Parents of children in ‘failing’ Steiner schools fight back against Ofsted

Families of children in Steiner schools which have been heavily criticised by Ofsted for failing to protect pupils and provide quality teaching are fighting for the survival of the unique education philosophy.

Thousands of parents at Steiner Academy Bristol are calling for another inspection of the school as they fear the damning Ofsted report may lead to the principles of Steiner education being lost.

Governors at the school have now raised more than £16,000 for a judicial review against Ofsted’s judgement, which rated the school as “inadequate” and placed it in special measures.

Meanwhile, hundreds of families from the Steiner Academy Exeter, another state school which received a poor judgement from Ofsted, have launched a campaign calling for Steiner ethos to be retained.

They argue that the Steiner approach to learning “promotes good mental health” among children.

It comes after Ofsted boss Amanda Spielman called on the government to consider shutting down Steiner schools which fail to keep children safe and provide them with a quality education.

Ms Spielman urged the government last week to investigate whether the principles of Steiner education have led to “common failures" after a string of inspections exposed many weaknesses.

In Steiner schools, young pupils learn through play and creative activities and they tend not to start formal academic studies until the age of seven.

The schools, developed from the theories of the philosopher Rudolf Steiner, give as much focus to children’s spiritual, emotional and creative development as their ability to master the three Rs.

Professor Richard Brazier, from the parent-led Moving Forward, Steiner Academy Exeter campaign, said: “We don’t recognise this implication [from Ofsted] that there are any deep-rooted problems with the philosophy or the pedigree of the educational approach itself.”

The campaign group’s petition, signed by more than 700 people, is calling for the Steiner approach to be adopted in more state schools across the country.

Professor Brazier, an academic at the University of Exeter, added: “Steiner is not some sort of bizarre type of education - it is actually grounded in some very fundamental and important ideas.”

He added that Steiner education is well connected to the environment and very focused on child wellbeing which he said was “crucial for mental health”.

An Ofsted spokesperson said: “Ofsted inspects without fear or favour and we have a duty to report as we find.

“In our inspections of these two schools, we found serious concerns about safeguarding. In addition, inspectors found that pupils were not making the progress of which they were capable. The leadership and management of both schools were inadequate.

“The inspection evidence and reports were subject to our rigorous quality assurance processes before both schools were confirmed as requiring special measures.

“The results of the inspections are well founded and fair, and we stand by our judgements.”

Last week, education secretary Damian Hinds said the government would take “robust action” against Steiner schools that are deemed inadequate.

Over the summer, the Department for Education (DfE) closed the Rudolf Steiner School Kings Langley in Hertfordshire following a series of damning Ofsted reports.

The DfE has already started work to transfer the three Steiner academies placed in special measures to multi-academy trusts.