Latest news with #ForestHillSchool
The Independent
25-03-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Schools to run anti-misogyny classes for boys in bid to tackle toxic masculinity
Schoolchildren are set to be given lessons in how to counter misogyny and toxic masculinity amid the rise of influencers such as Andrew Tate. The Independent understands that health and sex education (RHSE) guidance for schools will be updated at the start the next academic year to add sections on supporting healthy relationships and to help schools target harmful narratives that are spread on social media. The guidance, which is still being updated, will also teach children at primary and secondary school how to navigate difficult emotions and have a focus tackling sexist content spread online. It comes as Sir Keir Starmer has expressed admiration for Stephen Graham 's Netflix series Adolescence about a teenage boy who is arrested for murdering a girl after being influenced by incel propaganda online. As well as watching it with his two teenagers at home, he has supported a campaign for it to be shown in schools. Education secretary Bridget Phillipson has been under pressure to overturn the draft RHSE guidance, put forward when the Conservatives were in power, which included plans to ban sex education for children under the age of nine, as well as discussion of gender identity. The Independent has spoken to school leaders about the problems caused by harmful attitudes held by young men, with one headteacher warning parents not to brush their concerns about the growing influence of toxic masculinity under the carpet and to speak to people about it. Michael Sullivan, head teacher of Forest Hill School for boys in Lewisham, had a message for parents who might be concerned about their sons: 'Speak to your son, speak to his school, and don't try and brush it under the carpet. 'I think that's the worst thing you could do if you are concerned about something. 'Speak to the people who might be able to support you or your son or the person you're concerned about to change that and for us to make sure that these things are openly discussed in a healthy way.' Forest Hill School has worked with Beyond Equality, an education programme who run workshops on positive masculinity values, in response to the growing influence of Andrew Tate, the manosphere and toxic masculinity among teenage boys. 'As an all boys school, we have a duty to address the negative stereotypes that can sometimes be associated incorrectly with an all boys' education. 'We want to make sure that we were proactively addressing some of the issues that were coming out with the toxic masculinity agenda.' Mr Sullivan said that while he didn't feel his school had a 'particular issue' with toxic masculinity, the decision to work with Beyond Equality stemmed from wanting to 'address it in a proactive way while boys are with us in the school.' He isn't the only teacher who has expressed the importance of addressing this issue. Clive Hill, a teacher at Meden School, Nottinghamshire, told The Independent that the sector had noticed a rise in sexist behaviour. 'We've definitely seen a rise in the need to tackle those sorts of behaviours,' said the teacher, who got into education via TeachFirst. 'That's across several schools. It's across the sector when I talk to colleagues at conferences.' It became a personal issue for Mr Hill when his daughter, who attended a co-ed sixth form attached to an all boys school, was on the receiving end of misogyny with some 'students outright praising Andrew Tate'. Mr Hill said that part of the issue stems from within the school: 'We don't have enough role models in schools. We've got the issue with recruitment of where you need to be seen in the classroom for students to be able to relate to who they are.' The latest figures from the Department of Education saw that men now make up only a third of staff at secondary schools, down from nearly half 30 years ago. 'I think to start off with the narrative around what positive masculinity is has got to come from males,' Mr Hill said. 'It's got to come from male teachers.' He continued: 'The narrative that we need to portray to young men is that they are the solution, not the problem.' Adolescence has not only become a talking point in parliament, but in schools as well. Educator Will Adolphy, co-founder of M-Path, which goes into schools delivering masculinity programmes, has already noticed the impact of the show. 'I've already had teachers reference [it],' he said. 'I've said [to my whole team],guys, this is homework now because teachers are going to be referencing this. 'That TV show really shows just how important it is that we engage boys and men, otherwise we might lose them to isolation and, and the manosphere and violence, gender-based violence.' He added: 'We don't know what healthy masculinity really looks like yet culturally, like we don't see it much in our films and TV still. We don't see it much in our books or in our music.' Mr Adolphy knows firsthand the positive impact from teaching healthy masculinity. 'My approach is to go in there and I'm not a teacher, I'm not a member of staff. I'm one of you and I share my story', he said. 'I'm modelling vulnerability', he added. 'I'm not there to tell them how to live their lives.' He continued: 'I've found with that approach, sometimes you see the bravado drop. The educator sat down with Sir Keir and health secretary Wes Streeting last year where they discussed men's health strategy, discussing in particular what can be done to bring boys and men into the conversation alongside the effort for girls and women. 'Because it's going to benefit everyone', he said, adding that the moment filled him with optimism. 'I'm excited.'
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
'Happiest' schools in Lewisham revealed as rated by parents
Three schools in Lewisham have a high number of happy pupils based on parent surveys from Ofsted, and as analysed by The Sunday Times. The happiest school in Lewisham is Forest Hill School, where 94 per cent of parents said they felt satisfied with their children's happiness. The findings were based data from Ofsted's Parent's Views Survey between 2020 and 2025 where parents gave a satisfaction rating for how they felt about their child's happiness. This was followed by Haberdashers' Aske's Hatcham College with 87 per cent rating and Sydenham School with a 75 per cent rating. The analysis found that parents overwhelmingly felt their children were happy at these schools. Each year, more than 500,000 parents complete these surveys, but the analysis focused on the year in which each school had the highest number of responses, often coinciding with an Ofsted inspection, as schools actively encourage participation during this period. To ensure reliability, only state secondary schools with at least 500 places and a minimum of 100 parent responses in a single year were included, narrowing the field to 1,934 schools out of over 4,000 across England and Wales. However, some schools were not included in the ranking as they did not receive enough parent responses to meet the analysis criteria. Parents gave the school a 94 per cent satisfaction rating. Rated Good overall by Ofsted, the school was described as having students that were 'safe and happy' that also 'achieve well'. 25 percent of the school's grades last year were grades 7 – 9, above the national average, and 54.6 per cent of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in English and maths GCSEs, above the local authority average. ated Good overall by Ofsted, the school was described as having students that were 'safe and happy' that also 'achieve well'. (Image: Forest Hill School) Moving onto A Levels, in 2024 the school recorded "some of their strongest" results in "recent history' with 28 per cent of grades being A*-A, 54 percent A-B and 78 percent A*-C, outperforming national figures at all levels. The school has partnered with the Tellmi App to further support the mental health and wellbeing of their students, with users able to anonymously share their concerns and receive replies from vetted professionals. Parents gave the school an 87 per cent satisfaction rating. The college was rated Good by Ofsted during previous inspections and was described as a 'highly ambitious school' that enabled a 'purposeful atmosphere'. In 2024, 73 per cent of the students achieved a grade 4 or above in English and Maths, with 20 percent of students achieving grades 7 – 9 in all subjects. Ofsted described the college as a 'highly ambitious school' that enabled a 'purposeful atmosphere'. (Image: Google) 23 per cent of pupils achieved the EBacc at grade 5 or above, which was above the national average last year. For A Level results, 54 per cent of the grades secured by the students were A* to B and more than a quarter of those were A* to A. Parents gave the school a 75 per cent satisfaction rating, Rated Good by Ofsted, their most recent report on the school outlined that students felt 'happy and safe' studying there and expressed a sense of pride in the school. Ofsted's most recent report on the school outlined that students felt 'happy and safe' studying there. (Image: Google) In 2024, 68 per cent of students achieved grade 4 and above in English and Maths, and 48 percent of students were graded 5 and above in these subjects. 14 per cent of all entries gained a grade 8 – 9 (equivalent to A*), and 28 percent of students received a grade 7 (equivalent to A or above). For A Levels, 29 percent of all results were A grades and 56 per cent of all entries were graded between A and B, with many students going on to study at Cambridge, King's College London and Sheffield University to name a few.
