Please talk to me about Steiner Schools

[DoTheBestThingsInLifeHaveFleas]

Hi there

Please bear with me, I may ramble....

There is a Steiner School opening near to where I live. It will open when DD is due to start school. I do not know much about them apart from the prospectus information and an informal chat with the headmaster. It will be a free school funded by the local government. Initially I like the ethos, but do have some concerns.

My DP and I were both state educuated and feel massively let down by the system and that it really prevented us from making more of our lives. Only our wonderful parents support ensured we are where we are today, and although we both take personal responsibility for our actions, we want better for our DD. I really do not want her going to a school where the kids make you feel that 'learning is for geeks and saddos' and that she has to be naughty and rude just to try and fit in (Yes this is what I felt I had to do and until I started to behave badly to try and fit in life at school was unbearable. And yes I am bitter!!!) or aspiring to be a WAG when she grows up. DP was the other extreme and one of the ones who made my life miserable. He is a bright and intelligent person, and was bored and under stretched at school and so started trouble and distracted others. Again we both take personal responsibility for our actions, but really at 12 - 16 years old it's hard to understand the impact you are having on your life.

So anyway, do we go for a private school, which will be very hard financially (although a sacrifice we are willing to make) and also have its pitfalls, or could a Steiner school be the right move? Any comments welcome, thank you in advance.

[OTheHugeManatee]

I'm definitely not a Steiner troll, Aitch

I'm not a frothy advocate for them either - my own experience had bad as well as good. But really it's just a faith school with an emphasis on art, albeit with a less conventional faith than the usual ones.

That said, is it really odder to believe in reincarnation than it is to celebrate the fact that we nailed our God to a plank and drink his blood for purification?

If you're against faith schools full stop though Steiner is probably not for you

[worldgonecrazy]

I've just really annoyed myself because one of my main bugbears with the education system in this country is the focus on passing exams and being academic. I dislike that I've used it to justify why a school can be considered "good", i.e. academically succesful = good school, poor academically = bad school.

So what about those children who aren't academic, who have talents that lie elsewhere? What can a school offer them? Perhaps we should be considering these questions too? I know that DD's school has a business which the non-academics help run and have a fabulous time doing so. (Probably why the school has turned out a few accountants recently?) Will a school encourage focus on encouraging all its pupils to succeed in life (if not exams), or will it, as some schools do, manipulate school/exam attendance in order to boost league ratings and pay no attention to those pupils who are not going to help the school get a good "grade"? Perhaps these are more important questions than whether a school is state/grammar/Steiner/private/public?

[seeker]

I agree, worldgonecrazy. But it was you started posting misleading statistics! You can't have it both ways.

[seeker]

What's aggressive about pointing out that somebody has posted misleading stats? I think a lot of what Steiner schools do is fantastic- but academic achievement is not one of their strengths- which is fine. But it's use pretending it is. As I said-you can't have it both ways!

[Justfornowitwilldo]

How can you look at university entrance for a school that doesn't teach A levels

[worldgonecrazy]

I didn't take seeker's comments as aggresive. I don't think my stats are any more misleading than any other stats. Academic achievement is one of the strengths of DD's school if it's borne in mind that this school does not hot house or put any academic pressures on the children. But as I said in my last post, I really don't want to be using academic achievement to big-up a school and I am annoyed with myself and not anybody else, for using this argument.

justfornowitwilldo the figure for university entrance is based on where alumni of the school move on to once they have taken their A levels.

[Periwinkle007]

OP - I know nothing about them and haven't read all the comments BUT I would say that in any school you can have the problem with feeling that to fit in you have to not study etc. even in private schools.

The best way to prevent this affecting your daughter is to teach her confidence and self respect. Teach her that education is hugely important and that she should value the opportunities she has and how she will need her education to get on in life. Teach her to ignore people who try to bring her down and that she should be confident in herself and her beliefs so that she can do her own thing and not feel she has to be a sheep and copy them.

[Patchouli]

worldgonecrazy, do all the students take the exams, or just those who opt in?

[worldgonecrazy]

patchouli Do you mean, does the school encourage pupils who aren't going to pass/get a good grade to pull out of the exam (as happens in some schools to keep pass rates high)? Then the answer to that is no.

[seeker]

OP- what I suggest you do is have a look at your local schools. Things have changed a lot since you were at school. Loads of children go to state schools and are happy and achieve. Bullying, attempts to fit in and all the other negative things you list happen in all schools. Don't write off an entire sector because of your experiences.

[Justfornowitwilldo]

I can't see anything about how many GCSEs they take. It says 4 in year 10 and the rest in Year 11.

I've never seen a school give stats based on teaching it didn't do. It seems odd to me.

[seeker]

They take an average of 6.2 GCSEs according to the DFES league tables.

[Patchouli]

Yes that's sort of what I meant worldgonecrazy.
But perhaps more that they choose to enter exams if they've got the ability to pass. I was wondering if for the 30-35 pupils taking exams, there might be another 10 or so not.

[seeker]

Only 25 took GCSEs last years.

I'm sorry, worldgonecrazy- but it's important to get these things right.

[mrz]

I'm assuming it is Elmfield? if you look at the DfE data it says 56% achieved 5 good GCSEs

[seeker]

Mrz- I think the posts suggesting otherwise have been withdrawn

[worldgonecrazy]

The posts were withdrawn because I felt it gave too much information and would pinpoint my DD's school. As it is a small school it might "out" me in real life.

[mrz]

very different to the school's claims

[seeker]

Ah.

I think the school has been thoroughly identified- perhaps the OP could ask for the thread to be deleted and then post another one and we will only talk in general terms about Steiner school's academic achievements? I don't think the school could have been identified from your stats, frankly- they were so very different from the DFeS ones.

[FannyMcNally]

Does a government-funded Steiner school have to show progress like state schools? It's a bit unfair on us in state primaries having to drum phonics, literacy and maths into 5 year olds and reap the consequences for 'failures' while a free Steiner school won't even have to teach formal reading skills until 7.

[seeker]

I don't think Free Schools have to toe the line as rigorously....

[mrsbaffled]

Steer well clear of Steiner.

[TheHumancatapult]

ruprept

not always true ds3 been turned down for ms as to complex but turned down for sn as to able .We have been to see steiner school and they are very open to idea of ds3 attending