Instead of rows of desks, each assigned to a student, children were met with open spaces, stools, benches and beanbags. They didn't follow a timetable set by a teacher, but roamed between activities at their own pace.

The aim was to create a space that was so inviting and fun that students would love coming to school. Learning plans would be individualised so that no child would fall through the cracks and even the most complex needs would be met.

Just two-and-a-half years on, the dream has lost its shine for some families, while experts say the approach could be damaging to students' academic performance and personal development.

A core group of parents remain committed to the flexible, inquiry-based model which suits their self-motivated children.

When Kristy Davis enrolled her three children at Margaret Hendry last year, she at first felt uncomfortable about the non-traditional set-up - but she was soon won over.

"It's really strength-based and I love that. If a kid isn't doing so well, they have the opportunity to be working with other kids that are at that similar level," she says.

However, a growing number of parents, educators and community members are voicing their concerns about the lack of support for the large number of multi-ethnic and special-needs students, some who have disabilities or have suffered trauma in their young lives.

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Dozens of parents are voting with their feet, moving to non-government schools or even interstate only to discover their children are years behind in literacy, forcing them to fork out money for private tutors. Others are at their at their wits' end trying to negotiate with school administrators to get into a different, over-capacity government school.

Lorraine Hammond, an associate professor in the school of education at Edith Cowan University, is involved with the Catalyst program, a professional development scheme for teachers at Catholic schools of the Canberra Goulburn archdiocese based on the science of learning.

She says inquiry-based learning is all about deep learning, but in order to do that children need to have the required surface-level knowledge and skills.

"When kids are born, they're born with a capacity for survival, which is talking, walking, social skills - that's about it. The rest has to be taught to them," she says.

"So reading, writing, playing hockey, doing algebra, these are all things that kids need to be taught explicitly how to do. And we can't sort of ignore the fact that the human brain has a hard time learning something new if we assume that kids will just learn automatically through inquiry."

Dr Hammond says having a large age range and ability range in the one classroom space can be very challenging for teachers to manage. Teachers have four years, between the ages of four and seven, to build a reading circuit in the brain of their students. Some students will pick up reading without much intervention, but those children are in the minority, she says.

There's little scientific evidence to show that the choose-your-own adventure learning style yields good, measurable academic results. Two studies based on Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) results showed that inquiry-based strategies had a negative impact on teenagers' academic performance in mathematics and science.

At Margaret Hendry School, NAPLAN results from 2019 show year 3 students were well below the national average.

Glenn Fahey, an education policy research fellow at the Centre for Independent Studies, says teachers need to achieve a certain mix of inquiry-based teaching and direct instruction to allow students to achieve success.

He say it's important to make incremental changes to education and evaluate them well before continuing on. When too many things are being experimented with at once, it's hard to know what works.

"A lot of people get caught up in new schools, especially when they are radically different," Fahey says.

"It doesn't mean we shouldn't do things differently, it [should mean] that we're careful and judicious about what they are."

The Education Directorate refused an on-the-record interview with The Canberra Times.

In a written response to a list of questions, a directorate spokeswoman said the school would be deepening its approach to literacy and reading.

"The school has already engaged an instructional mentor and has actively promoted and built teacher capacity in evidence-based teaching strategies, including the 10 Essential Literacy Practices," she said.

"Another focus will be on further strengthening approaches to student wellbeing, including behaviour management. The school is already working on further expanding and developing its Positive Behaviours for Learning program."

Education Minister Yvette Berry said the school had the same teaching tools and followed the same techniques as all ACT public schools - the only difference was the modern facilities.

"Some of the older schools within the ACT ... were designed in a time where it was, you sit at a desk in front of a classroom with the teacher in front scripting on a noticeboard. All of the expert advice suggests that that doesn't provide children with a holistic education experience that they need to prepare them for work and life," Berry said.

"As we learn and as we grow, we need to make sure that these designs are flexible and every step of the way we make sure that we're including teachers and more broadly the community in the design of our schools, to make sure that they are meeting all of those needs."

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