The education miracle of Muravlenko (Siberia) and how we supported it.

How one small town set amongst the freezing Tundra of Northern Siberia can teach us more than a thing or two about the importance of putting children and their education firmly at the heart of a community, and how my organisation Leading National Training was lucky enough to be part of it.

 But first, when you think of Siberia, you think of bitterly cold wastelands, wild bears, roaming howling wolves and incredibly harsh-living, right?

Well you would be sort of right. There are definitely bears, as for the harsh-living: I can certainly confirm that it is not a place for brass monkeys! Every time you walk outside your front door, you move very quickly from one warm place (normally a shop) to another. The worst I experienced was whilst visiting an oil pipeline (see picture below) the temp with wind chill was estimated at -44 by my guide! For the first time in my life I now fully understand the meaning of 'frost bite', as it feels like somebody is literally trying to 'bite' your cheeks off...

My ‘cold in Siberia’ experience took me back to my childhood. I can still hear my mum shouting: 'close the (there was usually an extra word added here) door, it's like Siberia in here'. Unfortunately, she is no longer around, which is a shame, as I would have loved to have told her: 'mum, it’s nothing like Siberia in here'...

So that's the weather out of the way. Now let's talk about the Siberian take on education and how people live and thrive there. 

I was fortunate enough to have visited the town of Muravlenko, which is in the South of Yamal region, a three and half hour flight north-east of Moscow. The town was built in 1984 and named after a captain of the Russian oil and gas industry Viktor Muravlenko. A huge oil field was discovered there in 1970, which now supplies 70% of the total oil for Russia. The field is so vast; they believe that it is endless (if there is such a thing). So when extraction technology had moved far enough forward, it was decided to setup a town there to start pumping the said oil.

One of the many pipelines around Muravlenko

Fast forward 32 years and the town currently has around 33,000 inhabitants, with seven schools, including a school for the indigenous people and a multi-profile Lyceum, plus one technical college and a number of nursery schools. 

My organisation: Leading National Training was there for a week, to work with the Directors of all the schools, the Head teachers and their teams, as well as training other individuals as licensed practitioners for our online profiling tool PRISM Brain Mapping. We also did some great work with the last year students, using an element of our Prepare 4 Success (P4S) programme, which focuses on workplace preparation for those about to leave education. The students come from all parts of the former Soviet Union, as their parents were drawn to this new ‘boom-town' and its varied work opportunities.

The town, its education department and the mayor, were fully behind the training of the teaching staff (as all parties had to agree to fund the programme), everybody recognised that the further development of the teachers will cascade positively down to their children and their own development.

I’m happy to say that the whole event was an incredible success, and we are now in the process of talking to other areas of Yamal (both the education and private sectors) and other regions of Russia. So that's the background, now about the education...

Muravlenko’s approach to education

Around ten years ago a very forward-looking Mayor and an incredible lady called Irina Sidorova, who was head of education for Yamal at the time and now acts as an education consultant to the Governor of Yamal-Nenetz Autonomous Region, set out on a mission to change the face of schooling in Russia, they battled hard against the traditional Russian education system, as they wanted to do things in a very different way. Their whole philosophy was that the schools and their style of education, had to be first and foremost targeted to individual children’s preferences and their future potential, and secondly, the schools had to be at the heart of the town and its community, as well as its engine room, so as to grow the skills required for the Yamal region and beyond.

And boy, have they succeeded! Each school is a real eye-opener in terms of the structure, their approach to education, teaching methods and the general atmosphere (more about the middle schools and the Lyceum in a moment).

An obvious measure to the success of this education revolution, is that the town, its teachers and its students are well known throughout Russia, for their knowledge and competitive spirit both at an individual and team level, regularly winning regional and national awards and gaining recognition in areas such as; chemistry, mathematics, art, music and performing arts (to name but a few).

The Lyceum is in the top 500 colleges in Russia.

5* hotel or a nursery school?

To give you an example of how far advanced they are with their approach, I was taken on a visit to a new nursery school (children up to 7 years of age, as primary school starts at 7 in Russia). I thought I was entering a five star hotel, there was an indoor swimming pool (obviously), which the children used daily (all the children exercise for three hours a week). When they completed their swim, each was given a massage.

All of the classrooms where equipped with the most up to date equipment, with the focus being on sensory (light and touch)!

They have an indoor garden with scores of different plants, so that the children can learn about nature (as there is not much green in Siberia, apart from around two to three months in the summer, but with the severe weather conditions the variety of plants are very limited).

Then of course there was the salt sauna room, (see left) where the children lay on loungers cleansing their skin and lungs whilst watching educational cartoons on a big screen. I could go on to tell you about the theatre, the dance studio, the computer room, the gymnasium, the sensory rooms with relaxing classical music being played, the fully fitted dentists, the health centre (staffed with qualified nurses) and the speech therapy centre, but I think you get the general picture...

So all the children's health, welfare and development needs are taken care of whilst at nursery school, which by the way, accommodates them from 8am to 8pm (so parents can work a full day). They receive three home cooked meals a day, and there is a dormitory where they sleep for a couple of hours in the afternoon.

Everybody who enters the school has to wear over the shoe plastic bags (a la hospitals). Not a good look, but the place is spotlessly clean as the children’s health and hygiene is also very high on their list of priorities.

(left) The parents toddler delivery system!!

The whole focus of the nursery school is to prepare the children for their first school years, as well as demonstrating to them at a very early age, that school and learning is about them and them alone, and it is vital to their own future success, as well as for the success of their town, and the Yamal region (for those that stay). NOT about focusing on budgets, a multitude of league tables and inspections (if there were inspections, they would have to come up with something way-way above ‘Outstanding’.

And the monthly costs to their parents? ￡40!

The town’s administration finances all the other schools in Muravlenko as well as subsidising the nurseries.

Secondary schools and the Lyceum

During their secondary school education, the children are constantly assessed, not around any fixed curriculum (it was this major change that the previous and current mayor and Irina Sidorova had fought so long to break with the Russian government), but around their individual strengths and leanings.

This approach had a real synergy with our organisation, as Leading National Training’s whole philosophy is about developing people around their personal behaviours and strengths, as opposed to trying to fit square pegs in round holes.

Which brings me to the Lyceum. All 16-17 year olds of this town study in this amazing, 13 special profiles educational center. It was custom built and its design reflects the creative approach to everything they do, built around a circular shape, with open corridors that encircle the whole building, and a massive and very light central atrium (it was originally going to be left open, but they recognised that it could be much better utilised during the long winter months if it was enclosed, it is now the students favourite haunt).

All the other schools in the town use the facilities at the Lyceum, so children of all ages get to experience this incredible place.

Whilst we were there the Lyceum celebrated their tenth anniversary with a two-hour gala show, staged by the children and their teachers and former students. If I had paid good money for a West-end show and received the same, I would have considered that I had been very lucky and had enjoyed incredible value for money. It was so professional and varied (look out for the links to the videos on our website www.leadingnationaltraining.com).

There is another college in the town, which focuses on the technically minded, those with the aptitude and desire to become engineers, mechanics, working in construction, or at the heavy end of the oil industry, etc.

Support from local business

Gazprom Neft, which is the main employer in the town, have built and subsidised all the indoor sports centres. These consist of two swimming pools, an ice skating-rink, ice hockey rink, various gymnasiums and a tennis centre. Children up to the age of 18 gain free access to all these facilities.

The children’s hobbies and interests are also catered for free of charge, this includes things like, music lessons, dance, all sports training, art classes etc.

Gazprom Neft also funded the fully fitted laboratory at the Lyceum.

A continuous communication link

All the teachers are connected from nursery school through to the colleges, each constantly assessing the children and identifying their strengths and development needs. This information is communicated and recorded throughout every child’s education (no break in the chain). If it is recognised that a child needs extra support, for example with speech, this is quickly picked up (normally at nursery) and they are put on a special speech therapy programme, to ensure they are not left behind.

At every school that I visited in Muravlenko, all I saw was happy smiling and confident faces. It was a pleasure to see, and in complete contrast to some of the schools that I see in the UK. We definitely cannot put it down to the weather, so I can only assume it is this positive approach to schooling that is responsible for the bright outlook for these youngsters.

The people who live there

Everybody we met in the town was genuinely happy to see us, and we could not have received a better reception. Originally in 1984 and for a number of years, Muravlenko was a boomtown when the oil was first being extracted, but of course with the price of oil dropping dramatically and the overall costs escalating of getting it out of the ground (ironically electricity being the highest cost), the boom times have gone now (although they still earn well above the Russian national average).

The whole town talks about the education system there, and all the parents recognise they are very lucky to be living in the Muravlenko and having their children attend these unique schools.  

Never work with animals or children!

This famous saying used by actors and TV presenters almost rang true for me whilst on the visit! I had casually arranged for my daughter’s primary school (St Peters in Portslade, West Sussex), and one of the schools in Muravlenko to have a video Skype call, which for a primary school in England and for the same in Siberia (I thought) would be equally a fantastic experience …

It actually was, but it could have very nearly ended up in riots! I told my 7-year-old daughter where I was going, and that I was working with teachers of Siberian children, the mistake I made (on reflection) was also telling her about the indigenous people of the region, the Nenets!!

I told her all about them being nomads, roaming the tundra of Siberia, how they herded reindeer, ate the reindeer meat (mostly raw) and drank the reindeers blood. Education is important right? (or so I thought).

What I completely forgot was that 7 year olds will always focus on the interesting stuff, namely the Nenets. I had asked my daughters teacher to organise 10 questions from the children in her class (I did the same in Siberia), and we would run through them the night before.

Now obviously Claudia (my daughter) had gathered the masses in the playground, and told them ALL about the Nenets, whilst completely dismissing the Siberian Russian children (the actual ones they would be talking to). So when it came to reviewing the questions, they were as follows:

• What’s it like being a Nenet?
• Is it cold living in a tent?
• Do you kill Santa’s reindeer?
• What does reindeer blood taste like, etc, etc.

It was at this point that I realised my fatal error, and had to send Claudia’s mum into the school on the morning of the event, to re-programme the little darlings. And I’m happy to say she did a great job and re-aligned their expectations (much to their dismay).

So one (almost) disaster averted.

However, what I hadn’t considered being a potential issue, was that in Russia children go to school for six days a week as opposed to the five days in the UK. So up pops a question from one of the English children ‘what time do you start and finish school? Good question I thought, the sort of thing I was originally looking for.

Little Sasha at the Siberian end starts to answer (through my interpreter), which was going really well, until she got to Saturdays and gave their working hours.

The little ones in Claudia’s class soon picked up on this, and said; ‘you go to school on Saturdays’? ‘Yes’ came the reply, and I thought to myself, OK kids, leave it there! Leave it there… But no, they had to hammer the point home:

‘Well, we only go from Monday to Friday’ the UK’s future 7 year old diplomats proudly announced.

You could have cut the atmosphere with a knife. I started looking for the nearest exit, as the mumblings and rumblings (which I could not understand, but I was in no doubt about there content) built into a crescendo of furrowed brows and dagger looks at the teachers. The teachers managed to quell the riot and maintain control, but the damage was done.

We did finish on a high though, as I suggested that the children could write to each other, this seemed to take their minds of the previous revelation. My friend humorously commented later when I reiterated the story to him ‘perhaps they have been told, never go to the West, they go to school 7 days a week there’!

The indigenous people

On the point of the Nenets, the town sees that their education is just as important as that of the Russian children, and they have opened a special school for them. This houses around 50 Nenets children for about six months a year. They collect the youngsters (when they can find them) by a helicopter, which travels the Tundra to find the specific families who are willing to release their children for education.

I was lucky enough to be taken on a visit to the school, which has a Chum (Choom) or Mya (a traditional Nenets Tent, very similar in design to North American Indians) set in the middle of the school’s grounds (see picture above), so that the children can go and stay there, if they feel uncomfortable living in the modern accommodation or feel home sick.

When I visited it was -29C (plus wind-chill) and the inside of the tent was so warm it was like a house with central heating on at full blast. They have a side for the women and a side for the men. The children I met, both boys and girls were absolutely charming (although initially shy) and welcomed me into their home.

In summary

I have to say that it was the most impressive methodology to education I have ever seen, not just from the quality and style of education and the facilities available, but the clear focus and joined up approach to schooling, from local government, local businesses, parents, teachers and the children themselves. To see a whole town function together with one central aim - to have the best education for all our children! really is a man (and most definitely a women) made miracle!

Of course it’s not the same across all schools in Russia, but other regions and towns are now taking note and have been talking to Muravlenko about introducing the process.

It’s not rocket science, children are the future for all of us, it just seems that in a lot of cases we have lost our way in the UK.

Wouldn’t it be great if one of our UK towns were to take a similar approach as a trial? My organisation and I would be more than happy to work with them to achieve this.

Finally, I have been invited by the Mayor of Muravlenko to go ‘Pike’ fishing with him in the summer, which I am very much looking forward to. We will of course be returning before then, but unfortunately no fishing until the summer thaw.

I was completely mesmerised by the people of Northern Siberia, their education system and the town, so bring on the next trip, whatever the weather!

Copyright Philip Peters 2016