A New School Based On A Community Of Equals

In this Podcast we interview Lucy Stephens who was tired of ‘shoehorning’ pupils through tests. Her new school has no Sats, no behaviour policy – and an idea for a novel funding system

The New School, based in Croydon, south London, opened its doors in September. It has no Sats and no behaviour policy, and operates on a “democratic” decision-making model for pupils and staff. It can escape statutory testing because it is a private school – but one with no fees. It is funded by philanthropic company donations – £1m of seed funding this year – although Stephens hopes to move to a completely different funding model involving her local authority, believing she can offer a social partnership approach which could be copied by other schools that want to innovate.

The main aim is to create a mini democracy. Many schools have become focused on maintaining a hierarchy to control children’s behaviour, rather than listening to them or building meaningful relationships with them, she says. “We live in a democracy, but we don’t practise that model in schools. And then we expect young people to come out aged 18 and operate democratically in society.” The idea is for “self-determination within a community of equals”.