Why was this bid to set up a Steiner School rejected?

[nlondondad]

The background to this story is in the original posting on thread

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/education/1792362-What-do-you-think-of-the-plan-for-a-new-free-School-in-Islington

One of the things that has started to come up is the interesting point that there were TWO competing Bids to set up a Free School on the old Ashmount site. Bellevue Place Ltd won this competition defeating the bid from a group of parents who wanted to set up a Steiner School. Why did the Steiner bid fail?

The Steiner Bid was led by parents and teachers at the fee paying Steiner primary in Hornsey. (The plan was, if they had succeeded to move that school to be the primary section of the new, all through Steiner School on the Ashmount Site.) As such, surely it was just the sort of group that the Free School idea was set up to support was it not? And the DFE has no problem with Steiner in view of the other Steiner Schools it has approved.

The Steiner Free School was to be all through, age 4 to 19, so they cannot have been planning for more than one form entry, possibly less than thirty at that. At the moment in London there is no secondary steiner provision at all, with a few fee paying, private, Steiner schools. The Hornsey School's existence already demonstrates prior core demand. Steiner people tend to be very committed, not that well heeled, and so greatly welcome being able to have state funded Steiner provision, rather than having to pay for it as they usually do. This school would have drawn support from Steiner adherents at least from all over London. There are millions of people living within a 45 minute commute by public transport, London is like that, and no doubt Steiner families would have chosen to move into the general area as well.

I have no doubt they would have filled their places, and also that they would have had no impact on recruitment on local schools as Steiner people are such a minority, and the school small in numbers anyway. (As both bidders were planning to refurbish the existing old Ashmount building they are the same in that regard. And, I would say, are, on that point, both equally misguided)

However on getting "evidence of demand" they left nothing to chance.
You see they made a really big effort. They had a stall down at Crouch End Broadway several saturdays running, distributing leaflets, talking to anyone, who like me, wanted to know more. They handed out leaflets on several occasions to commuters leaving Archway and Highgate tubes in the evening, and leafleted through the doors of the area local to the proposed site. There were leaflets in the local libraries and good, local press coverage. Bellevue did NONE of this at all. Despite what they say on their web site they never did go out on the streets.

So what did Bellevue have they did not?

@WouldBeHarrietVane wrote

"how do you know Bellevue weren't out drumming up support?"

Because I live in the area, and I know they did not do anything. They have no connection to the area at all.

I'm basing it on Mumsnet to be fair. Every thread on education bangs on about hothousing and whinging about fact-teaching, suddenly a thread about a school which opposes that is also a target for vilification. So not very scientific, I just lumped the whole of mumsnet together on a "general trend" basis. Also did the OP say this isn't the only thread about Steiner schools which is full of the same sort of thing? Or hint that he wasn't surprised. It seems to be a mass view that teaching facts is bad, and teaching the whole child is good, but where Steiner is concerned teaching the whole child is considered very bad and in fact a lunatic idea.

I don't think you have looked very closely at the education threads then! Sme people bang on about hot housing. Many (most, probably) don't.

People get nervous about something that's different and stands out from the mediocre. That seems to apply equally to schools like Steiner and schools that are considered pushy and hothousy.

Sorry no nothing about the op but am interested to see how much disgust there is towards Steiner schools.

Growing up my parents were friends with a family whose parents taught at a Steiner school and whose 5 children went to it. To an outsider it looked idyllic, no school uniforms, no pushing kids to read and write before they were ready, lots of arts and crafts, lots of time outside.....

Do they really believe in gnomes?!

know not no

I've read a few. General vilification of Michael Gove for forcing children to learn facts, the pesky man.

I don't know where the "hot housing" thing comes from. My objection to Steiner is nothing to do with the lack of "hot housing" (although I would be concerned about any type of school that has such low academic expectations, to be honest). My points about their approach to bullying, and to children with special needs are, in my opinion, key. And that is before you look at the very questionable views on race held by the schools' founder, their ideas about children not being fully incarnate til their adult teeth come through..... I could go on. The internal and external environments are beautiful, the ideas about outside play, and a relaxed approach to learning are wonderful. There's just so much other stuff, sadly, that cancels out the good.

I don't think the founder's views on race are relevant any more. Aren't the schools inspected? So there's no question that it wouldn't be allowed even if teachers wanted to introduce it, which I highly doubt they do. If it's not in the classroom or in any teaching materials, are the founder's beliefs relative.

With regard to the other points, I found this from 2006, Ofsted.

The Rudolf Steiner School Kings Langley meets all of the regulatory requirements. Its organisation effectively applies the Steiner Waldorf philosophy, although the educational implications of this approach are not clearly stated in the school?s prospectus. Nevertheless it succeeds in meeting its curricular and spiritual aims. It successfully meets its aim of developing each child?s innate curiosity and love of learning in creative and practical activities, but is less effective in doing so in academic subjects for all ages of pupils. The curriculum is broad and covers a good
range of subjects. Information and communication technology (ICT) is introduced in class 9, but is not subsequently developed. The quality of teaching is satisfactory. At times teaching does not involve pupils sufficiently in their learning. The Learning Support Team works effectively to assess all pupils. It provides teachers with detailed information on the pupils, although this is not always used to good effect. Pupils make satisfactory progress. Those who stay until the oldest class achieve in line with or above national expectations in their public examinations.
What the school does well:
 its kindergarten classes provide pupils with clear routines which enable them to settle quickly and to develop their personal and social skills;
 it very effectively enables pupils to develop their self-knowledge and selfconfidence;
and
 it ensures that by the time pupils leave the school, they achieve at levels in line with or above national expectations at GCSE and A level.
What the school must do in order to comply with the regulations.
The school meets all the statutory requirements.

Lots of state schools get funded which don't do half of that.

here's the link

It's by no means a fulsome report - for example teaching ranges from outstanding to inadequate - but there are schools getting funding which do a lot less. It also talks about pupils feeling safe, bulling not being an issue and children acquiring a knowledge and understand of their own and other cultures. Bullying is an issue in lots of schools.

When you read the Ofsted report it doesn't look like a school for odd, tinfoil hat wearing, gnome-loving lunatics. You'd think it might be mentioned.

Steiner blindness has set in! Fascinating how people quote ofsted when it appears to support them, but dismiss them when it doesn't!

What me? Do you think all Ofsted reports are worthless?

Is there are reason why you're being rude by the way?

I have met people who have had major issues with the Kings Langley Steiner school. Ofsted only get a snap shot and the OFSTED inspection of a private school is nowhere near as vigorous as a state school.

" The quality of teaching is satisfactory. At times teaching does not involve pupils sufficiently in their learning. "

That is pretty damning. "Satisfactory" is OFSTEDese means poor and now means "requires improvement".

Now that's worth saying.

However the teaching was good enough to match or exceed national academic expectations. That's better than many, many schools.

If that ofsted was of a normal state school, people would be saying avoid it like the plague. And it's an inspection of an independent school which are less rigorous than inspections of state schools.

In addition, if we are going to withdraw state funding from every school that parents have issues with, we aren't going to have very many left.

I don't think people would be saying avoid it like the plague. And don't forget that quite a few of those children might be like my son - ie not really suited to an academic education.

Well the thread has moved on from being mainly people who dislike Steiner schools posting, to some people of the contrary opinion posting.

few alas seem to be interested in the question I am actually posing which is:-

1. Given there are a number of Steiner Free Schools

1. Given that there was a proposal to set up a Steiner free school in Islington

1. Given that the proposers were locally based parents (and free schools are supposed to be parent lead)

1. Given that they appear to have evidence of demand.

Why was a site worth three million pounds not given to them, but to an initiative by a (highly profitable), with profit company, supported by Swiss investors, which as there is a local surplus of school places could not have shown demand?

Curlew, do you mean me both dismissing Ofsted and supporting them? Do you think all Ofsted inspections of independent schools are worthless?

No it's only me nLondonDad. Don't get your hopes up. Everyone else is awfully meh if not worse.

You seem very keen for someone else to make a possibly contentious statement. Why do you think that happened?

Steiner survivors' group

www.waldorfcritics.org/survivors.html