S. A. Exeter
Here is a reprise of Waldorf Watch news coverage dealing directly with — or touching tangentially on — the unfolding drama at the Steiner Academy Exeter.
Some of this coverage alludes to the drama at another UK Steiner school, the Rudolf Steiner School Kings Langley. [For coverage of the nrews about that school, see "RSSKL".]
— Roger Rawlings
July 29, 2018
PROBLEMS AT ANOTHER
U.K. STEINER SCHOOL
From the Waldorf Critics discussion site (with a modest amendment):
The Steiner Academy Exeter is yet another UK Steiner school with safeguarding issues, among other problems. On July 16, two 6-year-old boys wandered away from the school. Fortunately, no harm came to them and they were found by the police.
Six-year-old boys wander out of school - and no one noticed [DevonLive, July 24]
The article also mentions that this school was rated by Ofsted in 2015 as requiring improvement, prompting some parents at that time "to raise fears of bullying problems, a failure to deliver 'quality education', and complaints not being dealt with properly …” A later inspection report published in June stated that further improvements were still needed and that “Areas highlighted were to improve the quality of teaching, leadership and pupil attendance."
According to a March 26, 2018 article, this same school was on a list of 10 schools in Devon with the worst records for unauthorized absences in 2016/17.
The Devon schools with the worst unauthorised absence rates [DevonLive, March 26]
I think parents should always be wary of putting their children in the care of people who believe that whatever happens is due to karma. Children need to be in the care of adults who take full responsibility for their safety.
— Margaret Sachs [https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/waldorf-critics/conversations/messages/31857]
October 13, 2018
ANOTHER INSPECTION,
ANOTHER CLOSURE
Here are excerpts from two recent news articles posted by DevonLive.com [Devon, UK]:
1.
Exeter's Steiner Academy
in shock closure
following Ofsted inspection
by Rom Preston-Ellis
An Exeter school has closed unexpectedly just days after a visit by Ofsted [Office for Standards in Education] inspectors.
Steiner Academy at Thomas Hall on Cowley Bridge Road informed parents that the school would be closed for all pupils on Friday.
The school confirmed on Tuesday that inspectors from the education watchdog were visiting this week following a 'serious safeguarding concern', along with a number of 'qualifying complaints' to Ofsted.
Steiner [Academy] has now said that Ofsted identified 'shortcomings in safeguarding practice' and the school was closed on Friday in order to implement a new acting management team….
In July, DevonLive.com reported that a safeguarding investigation had been launched at the school after two pupils, believed to be six years old, walked out unnoticed during lessons.
A concerned parent claimed the two pupils found their way out of the school grounds.
The parent also said the school did not know they were missing until they were returned by police — and the parents of the children were not told about the incident until they arrived to pick the children up at the end of the day….
[10/13/2018 https://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/exeters-steiner-academy-shock-closure-2100763 This article originally appeared on October 12.]
2.
Exeter Steiner Academy
to remain closed on Monday
after Ofsted inspection
by Jon Lewis
Exeter's beleaguered Steiner Academy will remain closed on Monday, following a damning Ofsted inspection.
The Cowley Bridge Road school temporarily closed on Friday last week, after inspectors found failures in safeguarding practices during their visit.
And now the new acting management team has announced on Facebook that the school would continue to be closed on Monday, with the aim of reopening again on Tuesday, October 16.…
An Ofsted spokesperson said: "We can confirm that Ofsted carried out an inspection of the school this week.
"Although the report is not yet published, our regional director for the South West, Bradley Simmons, alerted the regional schools commissioner to his serious concerns about the school.
"We understand that the commissioner has taken immediate steps to close the school."
[10/13/2018 https://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/exeter-steiner-academy-remain-closed-2105214]
Waldorf Watch Response:
A shock closure is sudden and, usually, brief. Exeter Steiner Academy intends to reopen almost immediately. Whether this will be permitted is unclear. The school's fate presumably depends on its efforts to meet the standards established by British education officials.
Concerns have been expressed in the past about the welfare of students at various Steiner and Waldorf schools. [See, e.g., "Slaps" and "Extremity".]
The Rudolf Steiner School Kings Langley — one of the leading Steiner schools in Britain — was ordered closed after a series of inspections revealed a wide range of problems, including inadequate safeguarding. [See, e.g., "Remembering RSSKL — The Faults Found", July 7, 2018.] That closure was evidently meant to be permanent, although the school has attempted to reconstitute itself in greatly reduced form. [See, e.g., "The Return of RSSKL, Sort Of", September 17, 2018.]
The problems at Exeter Steiner Academy, like those at RSSKL, were initially detected years ago. The following is from the Waldorf Critics discussion site:
The Steiner Academy Exeter is yet another UK Steiner school with safeguarding issues, among other problems. On July 16, two 6-year-old boys wandered away from the school. Fortunately, no harm came to them and they were found by the police.
Six-year-old boys wander out of school - and no one noticed [DevonLive, July 24]
The article also mentions that this school was rated by Ofsted in 2015 as requiring improvement, prompting some parents at that time "to raise fears of bullying problems, a failure to deliver 'quality education', and complaints not being dealt with properly …" A later inspection report published in June stated that further improvements were still needed and that "Areas highlighted were to improve the quality of teaching, leadership and pupil attendance."
According to a March 26, 2018 article, this same school was on a list of 10 schools in Devon with the worst records for unauthorized absences in 2016/17.
The Devon schools with the worst unauthorised absence rates [DevonLive, March 26]
I think parents should always be wary of putting their children in the care of people who believe that whatever happens is due to karma. Children need to be in the care of adults who take full responsibility for their safety.
— Margaret Sachs, https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/waldorf-critics/conversations/messages/31857.
[See "Problems at Another U.K. Steiner School", July 29, 2018. For a more recent message from Margaret Sachs at Waldorf Critics, see https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/waldorf-critics/conversations/messages/31897. For an extensive review of problems at RSSKL, see "RSSKL".]
— R.R.
October 14, 2018
EXETER UPDATE:
MORE THAN SAFEGUARDING
Although discussion of the problems at Steiner Academy Exeter has largely focused on the poor safeguarding of students at the school, in fact the school evidently has multiple problems of multiple types. This parallels the situation at Rudolf Steiner School Kings Langley, a school that was found to have serious safeguarding issues but also significant deficiencies in several other areas. [See “RSSKL”.]
Here is except from a press advisory posted by Exeter Steiner on October 12:
Steiner Academy Exeter was visited by HMI’s [Her Majesty's Inspectors] from Ofsted [the Office of Standards in Education] on October 9 and 10 … It is clear that the scale of improvements required, particularly in safeguarding, SEND [Special Education Needs and Disabilities], and leadership and governance, is significant and will require the full attention of all staff.
The problems at the school extend into numerous areas. Initial complaints may have involved inadequate safeguarding of students, but when inspectors started digging they found many other faults — including poor “leadership and governance.”
The problems evidently extend to the quality of instruction provided by the school.
Exeter's Steiner Academy says it has 'deep regret' over the standard of teaching offered to children after its decision to close on Friday, following an Ofsted inspection...
A spokesperson for the school said:
"...There is clear and deep regret that the education provided to children at the school has not been of the high standards or integrity required."
— DevonLive, "Exeter's Steiner Academy speak of 'deep regret' following sudden closure", October 12, 2018.
Resolving such a wide and deep array of problems would seem to require a fundamental overhaul of the school.
“Press Information, Friday 12th October 2018”
The advisory was attached to a fence outside the school.
[DevonLive, photo by Jamie Hawkins
https://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/ofsted-reveals-close-down-exeter-2102274]
For previous coverage of developments at Steiner Academy Exeter, see "Another Inspection, Another Closure", October 13, 2018, and "Problems at Another U.K. Steiner School", July 29, 2018.
— R.R.
October 16, 2018
EXETER CLOSURE
EXTENDED AGAIN
From DevonLive.com [Devon, UK]:
Exeter Steiner school
will stay closed until Thursday
by Colleen Smith
Exeter's troubled Steiner school will reopen on Thursday with a new management committee, it has been announced.
The Cowley Bridge school has told parents in a letter that it regrets 'the loss of time in school for our students over this last week'.
The school was closed suddenly last Friday by the regional schools commission after an inspection revealed 'serious concerns' about safeguarding, management, leadership and special educational needs. Previously the school had spoken of its deep regret over the standard of teaching offered to children.
The Ofsted [Office for Standards in Education] report has not yet been published….
Katie Young, writing to parents as the principal's PA [personal assistant], has now said the school will open on Thursday October 18….
The letter adds: “…[W]e want to reassure parents that we as a school are doing everything possible to address the concerns raised by Ofsted … We do regret the loss of time in school for our students over this last week, but we hope parents can understand that we have had to be rigorous in addressing our shortcomings….”
[10/16/2018 https://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/exeter-steiner-school-stay-closed-2112510 This story originally appeared on October 15.]
Waldorf Watch Response:
The situation at Steiner Academy Exeter increasingly resembles the travails at Rudolf Steiner School Kings Langley, a Steiner institution that recently was ordered to close. [See “RSSKL”.]
The Exeter Steiner school seems to be undertaking the proper sorts of actions, and it is issuing the proper sorts of statements, in response to the criticisms leveled by British education authorities. But those criticisms are extensive and deep.
Virtually every function of the school seems to be flawed. According to DevonLive, problems have been found in "safeguarding, management, leadership, special educational needs, [and] the standard of teaching offered to children."
If this is true, then the school seems to be failing in almost every way a school possibly could fail. Evidently the school is badly run, it does not adequately protect the children in its care, and it offers poor instruction for its students, including students having special needs.
Truly addressing these alleged problems will presumably take far longer than a few days. Genuine correction would presumably necessitate a complete overhaul of the school.
Underlying all this is the poor record Steiner/Waldorf schools have established in their dealings with outsiders generally and education authorities in particular. Rudolf Steiner instructed his followers to be deceptive and manipulative when responding to external criticisms and requirements. [See "Secrets".] Certainly, Rudolf Steiner School Kings Langley seems to have compounded its difficulties by resisting the same type of oversight that is now directed at Steiner Academy Exeter.
Steiner Academy Exeter seems to going through the right motions, and it seems to be saying the right things. The question going forward will be whether the school follows through, undertaking genuine reforms.
— R.R.
For previous coverage of the situation at Steiner Academy Exeter, see "Exeter Update: More than Safeguarding", October 14, 2018, "Another Inspection, Another Closure", October 13, 2018, and "Problems at Another U.K. Steiner School", July 29, 2018.
October 17, 2018
WHAT THE SCHOOL MUST DO
TO SAVE ITSELF
From Schools Week [London, UK]:
DfE ‘minded to terminate’ funding
of Steiner Academy Exeter
[by] Alix Robertson
A Steiner Academy in Exeter has been warned by the government that it is at risk of having its funding terminated due to significant concerns about safeguarding, which led to the school being temporarily closed after a recent Ofsted visit. [Ofsted is the Office for Standards in Education. DfE is the Department for Education.]
The government has today published a ‘minded to terminate’ warning notice that was issued to the Steiner Academy Exeter, an all-through free school rated ‘requires improvement’, last month.
The letter from regional schools commisisoner Lisa Mannall stated the department had been informed of “significant concerns” about safeguarding, governance, and provision for pupils with special educational needs.
The letter warned “that there has been a serious breakdown in the way the academy is managed or governed” and “that the safety of pupils or staff of the academy is threatened”.
Steiner Academy Exeter was also visited by Ofsted last week and has been shut since Friday….
An update from the school, published on its website yesterday, said that Mannall has supported its reopening, provided that it “sets up a new academy management committee and secures support from a strong local multi academy trust”….
Mannall, in the letter sent last month, asked the school to submit a post-inspection action plan following an Ofsted visit last year….
Other demands included that the school commissions support from a national leader of governance for its chair of trustees and board, and agrees to meet with the regional schools commissioner’s office during this half-term for a “formal review”….
If the school fails to provide this information it will receive a follow-up termination warning notice, Mannall warned….
[10/17/2018 https://schoolsweek.co.uk/dfe-minded-to-terminate-funding-of-steiner-academy-exeter/. This story originally appeared on October 16. A similar story also appeared on that date at TES.com: "Steiner free school closure threat over safeguarding concerns": https://www.tes.com/news/steiner-free-school-closure-threat-over-safeguarding-concerns.]
Waldorf Watch Response:
The situation at Steiner Academy Exeter is apparently more dire than some recent news accounts have suggested. British education authorities may cut off funding for the school, which would jeopardize the school's continued existence.
Steiner Academy Exeter is a "free school" (what in the USA is called a charter school). Loss of government funding would mean the school would either be forced to close or it would need to find other sources of income so that it could reconstitute itself as a private or independent school.
The Steiner/Waldorf movement is often described as fast-growing. This claim creates a somewhat misleading impression. Other educational movements are larger — e.g., there are about 7,000 Montessori schools in the world, compared to about 1,100 Waldorf schools. Also, the rate at which the Steiner/Waldorf movement has grown is actually not particularly impressive. While new Waldorf schools are opened annually, a fair number of Waldorf schools fail and go out of business annually. [See “Failure”.] The total number of surviving Waldorf schools in world — independent schools and state-supported schools — has tended to inch, not soar, upward over the years.
Conditions for all types of Steiner/Waldorf schools may become more difficult if education authorities in various countries begin examining these schools more closely. The recent failure of a leading Steiner school in Kings Langley, UK, was a significant case in point. The UK Department for Education became convinced that the school was, in effect, irredeemable and must be shut down. Now the Steiner Academy Exeter may face a similar official judgment. The implications for the Steiner/Waldorf movement worldwide may be large.
Rudolf Steiner’s devoted followers will doubtless fight hard to save existing Waldorf schools and to create new ones. And innocent outsiders who are wowed by Waldorf’s manifold charms — all the lovely art, the green values, the unstructured play sessions, and so forth — may continue to be lured into the Waldorf culture. So the end of Waldorf is not in sight, and it may not come into sight for a long, long time yet. But possibly, just possibly, we are glimpsing the faint beginnings of that distant ending.
— R.R.
For previous coverage of the situation at Steiner Academy Exeter, see "Exeter Closure Extended Again", October 16, 2018, "Exeter Update: More than Safeguarding", October 14, 2018, "Another Inspection, Another Closure", October 13, 2018, and "Problems at Another U.K. Steiner School", July 29, 2018.
October 18, 2018
STRUGGLING STEINER ACADEMY
POSTPONES KINDERGARTEN REOPENING
From DevonLive.com [Devon, UK]:
MP backs temporary closure
of Exeter's struggling
Steiner school
The school's Kindergarten will now
remain closed until after half term
By Rom Preston-Ellis
Exeter's MP [Member of Parliament] has spoken of his concern following the sudden closure of the city's Steiner Academy.
The school on Cowley Bridge Road closed to all pupils on Friday after an Ofsted inspection raised 'serious concerns'.
It is set to reopen on Thursday after appointing a completely new management committee.
However, parents with children at Steiner's Kindergarten were told on Tuesday that that section of the school would not reopen until after half term [i.e., the middle of the term].
Writing to parents, acting principle Paul Houghham said that reasons for the continued closure of the Kindergarten included the need for improvements in "physical infrastructure, systems and processes and staff training”.
Exeter MP Ben Bradshaw said: "I have written to the Education Secretary to seek his urgent assurance that the problems at the school are being addressed and that the children affected can go back to a school that is safe and where they can receive the quality education every child deserves….”
[10/18-2018 https://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/mp-backs-temporary-closure-exeters-2115948 This article originally appeared on October 17.]
Waldorf Watch Response:
Steiner Academy Exeter seems to be making an effort to be more cooperative with UK education officials than Rudolf Steiner School Kings Langley was. The latter school was eventually shut down by the officials. [See "RSSKL".]
Reforming a Steiner or Waldorf school is quite difficult. Fundamental characteristics of Steiner education may prevent a Steiner/Waldorf school from truly meeting the requirements established by state departments of education.
Steiner/Waldorf education is not primarily intended to provide a good education, as this concept is usually understood. [See "Academic Standards at Waldorf".] Steiner/Waldorf schools have other objectives.
The chief objective is to promote Rudolf Steiner's version of Theosophy, the religion he cobbled together and dubbed "Anthroposophy." [See "Basics" and "Is Anthroposophy a Religion?"] Steiner/Waldorf schools rarely teach students the tenets of Anthroposophy as intellectual constructs, but they work to convey Anthroposophy to the children at the emotional and spiritual level — which Anthroposophists deem far more important. [See "Here's the Answer", "Spiritual Agenda", and "Sneaking It In".]
Steiner/Waldorf schools function essentially as Anthroposophical centers of worship. [See "Schools as Churches".] Students receive indirect but persistent and deep conditioning in Anthroposophical attitudes and behaviors. [See "Indoctrination".] The objective is that the students may, when they become adults, make the conscious decision to become full-fledged Anthroposophists.
Rudolf Steiner asserted that the most important knowledge is "occult" or "hidden." His most important book, giving an overview of all his teachings, is titled "An Outline of Occult Science". [See "Everything".] Occult knowledge is conveyed only to initiates; it is kept hidden from outsiders. [See, e.g., "Inside Scoop".] For this and other reasons, Steiner/Waldorf schools often conceal their intentions and underlying beliefs from outsiders. [See "Secrets".]
When speaking with insiders, Steiner made matters plain. Thus, in addressing Waldorf teachers, he once said this:
“[W]e have to remember that an institution like the Independent Waldorf School with its anthroposophical character, has goals that, of course, coincide with anthroposophical desires. At the moment, though, if that connection were made official, people would break the Waldorf School’s neck." — Rudolf Steiner, FACULTY MEETINGS WITH RUDOLF STEINER (Anthroposophic Press, 1998), p. 705.
A Steiner/Waldorf school can become good school in the ordinary sense — that is, a school that conveys real knowledge to children, preparing the students for real lives in the real world — only if it renounces Rudolf Steiner and his occult preachments. But this would mean creasing to be a Steiner/Waldorf school.
— R.R.
For previous coverage of the situation at Steiner Academy Exeter, see "What the School Must Do to Save Itself", October 17, 2018, "Exeter Closure Extended Again", October 16, 2018, "Exeter Update: More than Safeguarding", October 14, 2018, "Another Inspection, Another Closure", October 13, 2018, and "Problems at Another U.K. Steiner School", July 29, 2018.
October 21, 2018
SAFETY, KARMA,
GODS, AND LOVE
From The Telegraph [UK]:
Ministers urged to order fresh inspections
of all Steiner schools amid fresh child safety fears
By Camilla Turner
Ministers [i.e., government officials] have been urged to order fresh inspections of all the Steiner schools in the country, as a second school is threatened with closure amid “serious” concerns about child safety.
The Steiner Academy Exeter was warned by the government this week that it could have its funding cut off, after Ofsted [the Office for Standards in Education] discovered severe safeguarding and governance lapses.
Following the inspection, the regional schools commissioner took the unusual step of instructing it to close immediately while the issues were addressed, so it can ensure a "safe environment" for its pupils. It re-opened a week later.
It comes after the The Rudolf Steiner School Kings Langley (RSSKL) was ordered to shut down, following a series of damning Ofsted inspections which uncovered a raft of safeguarding failings.
Favoured by bohemian, middle-class parents, Steiner schools base their curriculum on the spiritual philosophy of Rudolf Steiner, called anthroposophy….
[T]here are fears that the safeguarding failures unmasked at two Steiner schools raise questions about the movement as a whole.…
Richy Thompson, director of public affairs and policy at Humanists UK, [said] ministers should “urgently review whether similar issues are at play in the all Steiner schools”.... [Humanists UK is a charitable organization that promotes humanism.]
A DfE [Department for Education] spokesperson said that any allegation of a school putting pupils at risk is investigated, and if a school is failing to protect children “we will take immediate action, which can include closing that school down”….
[10/21/2018 https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/2018/10/20/ministers-urged-order-fresh-inspections-steiner-schools-amid/ This article originally appeared on October 20.]
Waldorf Watch Response:
The safety of students should be a fundamental consideration at any school. When parents entrust their children to a school, they certainly should be assured that the school will do everything in its power to keep the children safe.
Steiner or Waldorf schools often affirm their commitment to protecting children and promoting their welfare. In this, they are probably wholly sincere. But several factors make child safety problematic within the Steiner/Waldorf culture.
One factor is belief in karma. Rudolf Steiner taught that karma is a crucial feature of contemporary human life. Much that happens to us in life is the result of karma, he said. And, indeed, a central purpose of life on Earth is to fulfill one's karma. [1] This set of beliefs raises a serious difficulty for Steiner/Waldorf schools. If a child gets hurt, this may be karma — it may be good for the child. If a child gets bullied, or taunted, or physically attacked — this may be an expression of the child's karma. Perhaps we should stand back and allow such events to play out. This, at any rate, is how Steiner's followers — including at least some Waldorf/Steiner teachers — typically view things. [2] Laxness on the issue of student safety may easily result.
Another factor is the Steiner/Waldorf belief in angels. Rudolf Steiner taught that angels are actually gods — specifically, they are gods who stand one rank higher than human beings. (Other gods stand at higher ranks, he said.) Each angel oversees the life of one human being on Earth. In this sense, every angel is a guardian angel. Well, if every child has a guardian angel — a protective god — then surely we should allow these gods to do their work unhampered. We needn't worry about the safety of the children in our care — the guardian angels will keep the kids safe. Such, in any case, is how Steiner's followers — including at least some Waldorf/Steiner teachers — typically view things. [3] So, again, laxness on the issue of student safety may easily result.
Yet a third factor — ironically, or perhaps tragically — is love. Rudolf Steiner encouraged Steiner/Waldorf teachers to love their students, and he urged Steiner/Waldorf students to love their teachers. [4] This sounds wonderful, and in some ways it certainly is. But in other ways, it can cause severe problems. Proper barriers between teachers and students may be breached. Relationships outside school hours may develop. Friendships may develop into love affairs — or sexual exploitation. It is terrible to think that Steiner/Waldorf teachers might harm students out of love, or desire, or sexual craving. Yet we have numerous reports of precisely this sort of dire misconduct occurring in and around Steiner/Waldorf schools. [5]
Government officials certainly should scrutinize Steiner/Waldorf schools on the urgent issue of student safety.
— R.R.
For previous coverage here of events at Steiner Academy Exeter, see "Struggling Steiner Academy Postpones Kindergarten Reopening", October 18, 2018, "What the School Must Do to Save Itself", October 17, 2018, "Exeter Closure Extended Again", October 16, 2018, "Exeter Update: More than Safeguarding", October 14, 2018, "Another Inspection, Another Closure", October 13, 2018, and "Problems at Another U.K. Steiner School", July 29, 2018.
For coverage of events at Rudolf Steiner School Kings Langley, see "RSSKL".
[1] See "Karma".
[2] See "Slaps".
[3] See "Polytheism" and "Serving the Gods".
[4] See "Mistreating Kids Lovingly".
[5] See "Extremity".
October 22, 2018
WILL STEINER
TRUST THE TRUST?
From DevonLive.com [Devon, UK]:
Meet the woman who steps in
to save our failing schools
By Anita Merritt
Troubled schools have become bit of a speciality for Moira Marder, who has been teaching in Exeter for more than 10 years.
The former headteacher of St James [School], which has been turned from a failing school into one which is now rated ‘good’ by Ofsted [the Office for Standards in Education] and is striving to become ‘outstanding’, was asked this week to step in to help Exeter’s Steiner school [i.e., Steiner Academy Exeter] which, in a rare move, was immediately closed following a damning Ofsted inspection.
‘Serious’ concerns were raised by inspectors over safeguarding, management, leadership and special educational needs.
Moira’s expertise were [sic] called upon because she is chief executive officer of the Ted Wragg Multi-Academy Trust….
[About Steiner Academy Exeter] Moira said: “I have to say it’s quite an interesting situation. I didn’t see that one coming. I’ve never come across a situation like it before….
“We know there are safeguarding concerns around the school and what we are trying to do is put those things right so it can fully reopen….
“We have support and resources we can utilise in the short-term to do it. We have not got a long-term agreement to work with Steiner and that will be for the Regional School’s Commissioner to decide what happens longer term. In the meantime I’m learning about Steiner education….
“We have not seen the Ofsted report because it has not been published yet. Other things will become apparent when it is out within a few weeks….”
[The Ted Wragg Trust] formed in 2010.…
Moira said: “Ted Wragg’s belief was all Exeter schools should be working together for the good of our Exeter children. That was his vision for the city.
“It’s also about narrowing the gap between the most advantaged and disadvantaged schools in Exeter. I’m a protector of that vision.
“We should work together so all schools are really good and supporting each other rather than having one school with lots of problems and letting it fail….”
[10/22/2018 https://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/meet-woman-who-steps-save-2127736 This article originally appeared on October 20.]
Waldorf Watch Response:
Saving local schools can be important for a community. When one school fails, all the other local schools must make room for the displaced students. This can be disruptive. In some cases, it may strain the surviving schools beyond their capacity. Moreover, local school-transportation arrangements will need to be revised, a complex and difficult task. Also, family schedules may be overturned, and parents' educational preferences for their children may be thwarted. Kids may wind up in schools neither they nor their parents want.
The Ted Wragg Multi-Academy Trust strives to harmonize and improve all the cooperating schools in Exeter, England. [1]
We must wish the Trust, and Moira Marder, well. In attempting to set things right at Steiner Academy Exeter, they may be undertaking a more challenging task than any they have faced previously.
Ms. Marder says she doesn't yet know much about Steiner education ("In the meantime I’m learning about Steiner education"), and she has not yet received the details of the "damning" inspection that led to the temporary closure of Steiner Academy Exeter ("We have not seen the Ofsted report because it has not been published yet"). The things she learns may complicate her task considerably.
Steiner schools don't differ from other schools by a little, they differ from them by a lot. They are fundamentally different. They are based on an esoteric, mystical religion — Anthroposophy. Their goals and practices vary radically from those of other schools. [2]
Coming from outside Anthroposophy, Ms. Marder may have difficulty offering proposals that will be acceptable to the faculty and staff at Steiner Academy Exeter while also satisfying Ofsted. Conventional or mainstream procedures, which would be acceptable at most other schools, might contravene Steiner beliefs so much that implementing them would fundamentally change the Academy. Presumably the Academy would resist, probably adamantly.
Steiner educators generally resist directions, regulations, and requirements coming from the outside. This is one of the central problems that led to the failure of Rudolf Steiner School Kings Langley. [3] Rather than cooperating with outsiders, Steiner educators often resist, mislead, and attempt to manipulate. Rudolf Steiner himself encouraged teachers at the first Waldorf school to take this subversive, self-protective approach. Faced with outside pressures that would prevent them from operating as they wished, the teachers should cleverly resist, he said:
"We must worm our way through ... We have to be conscious that in order to do what we want to do, at least, it is necessary to talk with the people [i.e., outsiders], not because we want to but because we have to, and inwardly make fools of them." — Rudolf Steiner, CONFERENCES WITH THE TEACHERS OF THE WALDORF SCHOOL IN STUTTGART, Vol. 1 (Steiner Schools Fellowship Publications, 1986), p. 125.
Former Waldorf teacher Grégoire Perra has reported that Steiner schools make a practice of deceiving outsiders:
"Indeed, in these schools, misleading state officials is commonplace. For example, I witnessed that, when a teacher is scheduled to be inspected in class, s/he will commonly be replaced by another teacher who has the [necessary] skills or qualifications. Then the students are asked to 'play the game' when the inspector is present ... Similarly, it may happen that there are health and hygiene inspections. I remember one time when the inspectors had to check how the children ate in the canteen. However, in this school, the children did not eat in a canteen ... For this inspection, the teachers were notified 24 hours in advance, so we organized three successive meal services in a [improvised] canteen for the students, so that everything appeared normal. In the evening, during a faculty meeting, teachers congratulated themselves that their students had 'played the game.'" [4]
Such resistance may be directed not only at education officials but at any and all outsiders who attempt to influence a Steiner school, even when these outsiders intend to be helpful and supportive, as Ms. Marder does. Rudolf Steiner resisted allowing even friends of the first Waldorf school to come inside for visits [5], and he generally encouraged teachers at the school to guard the school's secrets, which were many. [6]
It may be that faculty and staff at Steiner Academy Exeter sincerely want to satisfy Ofsted, and for this reason they may be sincerely grateful for Ms. Marder's entry into the picture. But whether they will be able to make the needed changes in their school without violating their own most basic beliefs remains to be seen. They may soon realize that they really cannot cooperate beyond a certain point — it would, from their perspective, destroy their school. So if they are grateful and receptive now, this may soon change.
We will watch future developments with interest.
— R.R.
For previous coverage here of events at Steiner Academy Exeter, see "S. A. Exeter".
[1] See https://www.tedwraggtrust.co.uk.
[2] See, e.g., "Oh Humanity", "Here's the Answer", and "Is Anthroposophy a Religion?"
[3] See "RSSKL".
[4] See "He Went to Waldorf".
[5] See "Visits".
[6] See "Secrets".
November 17, 2018
DEVASTATING INSPECTION REPORT
ON U.K. STEINER ACADEMY
The Steiner Academy Exeter, a Steiner “free school” in the United Kingdom, has recently come under intense scrutiny and criticism. Now the release of a government inspection report is clarifying the problems at the school.
The following is from DevonLive.com [Devon, UK]:
Fighting, failures and physical restraint -
Ofsted report reveals
inside Exeter's Steiner school
An Ofsted report has revealed a catalogue of failings at the troubled school
[by] Rom Preston-Ellis
Shocking failures in leadership, teaching standards and the safety of pupils have been uncovered at Exeter's Steiner school in a damning Ofsted report. [Ofsted is the Office for Standards in Education, a department of the UK government.]
The 442 pupil school on Cowley Bridge Road was shut down for more than a week following a visit from inspectors in October.
Now a full report has revealed a catalogue of failings at the school including leadership being 'dysfunctional at every level', Kindergarten pupils being physically restrained by teachers and a lack of support for vulnerable children.
Other concerns raised by the watchdog include teachers being subjected to regular physical assaults by pupils, the needs of children with special educational needs not being met and a lack of evidence that safeguarding checks have been made when employing new members of staff.
A new leadership team has since been appointed at Steiner overseeing a period of special measures which the school says will mark a 'seismic shift' in the way it is run.
The Ofsted report found the school to be 'inadequate' in every area inspected.…
[11/17/2018 https://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/fighting-failures-physical-restraint-ofsted-2226397 This article was originally published on November 16.]
Waldorf Watch Response:
The Ofsted report indicates that Steiner Academy Exeter has failed its students in virtually every way a school could fail. The school has had poor teaching, poor management, and poor safeguarding of students. The school was found to be inadequate "in every area inspected."
A new management team, brought in from outside, has been given the task of correcting the school's multiple shortcomings. Whether the team can possibly succeed is not at all evident. The following is from commentary posted at The Quackometer:
"The new external management from the Ted Wragg Trust need to get to grips quickly with what a Steiner School is. THEY WILL BE LIED TO. Rudolf Steiner himself made it clear that teachers should lie to external authorities about their aims and methods. The new management have a simple choice: if the school is to survive, it cannot ‘blend’ in Steiner education. It is all or nothing. Steiner control and influence has to be stripped out if these problems are to be solved. And Ofsted, if they have not already, need to recognise that these issues are systemic to Steiner education — to Anthroposophical schools. Again, these are not failures — they are features. All other Steiner Schools need urgent independent inspection." — The Quackometer, November 16, 2018.
The problems at Steiner Academy Exeter may well reflect systemic problems in the Steiner/Waldorf movement generally. The Rudolf Steiner School Kings Langley (RSSKL) was ordered to close after similar problems were discovered there. [See "Remembering RSSKL — The Faults Found", July 7, 2018.]
For previous Waldorf Watch coverage of the situation at Steiner Academy Exeter, see "S. A. Exeter".
For a review of the dramatic events at Rudolf Steiner School Kings Langley, see "RSSKL".
– R.R.
November 18, 2018
DEVASTATING INSPECTION REPORT
ON U.K. STEINER ACADEMY - PART 2
Yesterday we considered a brief excerpt from a long article posted at DevonLive.com. The article conveys the findings of an inspection report on the Steiner Academy Exeter.
Anyone interested in Waldorf/Steiner education should read the entire article. The many problems found at Steiner Academy Exeter arguably reflect systemic flaws found in many, if not all, Waldorf/Steiner schools worldwide.
Steiner Academy Exeter is presumably an exceptional case, suffering from such a wide array of problems in such acute form. Other Waldorf/Steiner schools may exhibit only a few of these problems at any one time, or the severity of the problems may be lower. But, to one degree or another, such problems evidently mark the operations of numerous Waldorf or Steiner schools in many countries.
The causes lie in the very nature, structure, and culture of Waldorf/Steiner schools as established originally by Rudolf Steiner at the first Waldorf school, opened in Germany in 1919. In general, Waldorf and Steiner schools today continue to model themselves on that school — and they generally continue, therefore, to exhibit characteristic Waldorf/Steiner flaws that first arose at that school. [Concerning such flaws, see "Slaps", "Extremity", "Mistreating Kids Lovingly", "Who Gets Hurt", "Academic Standards at Waldorf", and related essays.]
With this in mind, let's return to the DevonLive article — "Fighting, failures and physical restraint - Ofsted report reveals inside Exeter's Steiner school" — and look more closely at the problems found at Steiner Academy Exeter. According to author Rom Preston-Ellis, the UK Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) leveled the following criticisms in their official inspection report. (The passages below are in reporter Preston-Ellis's words. In some instances, Preston-Ellis quotes from or paraphrases the inspection report. Words enclosed in brackets are my own interpolations or clarifications. I have altered the sequence of the passages, aiming to group related passages with one another.)
◊ "Many teachers at the school lack the training and experience that are necessary to carry out their job properly, the report [stated]. In particular, teachers lack the skills and subject knowledge to [give instruction] in key subjects such as reading, writing[,] and mathematics...."
◊ [The report said] 'in some of the [school] settings, teaching is particularly poor. Teachers avoid interacting with children and keep any communication to a minimum.'"
◊ 'In July, DevonLive.com reported that a safeguarding investigation had been launched at the school after two pupils, believed to be six years old, walked out unnoticed during lessons … Ofsted's inspectors found that this incident had been 'inadequately investigated' by senior leaders [of the school].…"
◊ "Leadership was dysfunctional at every level in the school, the report stated. [It added] that the principal [of the school] did not work effectively with governors [i.e., members of the school's board of governors] and kept them at arm’s length from what is happening.…"
◊ "Governance at Steiner [i.e., the Steiner Academy] was described as in 'disarray'[,] with governors not addressing [the problem] that teachers were subject to regular physical assaults by younger pupils."
◊ "Inspectors found that staff in the Kindergarten use physical interventions regularly and inappropriately with children. They pull children up from the floor, carry them across the room[,] and force them to sit upright. Staff reported that this is common practice and that incidents of physical restraint also occur and are not reported.…"
◊ "The atmosphere in some Kindergarten classrooms was described as 'frequently loud and chaotic’. The report stated that children engage in risky behaviour, such as vaulting from five-foot apparatus onto wooden flooring and hurling wooden blocks around. 'Adults’ awareness of risk is poor, and their supervision of such activities is completely ineffective,' it added.
◊ "Leaders [of the school] were found not to have the skills to understand how the needs of pupils with specific emotional and behavioural difficulties can be met[,] leading to vulnerable children simply being removed from the classroom or excluded from the school [i.e., expelled].…"
◊ "A quarter of parents who responded [to] an Ofsted questionnaire reported that bullying was not dealt with effectively at the school...."
◊ "The supervision of pupils during outside break times [i.e., recesses] was found to be poor. 'While adults may be present, they do not actively monitor behaviour nor intervene when 'rough play' can tip over into actual physical aggression,' added the report..…"
— Rom Preston-Ellis, "Fighting, failures and physical restraint - Ofsted report reveals inside Exeter's Steiner school", DevonLive.com, November 16, 2018.
If DevonLive and, more important, Ofsted have given an accurate appraisal of Steiner Academy Exeter, the school seems to have operated in an atmosphere of incompetence and virtual chaos. As reported by Rom Preston-Ellis, the Ofsted report is indeed "damning."
The conditions at Steiner Academy Exeter have certainly been extreme, yet they reflect conditions prevailing — to varying degrees — at many other Waldorf or Steiner schools. Thus, the problems at Steiner Academy Exeter are distinctly reminiscent of the problems discovered earlier at Rudolf Steiner School Kings Langley, which UK education officials ordered to close. [See "RSSKL".]
Surely some Waldorf/Steiner schools operate smoothly. Surely some are as peaceful and lovely as the schools' PR efforts suggest. [See "Upside", "Glory", and "PR".] But the reports on Steiner Academy Exeter and Rudolf Steiner School Kings Langley appear to lift the lid from a Pandora's box of Waldorf/Steiner failings. Parents looking for a good school for their children should certainly bear these reports in mind.
For some guidance on evaluating Waldorf/Steiner schools, see "Non-Waldorf Waldorfs - Looking for a Good One", "Advice for Parents", and "Clues".
For a concise summary of the dangers Waldorf/Steiner schools may pose for students, see the entry for "harm potentially caused by Waldorf schools" in The Brief Waldorf/Steiner Encyclopedia.
For previous Waldorf Watch coverage of the situation at Steiner Academy Exeter, see "S. A. Exeter".
– R.R.
November 24, 2018
A VOICE FROM INSIDE
A TROUBLED STEINER SCHOOL
Here is a new article about the Steiner Academy in Exeter, UK, a school that has received a withering inspection report from the UK government's Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted). The article appears today at DevonLive.com [Devon, UK]:
This is what life is really like
inside Exeter’s troubled Steiner School
By Anita Merritt
Real life inside Exeter’s troubled Steiner School has been revealed by a member of staff who knows it inside out.
A concerned teacher has told how they believe such large numbers of children with high special needs and insufficient funding has led to many of the problems that saw the school immediately closed as a temporary measure and has resulted in it being placed into special measures.
An Ofsted inspection has highlighted shocking failures in leadership, teaching standards and the safety of pupils at Steiner Academy Exeter….
The teacher, who asked to remain anonymous, said: “The real situation here is funding and also bad practice.
“Life as a teacher here depends on what class you have. Some classes have really high needs children and others have very low numbers….
“Of course every child has the right to be educated, but they also have a right to be looked after. We were clearly failing and we need money to put that right….
“Teachers are told we have no choice but to help these pupils because we’re not a private school, we have to abide by the admissions process as do all state schools. We have now got a terrible name due to the Ofsted which we all want to turn around….”
The teacher said being taken over by the Ted Wragg Multi-Academy Trust [a local trust that works to improve education in the region] as an interim measure following the school's closure by the Regional Schools Commissioner has been welcomed in the school….
A new independent Academy Management Committee has been introduced at the school and is being supported by the trust….
[11/24/2018 https://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/what-life-really-like-inside-2254834]
Waldorf Watch Response:
There is much apparent truth in the teacher's comments. But the teacher also defensively leaves out a lot — s/he defends the Steiner Academy even as s/he admits to some of its shortcomings.
Steiner education has long had problems providing adequate care and instruction for students who have special needs. [1] And it is certainly true that when Steiner schools attempt to operate within state school systems, they become subject to requirements they would otherwise avoid if they operated as independent or private institutions, as most Steiner schools have done. [2]
But it is clearly insufficient to argue that the problems at the Steiner Academy Exeter arose principally because of an influx of students having special needs. The Ofsted inspection report identifies a broad range of serious problems affecting all parts of the Academy's operations. [3] These problems range from seriously deficient teaching to seriously deficient management. Inadequate safeguarding of students drew particular attention. Thus, today's article in DevonLive refers to "shocking failures in leadership, teaching standards and the safety of pupils" at the Academy. These problems potentially affect all pupils, not just those with special needs.
The larger truth is that the problems found at Steiner Academy Exeter are of a piece with problems that have characterized Waldorf/Steiner schools from the inception of the Waldorf movement. These are systemic problems, in other words; they are rooted in Waldorf/Steiner culture. [4]
Of course, not all Waldorf/Steiner schools suffer from all of the typical Waldorf/Steiner problems, and not all of Waldorf/Steiner schools suffer from such problems to the same degree. But in general, the revelations coming out of Exeter now reflect problems that can be discerned in many other Waldorf/Steiner schools worldwide, past and present. [5]
The teacher quoted in today's DevonLive article wants to help clear the school's name ("We have now got a terrible name due to the Ofsted which we all want to turn around"). To this end, s/he pleads for more money ("The real situation here is [inadequate] funding..."), as if increased cash flow would cure the Academy's woes.
But the Academy's woes almost certainly run deeper than that. The real problems at the school are the practices of the faculty and staff (“The real situation here is funding and also bad practice" [emphasis added]). The teacher mentions money first and bad practice second. But, clearly, the practices of the teachers and staff are the most important issue — as they would be at any educational institution.
The practices of faculty and staff at any real Waldorf or Steiner school derive from the very nature of such schools. They derive, ultimately, from the preachments of Rudolf Steiner. [6] A Waldorf or Steiner school can truly correct itself only if it ceases to be a Waldorf or Steiner school.
[1] See the entry for "special needs" in The Brief Waldorf / Steiner Encyclopedia. Also see, e.g., "Slaps" and "Horoscopes".
[2] Rudolf Steiner established the first Waldorf school (or Steiner school) in Germany in 1919. Like most of the Waldorf/Steiner schools that have followed, it was a private institution. Only recently have some Waldorf/Steiner schools in the USA and in the UK attempted to operate as charter schools or free schools within government-funded public school systems. [For a report looking into the situation of Steiner schools in the UK, see "BCC & SWSF". The situation varies in other countries, depending on the laws and traditions prevailing there.]
[3] See "Devastating Inspection Report on U.K. Steiner Academy", November 17, 2018, and the reports following it.
[4] Thus, the problems at Steiner Academy Exeter are distinctly similar to problems found at Rudolf Steiner School Kings Langley, which the UK government ordered to close. [See "RSSKL".]
[5] See, e.g., "Failure", "Mistreating Kids Lovingly", "Academic Standards at Waldorf", "Who Gets Hurt", and "Non-Waldorf Waldorfs".
[6] To delve into the real nature of Waldorf/Steiner schools, see, e.g., "Here's the Answer".
— R.R.
December 6, 2018
TROUBLED STEINER ACADEMY
NEEDS NEW SPONSOR
The following is from Schools Week [United Kingdom]. I have added some explanatory footnotes:
‘Inadequate’ Steiner free school
faces rebrokerage over pupil safety
[by] Freddie Whittacker
A Steiner free school [1] in Devon that failed to ensure the safety and wellbeing of its pupils and “disproportionately” excluded those with special educational needs now faces being rebrokered to a new sponsor [2] following a damning Ofsted report. [3]
Steiner Academy Exeter, one of a handful of state schools in England where learning is based on the teachings of Rudolf Steiner, has received a termination warning notice [4] from Lisa Mannall, the regional schools commissioner for the south west of England.
The warning follows the release of a damning report by Ofsted, which branded the school “inadequate” and warned of “significant lapses” in safeguarding practice, dysfunctional leadership at all levels of the school and a failure to identify and support SEND pupils. [5]
Inspectors also criticised inadequate teaching and low attendance, particularly among SEND pupils, and said governors “failed in their duty of care” to both adults and pupils. Governors, inspectors said, have “failed to take swift action to address known safety issues”…. [6]
Mannall said she was issuing the warning notice, sent on November 23 but published today, because “I do not have confidence that the trust [7] is able to rapidly and sustainably improve the academy’s systems of governance and management, and educational standards”.
The commissioner’s team will work with the trust’s new leadership to “identify a trust that can provide for the needs of the school and its pupils”....
[12/6/2018 https://schoolsweek.co.uk/inadequate-steiner-free-school-faces-rebrokerage-over-pupil-safety/]
Waldorf Watch Footnotes:
[1] In the UK, a “free school” is similar to a “charter school” in the US — it is a privately run school that receives the bulk of its funding from the government. The school establishes its own curriculum and procedures, but it is overseen by the government’s education authorities and it may be held to standards set by these authorities. Because a free school functions, in effect, as part of the public or state school system, children may attend for free (hence the term, “free school”).
[2] A free school's initial “sponsor” is the organization that proposes and then operates the school. If a free school is “rebrokered,” the sponsor is discharged and a new sponsor is selected. Generally, this is done only when serious problems are found at the school and the existing sponsor is deemed unable or unwilling to correct these problems. In the UK, free schools (in particular, academies) are often operated under a board of trustees that takes responsibility for two or more schools. The resulting organizations are called "multi-academy trusts" (MAT's).
[3] Ofsted is the UK government’s Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills. It inspects various schools, including state schools and some independent schools. Ofsted reports to Parliament.
[4] The government may shut down or terminate any school found to have severe, evidently intractable problems. Short of issuing a termination notice, education authorities may issue a warning notice, indicating that a termination notice may follow.
[5] “SEND pupils” are students who have special educational needs and/or disabilities.
[6] The school's inadequate safeguarding of its students has, understandably, received the most media attention. However, Ofsted has found the school deficient in many other ways, ranging from poor teaching to poor management.
[7] I.e., the Ted Wragg Trust, an educational initiative that attempts to improve education in and around Exeter. The Trust had been charged with attempting to resolve the problems at Steiner Academy Exeter.
For previous Waldorf Watch coverage of the situation at Steiner Academy Exeter, see “S. A. Exeter”.
For coverage of similar situation at another Steiner school in the UK — one that the government ordered to close — see “RSSKL”.
— R.R.
December 7, 2018
TROUBLED STEINER ACADEMY
NEEDS NEW SPONSOR (CONT.)
An article in Tes (formerly the Times Educational Supplement, published in London, UK) provides additional information about the current crisis at Steiner Academy Exeter:
Failing Steiner school
to be moved to new trust
DfE set to withdraw funding from school which 'failed to ensure safety of pupils’
By Dave Speck
A Steiner free school which was judged to be “inadequate” by Ofsted [1] is to be moved under the control of a “strong” multi-academy trust, the DfE [2] has said.
As reported in Tes, Steiner Academy Exeter was temporarily shut following an Ofsted inspection in October, which raised concerns about safeguarding, governance and provision for children with special educational needs.
The DfE has now followed its earlier "minded to terminate" letter with a Termination Warning Notice [3]….
On its website, the Steiner Academy Exeter describes itself as being at "the cutting edge of delivering the Steiner Waldorf curriculum in the state-funded sector”. [4]
The Ofsted report identified a number of problems including that school leaders had “failed to ensure the safety and well-being of pupils” and that “leadership is dysfunctional at all levels of the school.”
Writing in the school’s newsletter last week, acting principal Paul Hougham said a high volume of email traffic and conversations of concern had followed from some parents' “lack of trust in the recent quality of education” and the “shock” of the Ofsted report.
But he said: “With support from both Ted Wragg Trust and Babcock LDP...alongside Steiner Waldorf educationalists, we are already well on the way to establishing shared benchmarks of excellence [5]….”
[12/7/2018 https://www.tes.com/news/failing-steiner-school-be-moved-new-trust This article originally appeared on December 6.]
Waldorf Watch Footnotes:
[1] Ofsted is the UK government’s Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills.
[2] DfE is the UK government’s Office for Education.
[3] There are six types of warning notices that may be sent to UK academies. [See https://schoolsweek.co.uk/what-are-warning-notices-and-how-do-they-work/.] A Termination Warning Notice is the fourth type, indicating a high level of concern. It may be followed by a Notice of Intention to Terminate and, eventually, by a Termination Notice. At that point — when the sixth and highest form of warning notice is sent to a school — the government orders the school to close.
[4] Steiner Academy Exeter is a “free school” — similar to a charter school in the USA. The Academy receives government funding, but it is largely able to implement its own curriculum and methodology. Thus, Steiner Academy Exeter delivers "the Steiner Waldorf curriculum."
[5] Rudolf Steiner School Kings Langley [see “RSSKL”], which resisted guidance and warnings from UK education authorities, was eventually ordered to close. Perhaps learning from that school’s experiences, Steiner Academy Exeter is evidently attempting to cooperate with the authorities in order to avoid a final closure order (a Termination Notice).
The Ted Wragg Trust is an educational initiative that attempts to improve education in and around the city of Exeter. Babcock LDP is part of an education support and improvement service; it focuses on schools in the county of Devon. Steiner Waldorf educationalists are Steiner teachers and teacher-trainers. Steiner Academy Exeter has said it is working with each of these services and groups. UK education authorities are now evidently looked for a more capable trust to take charge of the Academy in an effort to correct the Academy's shortcomings.
For previous coverage of the situation at Steiner Academy Exeter, see “S. A. Exeter”.
— R.R.
December 8, 2018
TROUBLED STEINER ACADEMY
NEEDS NEW SPONSOR - Part 3
News stemming from the near-collapse of the Steiner Academy Exter continues to be reported in the United Kingdom. Here are excerpts from two additional news articles.
From Education Executive [London, UK]:
MAT will take over
Steiner school following
damning Ofsted report
A state Steiner school will be taken over by an MAT [1] following an ‘inadequate’ rating from Ofsted [2], according to The Guardian. [3]
Safeguarding [4] and lack of support for SEND children [5] were highlighted as particular issues within the Devon school….
The Ofsted report mentioned that ‘significant lapses in safeguarding practice continue to put pupils at risk.’
It also [said that] all leadership across the school was ‘dysfunctional’, and that SEND pupils were disproportionately excluded from school.
The teaching was also criticised. The report continued: ‘Leaders have failed to shape a curriculum that combines the Steiner approach with the requisite academic learning that pupils need to succeed in their studies.’
Steiner schools remain controversial in the UK, due to the spiritual basis of the education…. [6]
[12/8/2018 https://edexec.co.uk/mat-will-take-over-steiner-school-following-damning-ofsted-report/ This article originally appeared on December 7.]
From The Guardian [London, UK]:
'Inadequate' Steiner school
to be taken over by academy chain
State-funded Steiner Academy Exeter is seeking
a new sponsor after damning Ofsted report
[by] Sally Weale
A state-funded Steiner school in Devon is to be transferred to a multi-academy trust after the schools watchdog [7] said it was inadequate….
The academy is one of a small number of Steiner schools set up as a result of the government’s controversial free school policy and paid for by public funds. [8] Other Steiner schools in the UK are privately funded…. [9]
Steiner education is based on the teachings of Austria-born Rudolf Steiner who developed a spiritual philosophy called anthroposophy and remains highly controversial in the UK, with organisations including the British Humanist Association [10] vehemently opposed to state funding for such schools….
The acting principal of the Steiner Academy Exeter, Paul Hougham, said…“[T]he school will be formally rebrokered, which means that the regional schools commissioner [11] will be inviting tenders from existing multi-academy trusts who are interested in adopting the school within their fold…..” [12]
[12/8/2018 https://www.theguardian.com/education/2018/dec/06/inadequate-steiner-school-to-be-taken-over-by-academy-chain This article originally appeared on December 6.]
Waldorf Watch Footnotes:
[1] In the United Kingdom, a "MAT" is a multi-academy trust, an organization that assumes control over two or more schools. The trust aims to improve the schools and then to maintain high educational standards at those schools. All the schools in a MAT are answerable to a single board of trustees and, through that board, to the UK government's Department for Education. There are hundreds of MATs in the UK, some considerably larger than others.
[2] Ofsted is the UK government’s Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills.
[3] Formerly known as The Manchester Guardian, The Guardian is a large, general-purpose, daily newspaper. [See the excerpted article from The Guardian, below.]
[4] I.e., ensuring the safety of the children at the school.
[5] “SEND children” are students who have special educational needs and/or disabilities.
[6] Steiner schools — also called Waldorf schools — are rooted in Rudolf Steiner's spiritual system, the religion called Anthroposophy. [See "Here's the Answer", "Schools as Churches", and "Oh Humanity".]
[7] I.e., Ofsted.
[8] “Free schools” in the UK are similar to charter schools in the USA. Free schools receive government funding, but they are largely able to implement its own curricula and methodologies so long as they meet certain basic educational standards. The free school system was established by a Conservative British government, against the opposition of many liberal supporters of the existing state school system. [See, e.g., "Coming Undone".] Steiner free schools have been especially controversial because of their attachment to Anthroposophy.
[9] Most Steiner schools in the UK, as in various other countries including the USA, are private schools financed primarily through the tuition paid by students' families.
[10] See https://humanism.org.uk and https://faithschoolersanonymous.uk/category/steiner-schools/.
[11] I.e., the education official having general authority over the schools in a geographic region.
[12] The fate of Steiner Academy Exeter may thus hinge on whether any MAT is interested in adopting the school.
For previous coverage of the situation at Steiner Academy Exeter, see “S. A. Exeter”.
— R.R.
December 9, 2018
TROUBLED STEINER ACADEMY
NEEDS NEW SPONSOR - Part 4
Continuing coverage of the crisis at Steiner Academy Exeter, this time in DevonLive, a news service focusing on the county of Devon, where Exeter and Steiner Academy Exeter are located:
Exeter's failing Steiner school
could be taken over by an academy
The regional schools commissioner for the South West would like to see the school transferred to a 'strong multi-academy trust that can provide the capacity for continued improvement’
By Anita Merritt
‘Stormy times’ at Exeter’s failing Steiner School are continuing with a new recommendation for the free school [1] to be moved under the control of a “strong” multi-academy trust. [2]
An Ofsted inspection [3] has highlighted shocking failures in leadership, teaching standards and the safety of pupils at Steiner Academy Exeter….
The Department for Education (DfE) has now followed its earlier "minded to terminate" letter with a Termination Warning Notice…. [4]
The [notice] states the DfE will help the school find such a trust, and in the meantime that the school will work with the nearby Ted Wragg MAT (TWMAT) which will "support its leadership team to secure improvement”…. [5]
The Ofsted report uncovered a catalogue of failings at the school including leadership being 'dysfunctional at every level', Kindergarten pupils being physically restrained by teachers and a lack of support for vulnerable children.
Other concerns raised by the watchdog include teachers being subjected to regular physical assaults by pupils, the needs of children with special educational needs not being met [6] and a lack of evidence that safeguarding checks have been made when employing new members of staff. [7]
The school hit the headlines earlier this year when two six-year-old pupils walked out of the school unnoticed during lessons in July, and a safeguarding investigation was launched.
In a recent school letter, acting principal Paul Hougham said: "These are clearly stormy times for the school, and those conversations certainly reinforced my passion for flying out of these storms with strength”….
Read More
Steiner Academy Exeter crisis
• Steiner closed until Thursday
[12/8/2018 https://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/exeters-failing-steiner-school-could-2304184 This article originally appeared on December 7.]
Waldorf Watch Footnotes:
[1] Steiner Academy Exeter is a "free school" — what in the US would be called a charter school. Free schools receive government financing, but they are largely able to implement its own curricula and methodologies so long as they meet certain basic educational standards. Because free schools are technically part of the state or public school system, attendance at them is free (students and their parents are not charged tuition payments).
[2] The continued existence of Steiner Academy Exeter may depend on the willingness of a qualified trust to adopt the school. If no such trust is found, Steiner Academy Exeter may be forced to close.
[3] Ofsted is the UK government’s Office for Standards in Education. Ofsted inspects schools that have been flagged as potentially deficient.
[4] There are six types of warning notices that may be sent to UK academies. [See https://schoolsweek.co.uk/what-are-warning-notices-and-how-do-they-work/.] A Termination Warning Notice is the fourth type, indicating a high level of concern. It may be followed by a Notice of Intention to Terminate and, eventually, by a Termination Notice. At that point — when the sixth and highest form of warning notice is sent to a school — the government orders the school to close.
[5] The Ted Wragg Trust is small and local — it focuses on schools in the city of Exeter. Presumably a larger, more capable trust is now being sought. “MAT” stands for multi-academy trust (i.e., a trust that oversees seveal schools or academies). “TWMAT” stands for the Ted Wragg Multi-Academy Trust.
Ted Wragg was a well-known professor at Exeter University. “Professor Ted Wragg, who has died aged 67, was the most popular educationist in Britain. He was director of the school of education at Exeter University for 25 years.” — The Guardian [https://www.theguardian.com/news/2005/nov/11/guardianobituaries.pressandpublishing].
[6] These children are sometimes referred to under the acronym “SEND” — students having special educational needs or deficits.
[7] Reports indicated that the school often hired teachers who were known to the faculty rather than applicants who possessed the best qualifications and had been thoroughly vetted. Generally, this led to the hiring of friends or committed members of the Waldorf movement, not applicants who were well-qualified by ordinary educational standards or whose records indicated they could be entrusted with the safety of children.
December 10, 2018
U.K. STEINER SCHOOLS
TO RECEIVE SPECIAL SCRUTINY
The implications of the crises at a pair of Steiner schools in the United Kingdom may be dire. Steiner education as a whole, in the UK and beyond, may be adversely affected. The following is from The Daily Telegraph [London, UK]:
Urgent inspections of Steiner Schools
ordered by Education Secretary
in wake of Telegraph investigation
By Camilla Turner
Urgent inspections of Steiner schools have been ordered by the Education Secretary….
Damian Hinds has written to the chief inspector, Amanda Spielman, demanding that Steiner schools — both private and state funded [1] — are subjected to “additional scrutiny” by Ofsted. [2]
The move follows mounting concern from Ofsted about child safety in some Steiner institutions, with two schools threatened with closure by ministers after inspectors discovered serious failures in safeguarding…. [3]
This week, Department for Education (DfE) officials published a memo they sent to the Steiner Academy Exeter, warning that they are “minded” to cut off the school’s funding…. [4]
Last year, the fee-paying Rudolf Steiner School Kings Langley (RSSKL) was ordered to shut down, following a series of damning inspections which uncovered a raft of safeguarding failings. The school is now appealing the order…. [5]
An investigation by this newspaper revealed how when parents at RSSKL had tried to raise the alarm about safeguarding lapses at the school, they were sent gagging letters…. [6]
Ofsted can only inspect private Steiner schools when commissioned by the Secretary of State to do so. In the past, this has happened where ministers [7] have concerns about a particular institution.
But Mr Hinds has taken the unusual step of asked Ofsted to conduct a “series” of inspections of Steiner schools in England and report directly to him on their findings….
A source close to the Steiner movement said: “There is no point in having Steiner schools if children are not safe in them. There is no point in having beeswax crayons, lots of singing, climbing trees and grinding flour to make bread, if there is not proper safeguarding.”
“There may be elements of Steiner education that Ofsted don’t understand [8], but when it comes to safeguarding, Ofsted are way ahead.”
[12/10/2018 https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/12/09/urgent-inspections-steiner-schools-ordered-education-secretary/ This article originally appeared on December 9.]
Waldorf Watch Footnotes:
[1] Waldorf or Steiner schools in the UK and in various other countries have typically been private schools, financed primarily though the tuition payments made by the students’ families. But some Waldorf/Steiner schools have been incorporated into state or public school systems — they receive the bulk of their financing from the governments in the lands where they operate.
[2] Ofsted is the UK government’s Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills.
[3] In addition to problems with safeguarding, the two Steiner schools have been found to have many other deficiencies, including poor teaching and poor leadership. [See “S. A. Exeter” and “RSSKL”.]
Children attending Waldorf/Steiner schools can be harmed in various ways. The schools are often badly managed. One result is that ordinary safeguarding precautions may be ignored or inadequately implemented. Moreover, many teachers at Waldorf/Steiner schools are far more interested in the spirit realm than in the ordinary, physical world in which flesh-and-blood humans dwell. This may make the teachers inattentive and distracted. One otherworldly belief held by many Waldorf/Steiner teachers is the doctrine of karma. If a student at a Waldorf/Steiner school is victimized by bullies, the teachers may conclude that enduring the attentions of bullies is the child’s karma and thus must be allowed. Likewise, Waldorf teachers often think that all children have guardian angels. If a child needs protection, her/his angel will handle the matter — adult humans (parents or teachers) need not particularly concern themselves. [For more on these matters, see, e.g., “Who Gets Hurt”, “Karma”, "Slaps", and "Serving the Gods".]
[4] Steiner Academy Exeter is a Steiner free school, what in the US would be called a charter school. The Academy operates as part of the state or public school system, and it receives the bulk of its financing from the government. Students can, therefore, attend the school for free.
For information about the unfolding drama at Steiner Academy Exeter, see “S. A. Exeter”.
[5] RSSKL is a "fee-paying" school in that it is a private school, financed by the fees paid by students' families.
For information about the travails of Rudolf Steiner School Kings Langley and its students, see “RSSKL”.
[6] “Gagging letters” are missives that instruct the recipients to remain silent on certain matters — they attempt to “gag” the recipients.
The Telegraph is one of several UK publications that have made disturbing revelations about Steiner schools in the UK. The use of gagging letters by RSSKL is just one of numerous allegations lodged against the schools.
[7] I.e., members of parliament who are in the Government (they preside over departments or ministries).
[8] The methods, curricula, and objectives of Waldorf/Steiner schools are indeed often difficult for outsiders to comprehend. The schools are rooted in Anthroposophy, a gnostic religion pieced together by the Austrian occultist Rudolf Steiner. [See, e.g., “Here’s the Answer”, “Spiritual Agenda”, “Oh Humanity - The Key to Waldorf”, "Is Anthroposophy a Religion?", “Gnosis”, and “Occultism”.]
— R.R.
December 18, 2018
BATTERED STEINER ACADEMY
WILL CLOSE (A LITTLE)
From DevonLive.com [Devon, UK]:
A part of Exeter's Steiner Academy
is to close
and its future remains uncertain
By Anita Merritt
Following a damning Ofsted inspection which saw Steiner Academy Exeter temporarily close, the school has now announced its kindergarten will not reopen at the beginning of next term.
The 442-pupil school was shut down for more than a week following a visit from inspectors in October who discovered a catalogue of failings at the school including leadership being 'dysfunctional at every level', Kindergarten pupils being physically restrained by teachers, and a lack of support for vulnerable children.
As part of its ongoing drive for improvement, the school…will undertake a consultation next year into the future of the kindergarten. It will open as usual until the end of term this Friday, December 21, but will not immediately reopen with the rest of the school in the new year….
The school hit the headlines earlier this year when two six-year-old pupils walked out of the school unnoticed during lessons in July, and a safeguarding investigation was launched.
The academy now has a new acting principal, Paul Hougham. The academy has also approached the Education & Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) to discuss the ongoing financial stability of the school as a whole, and is working closely with the Regional Schools Commissioner as it seeks an existing multi-academy trust which would be interested in adopting the school….
[12/18/2018 https://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/part-exeters-steiner-academy-close-2339303]
Waldorf Watch Response:
Steiner Academy Exeter is a free school — what in the USA would be called a charter school. Ofsted is the UK government’s Office for Standards in Education.
Ofsted inspectors have identified numerous failings at Steiner Academy Exeter. The school’s failure to adequately ensure the safety of students has received the most press coverage, and conditions in the kindergarten have seemed especially censurable. But many of the inspectors’ criticisms apply to the whole school, ranging from bad teaching to bad management.
The future of the school is now in doubt. Leaders at the school have indicated an intention to make needed improvements. Whether they will be able to do so while continuing the function as a Steiner school is doubtful, however. The Rudolf Steiner School Kings Langley, against which Ofsted leveled similar criticisms, was ultimately ordered to close down. [See “RSSKL”.]
Steiner schools have a history of resisting government decrees. The schools are often intensely secretive; any apparent compliance with external requirements may prove to be mere window dressing. Steiner schools have often sought to deceive inspectors rather than cooperate with them. [See “Secrets” and “He Went to Waldorf”.]
Steiner Academy Exeter has now announced the closure of its kindergarten in the near term. Whether this is the beginning of the end for the school overall remains to be seen. UK education officials have said that, in order to remain in operation, the school must be adopted by a competent multi-academy trust (a reputable educational organization that operates two or more schools). Finding such a trust that is willing to take responsibility for Steiner Academy Exeter may be difficult.
In the meantime, financial pressures seem to be increasing at the school. And there is a question whether insurers will continue offering coverage for the school. One of the final crises at Rudolf Steiner School Kings Langley came when insurers refused the underwrite the school further.
January 12, 2019
DAMNING REPORT
BE DAMNED
From DevonLive.com [Devon, UK]:
Parents launch bid to secure
future of Steiner Academy
after damning Ofsted report
By Anita Merritt
Families from the Steiner Academy Exeter have launched a campaign seeking to secure its future following a damning Ofsted [Office for Standards in Education] inspection which stated the school was failing on every level.
[The campaign] asserts the need for an all-through Steiner school in Exeter which provides an outstanding education for primary and secondary age pupils.
The 441-pupil school was shut down for more than a week following a visit from inspectors in October who discovered a catalogue of failings at the school including leadership being 'dysfunctional at every level', Kindergarten pupils being physically restrained by teachers and a lack of support for vulnerable children…
Following all the recent changes and talk of the future of the school, 234 parents and carers from the school have signed an open letter to officials…
The letter states the academy was opened in 2013 and is growing year on year until it is expected to reach its full capacity of 624 pupils in 2021.
Steiner free schools began in the UK in 2008 enabling Steiner education to be inclusive of all children for the first time, regardless of their background or ability…
Parents and carers, who are supporting the Moving Forward, Steiner Academy Exeter campaign, say they are committed to core Steiner principles…
The parent body said: "We are confident that under the leadership of the new principal Paul Hougham, and with the support of external agencies, rapid and significant changes can be made which will provide an outstanding education for the future and critically, an inclusive all-through schooling option for families in Exeter.”
[1/12/2019 https://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/parents-launch-bid-secure-future-2419500 This article originally appeared on January 11.]
Waldorf Watch Response:
Perhaps the most striking thing about the new campaign is the disjunction between its hopes and the realities found by the school inspectors. The campaign says Exeter deserves to have a thoroughgoing Steiner schools that “provides an outstanding education.” But is this a realistic goal?
The inspectors found that Steiner Academy Exeter has problems in virtually all areas of school life, including bad teaching. Indeed, the Academy itself has reportedly accepted the finding that its teaching staff generally does a poor job in the classroom. Thus, a previous news story in DevonLive included the following:
Exeter's Steiner Academy says it has 'deep regret' over the standard of teaching offered to children...
A spokesperson for the school said:
"...There is clear and deep regret that the education provided to children at the school has not been of the high standards or integrity required."
— DevonLive, "Exeter's Steiner Academy speak of 'deep regret' following sudden closure", October 12, 2018 [https://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/exeters-steiner-academy-speak-deep-2101167]
It is quite understandable, of course, that some parents may rally to the support of the school they chose for their children. Admitting that they made a serious error in sending their kids to the Steiner Academy would undoubtedly be a bitter climb-down.
Then, too, we must acknowledge that some students and some parents genuinely love Steiner education. Steiner schools generally are full of lovely art, the teachers seem to take great interest in their students, little academic pressure is put on the kids, some lovely values are affirmed at the schools (imagination, love of art, green values, etc.), there's lots of free time for playing and making art, and so on. Attending a Steiner school can be quite pleasant.
But this is not to say that Steiner schools provide a good education. In general, they do not. Academic standards are often low at Steiner schools, principally because the belief system on which the schools stand puts its focus elsewhere. Specifically, the Steiner belief system — Anthroposophy — is a gnostic religion, and this faith is what true-believing Steiner teachers care about most. Thus, we find Waldorf teachers making statements such as the following:
◊ “Waldorf education strives to create a place in which the highest beings [i.e., the gods]…can find their home....” — Waldorf teacher Joan Almon, WHAT IS A WALDORF KINDERGARTEN? (SteinerBooks, 2007), p. 53.
◊ "Waldorf education is based upon the recognition that the four bodies of the human being [the physical, etheric, astral, and ego bodies] develop and mature at different times.” — Waldorf teacher Roberto Trostli, RHYTHMS OF LEARNING: What Waldorf Education Offers Children, Parents & Teachers (Anthroposophic Press, 1998), pp. 4-5.
◊ “[T]he purpose of [Waldorf] education is to help the individual fulfill his karma.” — Waldorf teacher Roy Wilkinson, THE SPIRITUAL BASIS OF STEINER EDUCATION (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1996), p. 52.
◊ "Must teachers be clairvoyant in order to be certain that they are teaching in the proper way? Clairvoyance is needed...." — Waldorf teacher Eugene Schwartz, THE MILLENNIAL CHILD (Anthroposophic Press, 1999), p. 157.
◊ "The reason many [Steiner or Waldorf] schools exist is because of the Anthroposophy, period. It's not because of the children. It's because a group of Anthroposophists have it in their minds to promote Anthroposophy in the world ... Educating children is secondary in these schools." — Former Waldorf teacher "Baandje", 2006. [See "Ex-Teacher 7".]
Steiner schools can be pleasant places. But as educational institutions, they are often seriously deficient. They are usually not, in other words, good schools. Instead, they are disguised Anthroposophical religious institutions, aiming to spread the Anthroposophical faith.
So improving the poor teaching at Steiner Academy Exeter may prove to be extremely difficult. The fact is, Steiner schools are not fundamentally interested in providing a good education, as this concept is usually understood. They are interested in karma, and clairvoyance, and the incarnation of invisible bodies, and so forth. They are interested in occult fantasies that, sadly, they mistake for reality.
Giving kids a real education — that is, informing kids about the real world and preparing them for productive lives in the real world — is difficult if not completely impossible for thoroughgoing Steiner schools. Their focus is elsewhere.
[For more on these matters, see, e.g., “Here’s the Answer”, “Schools as Churches”, and “Academic Standards at Waldorf”. For more on the unfolding story of Steiner Academy Exeter, see “S. A. Exeter”.]
— R.R.
January 17, 2019
MORE INSPECTIONS,
MORE FAILURES
School inspectors in the United Kingdom continue to find fault with Steiner schools — they have issued a series of highly critical inspection reports. The damage to the Steiner education movement as a whole may become severe.
The following is from The Guardian [London, UK]:
Ofsted inspections find
three Steiner schools
to be inadequate
Concerns raised about safeguarding,
bullying and high exclusion rates
The future of state-funded Steiner education has been thrown into doubt after a series of snap Ofsted inspections [1] found that three of the four such schools set up under the Conservatives’ free schools programme [2] were inadequate.
The four have been inspected in recent weeks — alongside private Steiner schools, a number of which have also been found to be inadequate [3] — following an intervention by the education secretary, Damian Hinds... [4]
Ofsted reports for the Frome and Bristol Steiner academies are due to be published later this week and have been shared with parents. Copies seen by the Guardian
reveal inspectors’ concerns about a wide range of issues including safeguarding, bullying and lack of support for children with special educational needs and disabilities.
The Frome report accuses leaders and governors of failing to provide pupils with a safe and effective education...
It says the school failed to address serious issues that “put pupils at risk of harm” ... The inspection team...also raised concerns about a high number of exclusions [5]...
The report for Bristol similarly details concerns about safeguarding ... It adds that bullying incidents [6] are too frequent, and disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs make insufficient progress.
The damning assessments follow similar findings at the Exeter Steiner academy [7] ... The fourth state-funded Steiner school, in Hereford, was judged good...
...At Bristol, parents have been told that the governors [8] have sent a legal letter to Ofsted challenging its report and the inspection process...
Frome is also planning to challenge its report and the inspection process...
Both schools will go into special measures [9] and multi-academy trusts will be sought to take over [10]. Parents fear that the Steiner ethos – the very reason they chose those schools for their children – will be lost in the process [11].
Hinds called in November for additional scrutiny of Steiner schools by Ofsted after the chief inspector of schools in England, Amanda Spielman, raised concerns about safeguarding in the sector on the back of two earlier inspections [12]....
Waldorf Watch Footnotes:
[1] Oftsed is the UK government's Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills.
[2] Free schools are independent schools that receive government funding. While held accountable by the government, they implement curriculums of their own choosing. In the USA, such schools are call charter schools.
[3] See, e.g., "RSSKL", recounting the situation at Rudolf Steiner School Kings Langley. The government ordered this school to close.
[4] See the Waldorf Watch news items for December 10 and 11, 2018: "U.K. Steiner Schools to Receive Special Scrutiny".
[5] I.e., rejected applications for admission.
[6] Complaints about bullying have frequently arisen at Steiner or Waldorf schools. It has often been alleged that Steiner or Waldorf teachers tolerate bullying among their students. [See "Slaps".] One explanation is that Steiner/Waldorf teachers believe students must be free to enact their karmas, such as a karma to bully others or a karma to be bullied. Karma is a key Steiner/Waldorf belief. [See "Karma".]
[7] See "S. A. Exeter", recounting the situation at Steiner Academy Exeter.
[8] I.e., the governors of the school.
[9] I.e., urgent or emergency measures are being taken.
[10] I.e., the government has indicated that these schools should be adopted and administered by experienced educational trusts (multi-academy trusts that operate at least two schools).
[11] The chief advantage a Steiner school receives by being designated a free school is the financing provided by the government. The chief potential disadvantage is that the government may hold the school to standards that run contrary to Steiner educational principles. [For an overview of these principles, see "Oh Humanity".] Parents who select Steiner or Waldorf schools for their children may or may not have knowledge of these principles. A widespread complaint about Steiner/Waldorf schools is that they do not honestly explain their nature and purposes. [See, e.g., "Secrets" and "Our Experience".]
[12] Failure to adequately protect students has been the most publicized fault identified by Ofsted representatives who have inspected Steiner schools. However, many other serious faults — ranging from bad teaching to dysfunctional management — have also been found. [See, again, "RSSKL" and "S. A. Exeter".]
— R.R.
May 24, 2019
FATE OF ANOTHER STEINER SCHOOL
MAY SOON BE DETERMINED
Steiner schools in the United Kingdom (UK) are in crisis. Various UK Steiner schools have received withering official inspection reports, judging the schools to be deficient in multiple ways. Some the schools have been — or are in the process of being — closed. In some instances, the closures are temporary; in others, they are meant to be final. [1]
One of the Steiner schools facing harsh criticism is located in the city of Exeter. [2] Here are excerpts from the latest update, published at DevonLive [county of Devon, England]:
Decision over future of
Exeter Steiner School
by Education Secretary
set to be made soon
The chief inspector of schools, Amanda Spielman, had written to the education secretary Damian Hinds to describe the "deeply concerning" safeguarding failures [3] at Steiner schools across the country and urged him close down any that fail to "rapidly" improve.
By Daniel Clark
[Jamie Hawkins, DevonLive]
The future of Exeter’s Steiner School is expected to be decided by the Secretary of State for Education [4] soon.
Last year, Steiner Academy Exeter was shut down for more than a week following a visit from inspectors in October.
Inspectors had discovered a catalogue of failings at the school, including leadership being "dysfunctional at every level", Kindergarten pupils being physically restrained by teachers and a lack of support for vulnerable children [5]...
In total, nine Steiner schools across the country had been inspected, with six being judged inadequate [6] and three requiring improvement [7].
Devon County Council’s meeting on Thursday heard that a decision over the future sponsorship of the school in Exeter is expected to be made soon [8]...
The majority of Steiner schools in England are private [9] and inspected by the School Inspection Service (SIS), an independent organisation whose inspectors are trained in the Steiner ethos [10].
But there had been concern about the suitability of the SIS – which has now shut down – to inspect Steiner schools and hold them to account on their shortcomings.
Mr Hinds had taken the unusual step of commissioning Ofsted [11] to conduct a "series" of inspections of Steiner schools in England and report directly to him on their findings...
Mr Hinds said that officials will take "robust action" against any schools that is failing children.
[5/24/2019 https://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/decision-over-future-exeter-steiner-2903792]
Waldorf Watch Footnotes:
[1] See "Steiner School Crisis".
[2] See "Steiner Academy Exeter".
[3] One of the major faults found at several Steiner schools has been a failure to adequately protect or "safeguard" the students. [See, e.g., "Inadequate".] However, the schools have also been found deficient in numerous other ways, including poor teaching and ineffective management.
[4] The Secretary of State for Education is the head of the UK government's Department for Education, the administrative department that oversees children's education as well as child safety, apprenticeships, and related matters. The Secretary of State for Education is a member of the government's cabinet — s/he is one of the most senior ministers in the UK government.
[5] See, e.g., "Devastating Inspection Report on U.K. Steiner Academy", November 17, 2018. "Vulnerable children" are those with special needs.
[6] "Inadequate" is the lowest grade issued by inspectors — it is a failing grade (equivalent to an F).
[7] "Requires Improvement" is the next-lowest grade issued by inspectors — it is equivalent to a D or C-.
[8] When a UK free school is found to be underperforming, a "sponsor" is appointed to improve the school. Often, the sponsor is an organization that manages several schools. The sponsor must be approved by the Department for Education.
[9] I.e., these schools receive little or no financing from the government — they are almost entirely dependent on their own fundraising efforts, and they implement their own curricula and pedagogical methods. Other Steiner schools, generally called Steiner "academies," are "free schools" (what in the USA would be called charter schools). Steiner academies follow the overall Steiner model, but they receive government funding and are subject to closer government supervision than are Steiner private schools. (Families who send their children to private Steiner schools pay tuition fees, which can be steep; those who send their children to Steiner free schools are generally spared this burden. Most expenses are paid by the government, so the schooling is "free.")
[10] From February, 2019: "The School Inspection Service inspects all independent schools and registered Early Years settings in England which are affiliated to the Steiner Waldorf Schools Fellowship (SWSF). The inspection...follows the inspection framework agreed by SIS and the Department for Education (DfE). SIS professional inspectors are trained to conduct the inspection of Steiner Waldorf schools and understand their ethos and the special features of their curriculum." [https://www.schoolinspectionservice.co.uk/steiner-schools/]
[11] Ofsted is the UK government's Office for Standards in Education. Ofsted inspects public, government-financed schools in the UK. Directing Ofsted to inspect private Steiner schools has been an extraordinary measure, reflecting the seriousness with which UK education officials are taking the problems unearthed at Steiner schools.
— R.R.
June 14, 2019
THREATENED STEINER SCHOOLS
TURN TO HINDU TRUST
In what may be seen as an awkward marriage of convenience — and perhaps a sign of desperation — three low-performing Steiner schools in the United Kingdom (UK) are staking their survival on an educational trust that sponsors Hindu faith schools.
From DevonLive [Devon, UK]:
Future of Exeter Steiner School
secured after joining new trust
By Anita Merritt
After months of uncertainty, Exeter's troubled Steiner School [1] has announced its plans to join a successful multi-academy trust [2] have been approved.
Steiner Academy Exeter [has permission to] join the Avanti Schools Trust (AST) [3]...
Steiner-Waldorf schools in Bristol and Frome will also join the trust [4]...
The 442-pupil school in Exeter was shut down for more than a week following a visit from inspectors in October who discovered a catalogue of failings at the school including leadership being 'dysfunctional at every level'...
Its Ofsted inspection [5] last October highlighted serious inadequacies in leadership, quality of teaching and safeguarding [6]. The school was found to be 'inadequate' in every area inspected...
Steiner Academy Exeter's acting principal Paul Hougham said: "I am delighted about the decision [to permit the school to join AST]. I fully embrace the opportunity for renewal. I am deeply grateful for the commitment and resilience of staff and parents and I'm looking forward to working with Avanti and continuing to serve the children..."
AST is currently made up of seven schools [7] and promotes its core principles as ‘educational excellence, character formation and spiritual insight’ [8].
[6/14/2019 https://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/future-exeter-steiner-school-secured-2975369 This article originally appeared on June 13.]
Waldorf Watch Response:
Whether the future of the three Steiner schools has been "secured" remains to be seen.
Schools taken over by multi-academy trusts lose much of their autonomy. Steiner schools usually have difficulty cooperating with outside authorities and organizations — devoted to the Steiner approach, they usually resist outside pressures to change. The key question is likely be whether leaders at the affected Steiner schools will accept the terms AST lays down.
And here's another important consideration. Steiner or Waldorf schools almost always deny that they are religious institutions. This denial is disingenuous at best [9]. In allying themselves with a distinctly religious trust, the three Steiner schools discussed here implicitly (if unintentionally) acknowledge their religious character.
Waldorf Watch Footnotes:
[1] For previous coverage of the situation at Steiner Academy Exeter, see "S. A. Exeter".
[2] Multi-academy trusts are educational organizations that operate two or more schools. They seek to improve the schools and pass muster with UK educational inspectors.
[3] "Avanti Schools Trust is the sponsor of state-funded Hindu faith schools in the United Kingdom. The I-Foundation is a Hindu and ISKCON [International Society for Krishna Consciousness] charity in England and Wales that is the religious authority governing schools run by the Avanti Schools Trust." — Wikipedia [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avanti_Schools_Trust].
[4] For previous coverage of the situations at these schools, see "Inadequate".
[5] Ofsted is the UK government's Office for Standards in Education.
[6] I.e., ensuring the safety of students at the school. Most media coverage of the problems at UK Steiner schools [see "Steiner School Crisis"] has focused on safeguarding. But the schools have often been found to be failing in multiple areas, including teaching and management.
[7] These are ◊ Avanti Fields All-through School, Leicester; ◊ Avanti Court Primary School, Redbridge; ◊ Avanti House Primary School, Harrow; ◊ Avanti House Secondary School, Harrow; ◊ Krishna Avanti Primary School, Croydon; ◊ Krishna Avanti Primary School, Harrow; and ◊ Krishna Avanti Primary School, Leicester. [See https://avanti.org.uk/our-schools/.]
[8] The key question may become whether the AST conception of "spiritual insight" is compatible with the Steiner conception. The ideology underlying Steiner or Waldorf education, Anthroposophy, is a religion. [See "Is Anthroposophy a Religion?"] There are strains of Hinduism in Anthroposophy — both religions are polytheistic, and both subscribe to such concepts as karma and reincarnation. [See "Polytheism", "Karma", and "Reincarnation".] But in many other ways, the two faith diverge. Thus, for instance, Anthroposophy places great emphasis on Christ [see "Was He Christian?" and "Sun God"], and it observes numerous Christian festivals [see "Magical Arts"]. Although Anthroposophy is extremely unorthodox from the perspective of mainstream Christianity, it is generally closer to Christianity than to Hinduism (or Zoroastrianism, which also figures in Anthroposophical doctrine). “Anthroposophy is continuous with the Rosicrucian stream of the Christian esoteric tradition.” — See ENCYCLOPEDIA OF RELIGION (Detroit: MacMillan Reference, 2005), pp. 392-394.
[9] See "Schools as Churches".
— R.R.
July 2, 2019
NEW INSPECTION OF STEINER ACADEMY
AGAIN FINDS MULTIPLE SHORTCOMINGS
The Steiner academy in the city of Exeter is one of the UK Steiner schools that in recent months have received sharply critical inspection reports from education authorities [1]. Now a follow-up inspection has reconfirmed, in most areas, the earlier findings: The school is still sub-par.
From DevonLive [county of Devon, UK]:
Ofsted inspectors [2] still aren't impressed
with Exeter's failing Steiner Academy
"Of greatest concern is the lack of attention leaders give to the significant minority of pupils who do not attend school regularly"
By Anita Merritt
Leaders and managers at Exeter’s Steiner Academy are not taking effective action to come out of being put in special measures, [3] according to inspectors.
Other criticisms included one in four children do not attend school on a regular basis, many pupils are still underachieving, and there is poor safeguarding record keeping [4].
In May the school received its first monitoring inspection since the school was found to be inadequate [5] in many areas following an Ofsted inspection last October.
The 442-pupil school in Exeter was shut down for more than a week when a catalogue of failings at the school included leadership being 'dysfunctional at every level', kindergarten pupils being physically restrained by teachers, and a lack of support for vulnerable children.
In a letter to the school’s principal, Ofsted inspector Iain Freeland said: "The uncertainty of the school’s future [6] has hindered, and continues to hinder, the impact of leaders’ work …
"[P]rocedures to ensure that pupils are where they should be and accurate registers are maintained are still not robust [7]…
"Of greatest concern is the lack of attention leaders give to the significant minority of pupils who do not attend school regularly. The school’s systems to check on these pupils’ whereabouts and their safety are deficient…
"Safeguarding record keeping, although improved, is still poor. Records are often incomplete or lack precision"…
When it came to teaching, the report said: "The variance in the quality of teaching and learning remains stark, and inadequate teaching persists [8]…"
Pupil numbers have fallen and attendance at the school was described as "poor" and had declined month on month since the start of the academic year, and an overall four-year decline. Persistent absence is almost twice the national average [9]…
[T]he school was praised in a number of areas.
It was said behaviour around the school site and in class is now more settled; since January, a member of staff has been deployed solely to monitor and manage attendance; a new behaviour and rewards policy has been introduced; and leaders have secured external support from several sources.
[7/2/2019 https://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/ofsted-inspectors-still-arent-impressed-3044156.]
Waldorf Watch Footnotes:
[1] For previous coverage of the situation at this school, see “S. A. Exeter”.
[2] Ofsted, the UK government’s Office for Standards in Education, inspects many — but not all — schools in the United Kingdom.
[3] “Special measures,” in this context, are emergency procedures implemented in an effort to improve a failing school. Steiner Academy Exeter has put in special measures during the autumn of 2018. [See “Devastating Inspection Report on U.K. Steiner Academy”, November 17, 2018.]
[4] Poor “safeguarding” (i.e., protection of students) has been an issue at various UK Steiner schools. [See “Steiner School Crisis”.] Record keeping is considered essential, so that the school knows at all times which students are present and under supervision.
[5] “Inadequate” is the lowest evaluation issued by Ofsted; it is equivalent to a grade of “F”.
[6] The school has attempted to ensure its future by joining the Avanti Trust, a multi-academy trust that to date has specialized in running Hindu schools. [See “Threatened Steiner Schools Turn to Hindu Trust”, June 14, 2019.] Inspectors evidently think the school’s future remains uncertain.
[7] A "register," in the sense used here, is an official record. The school evidently fails to keep track of students' movements — it does not know for sure where students are within the school, nor how many students may have arrived at school but then left without permission, nor how many students may have skipped school altogether on any given day.
[8] “Inadequate” teaching is, according to Ofsted usage, extremely poor teaching. Thus, inspections have indicated that the school has been deficient in safeguarding, in management (“dysfunctional at every level”), and in the quality of the education it provides (“inadequate teaching persists”). The school’s shortcoming run across the board. Hence, the headline of today’s article at DevonLive refers to the school as “failing.”
[9] Overall, a lax atmosphere seems to prevail. (According Anthroposophical belief, students — like all human beings — have guardian angels. Hence, teachers, parents, and other adults can relax to some degree — kids will probably be protected by their angels. Also, a certain fatalism runs through Anthroposophy: Students — like all human beings — have karmas that, in most cases, must be allowed to play out. Hence, at least some Waldorf teachers are likely to believe that if a child is fated to miss school on a certain day, or to experience a crisis of some sort, this fate or karma usually must be respected. [See "guardian angels" and "karma" in The Brief Waldorf / Steiner Encyclopedia.]) Then, too, if students at Waldorf schools are less motivated to attend school than students at other schools are, this may tell us something about the value Waldorf students find in their schooling.
— R.R.
JULY 1, 2020
RESCUING THIS STEINER SCHOOL
MAY MEAN CUTTING OUT STEINER
School inspectors in the United Kingdom have found serious failings at various Steiner schools [1]. Following severely critical inspection reports, three Steiner "free schools" (equivalent to charter schools in the USA) have been transferred to a new sponsor that promises to make major improvements [2]. The downside for Steiner fans is that the changes likely will entail minimizing or even eliminating the Steiner ethos from the schools. The improved schools, in other words, may no longer be Steiner schools to any significant degree [3].
Here is a report on the changes being implemented at one of the three former Steiner free schools. The following is from DevonLive [Devonshire, UK]:
"We're not what the Steiner was":
Devon principal on turning around
a former failing school
"This school is going to work"
By Charlotte Vowles
Principal Arnold outside Avanti Hall School
(Image: Pip Raud)
The principal of a new Devon school, has said he is excited to welcome in an era of transformation and positive change.
Avanti Hall School in Exeter, is on the site of the former Steiner School [4], which was deemed 'inadequate' in October 2018 after serious failings were highlighted by inspectors [5].
It is now part of the Avanti Schools Trust (AST) and principal Phil Arnold sees a bright future ahead for the school [6].
He said: "We're not what the Steiner was. We've got a completely new leadership team, rigorous monitoring and support from the Trust - this school is going to work. All the gaps and failings of the last school, are no longer gaps [7]."
Principal Arnold, who joined the school in April, said the school's curriculum has had a complete overhaul, which will take a "holistic" approach to learning [8]...
The school is only partially open at the moment and the new curriculum will be in place from September...
He said that the school is "100% inclusive" and that all children will be supported to do their best - including those with additional needs [9].
The school currently has around 330 pupils, but Principal Arnold is expecting further intake...
[7/1/2020 https://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/were-not-what-steiner-was-4259950 This article originally appeared on June 24.]
Waldorf Watch Footnotes
[1] See "The Steiner School Crisis".
[2] See "Inadequate" and "S. A. Exeter".
[3] The extent of the planned changes — and whether they will result in eliminating Steiner influences from the schools — has been a central point of contention. [See, e.g., "Avanti and Steiner — How Far Will They Go?", October 24, 2019.]
[4] This was the Steiner Academy Exeter.
[5] "Inadequate" is the lowest rating issued by inspectors from the UK Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) — it is a failing grade.
[6] Avanti is a multi-academy trust, an organization that operates several schools in conjunction with one another. In the past, Avanti concentrated on running Hindu schools in the UK.
[7] Whereas Steiner proponents have frequently challenged the criticisms leveled by Ofsted, Avanti has generally agreed that the inspectors found real deficiencies at the Steiner institutions it has adopted.
[8] Steiner education generally claims to be holistic. [See "Holistic Education".] In this, as in other matters such as emphasis on arts, the Steiner and Avanti approaches might be compatible. On the other hand, the "complete overhaul" of the curriculum at the former Steiner school could signal a drastic shift away from the Steiner approach. [See "The Waldorf Curriculum" and "Methods".]
[9] Inspectors found that various Steiner schools have not made adequate provision for students with special needs. This is one of the "gaps" Avanti aims to close at the school in Exeter.
— R.R.
To Be Continued (?)
