Case Study: Merril Academy achieves a dramatic behaviour turnaround with Class Charts

Merril Academy - Customer Case Study

Merril Academy, a school serving some of the most deprived wards in Derby with 65% of students eligible for pupil premium and 21 languages spoken, faced entrenched behaviour problems and a poor reputation, having been graded inadequate multiple times and placed in special measures. Prior to September 2016, OFSTED reported behaviour so disruptive that effective teaching was not possible; to address this the academy launched the Class Charts behaviour system.

Using Class Charts, Merril Academy implemented a new consequence-and-reward policy driven by C and R points, a live activity feed, AI seating/combination tools, analytics, and daily mentor reviews supported by a new vertical mentor/tutor and house system plus a visible badge rewards scheme and parent communications. Class Charts enabled a dramatic increase in positive points, quicker responses to low-level disruption, fewer behaviour incidents and clearer hotspot analytics for targeted support — contributing to rapid, sustained improvements and the academy’s first positive OFSTED monitoring visit.

Merril Academy

Marcus Shepard

Biomedical Engineering Head teacher