Ministers urged to order fresh inspections of all Steiner schools amid fresh child safety fears

Posted on: 2018-10-20 21:00:00

The Steiner Academy Exeter was warned by the government this week that it could have its funding cut off, after Ofsted 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, which emphasises child creativity and the importance of rearing free spirited individuals.

But there are fears that the safeguarding failures unmasked at two Steiner schools raise questions about the movement as a whole.

The majority of fee-paying Steiner schools in England are inspected by the School Inspection Service (SIS), an independent organisation whose inspectors are trained in the Steiner ethos.

There is mounting concern about the suitability of the SIS to inspect Steiner schools and hold them to account on their shortcomings, The Sunday Telegraph understands.

RSSKL used to be inspected by the SIS but as safeguarding fears mounted, ministers ordered Ofsted to take over. Ofsted can only inspect private Steiner schools when commissioned by the DfE to do so.

"It is clearly the case that RSSKL were getting away with inadequate safeguarding under the SIS,” a source close to the Steiner movement said.

“It may be that other Steiner Schools have failing safeguarding cultures that the SIS have also not identified. Ofsted should definitely step in to make sure that children are safe in all Steiner Schools."

The former head of Ofsted, Mike Tomlinson, said: “There is a potential pattern emerging and a potential risk to children. If I was chief inspector I would be urging the Department to give me a brief to inspect them all, not necessarily for everything but particularly for safeguarding.

“If they don’t, and something happens in the Steiner school, clearly there will be some serious questions to be answered by the Department and its ministers.”

Richy Thompson, director of public affairs and policy at Humanists UK, added that ministers should “urgently review whether similar issues are at play in the all Steiner schools".

An investigation by The Sunday Telegraph last year revealed that inspectors have raised concerns about safeguarding at almost half of Steiner schools in the country in recent years.

An Ofsted spokesperson said that following its recent inspection of the Steiner Academy, Exeter, it regional director raised his “serious concerns” about the school and “immediate steps” were taken to close it down temporarily.

A spokesman for the Steiner Waldorf Schools Fellowship (SWSF), the umbrella organisation which runs 35 Steiner schools in the UK and Ireland, said that they take child protection issues “extremely seriously”. “It is a matter of deep regret when individual schools fail in these duties,” the spokesman said.

“There is no compromise where the welfare of pupils in concerned.” The spokesman said that the SWSF is taking action internally to ensure there is no “pattern” of safeguarding issues across its schools.

“The SWSF has appointed a team of quality care advisers to complete its own independent compliance checks, in-line with the standards set out by the Government,” they said.

A spokesman for the Steiner Academy Exeter 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.

“We want to reassure parents that we as a school are doing everything possible to address the concerns raised by Ofsted.” RSSKL's most recent leadership has “apologised to children and families who were let down by the school for a range of past failings”.

A DfE 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”. The SIS said they are approved by the DfE as an independent inspectorate.

Source: The Telegraph

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