He is a co-founder of Michaela Community School, where he was one of the 20 teaching staff that contributed to the book Battle Hymn of the Tiger Teachers, published in 2016.
[1] In this role, to integrate home and international students, he persuaded Archbishop Desmond Tutu to attend an event at his university.
[13][14][15] Like a number of other younger British teachers including Tom Bennett[5] and Daisy Christodoulou, Kirby has been inspired by American educator E. D. Hirsch.
[30] In the book, Kirby explains the curriculum design[29] and how eleven-year-olds are prepared for school in boot camp prior to the beginning of the school year, how the students are taught that "silence in lessons is golden, that it helps us listen and helps us learn",[11] how teaching of factual knowledge is prioritised,[31] and how consistency and simplicity in a "centralised system" allow students to complete homework with the aim of not overloading teachers with marking, thereby reducing burnout.
[32][33][34] Kirby created the knowledge organiser,[35][36][37] a template on a single A4 sheet used by teachers and their pupils to clarify what is essential to learn.