursue a daily practice and way of being to openly discuss mental health. We actively work to develop young people who are extremely self-aware and emotionally intelligent, possessing personal toolkits and strategies which we support them to develop to use to help them to self-regulate. We learn resilience and how to cope with stress. Our young people actively pursue high levels of emotional wellbeing and positive mental health for themselves. They are not done to. They are empowered. They are supported.
The launching of a secondary school is no mean feat. But I, alongside my passionate and dedicated leadership team am excited. I am excited to create a world where my own child alongside her peers will learning to recognise and accept her identity. Where she will have positive self-worth and the ability to shape her own destiny. Where she will develop a strong understanding of social and emotional intelligence to help the formation of healthy relationships. Where she will be supported to become the best version of herself she can be, and alongside the rest of her cohort, continue to work towards becoming an adult who is most likely to succeed in 21st century.
To support the re-imagining of education and provide your own children with the education I am sure you similarly dream of for your children, please support where you can. We need a revolution.
https://www.morethanascore.org.uk
https://rethinkingassessment.com
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Written by
Leanna Barrett
Founder / Director at Little Forest Folk
& Head of School at Liberty Woodland School