Steiner schools failing to protect children should be shut down, Ofsted says

Staff at one institution blamed pupils with special educational needs for all its problems

Amanda Spielman, Ofsted boss, has called on the government to take urgent action (PA)

The government should consider shutting down Steiner schools which fail to protect children and provide them with a high quality education, the schools’ watchdog has said.

Amanda Spielman, Ofsted’s chief inspector, has urged the education secretary to investigate whether the underlying principles of Steiner education have led to “common failures".

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 Austrian-born philosopher Rudolf Steiner, give as much focus to children’s spiritual, emotional and creative development as their ability to master the three Rs.

Ms Spielman's warning came after inspectors found that children with special education needs and disabilities (SEND) were disproportionately excluded or absent in some Steiner schools.

In one case, staff and senior leaders blamed pupils with SEND for all the problems in the school.

In a letter to Damian Hinds, Ms Spielman wrote that six of the nine Steiner schools recently inspected were found to be “inadequate”, while three were deemed as requring improvement.

The inspections revealed “common weaknesses” in Steiner schools, which include both state-funded academies and private schools. Ofsted described these as “deeply concerning”.

Ms Spielman said that inspectors had witnessed “inappropriate physical handling” of children and a failure to make appropriate referrals when pupils were at risk of harm.

Some of the schools did not have an adequate system for checking if students are absent, while some had not carried out the appropriate to checks to ensure staff are safe to work with children.

Inspectors also found that senior leaders had created a culture where it was difficult for parents to raise concerns, leaving them feeling “ostracised and intimidated”.

Ms Spielman wrote: “In many cases, the children attending [these schools] are inadequately safeguarded and are receiving a poor quality of education."

She also called on Mr Hinds to close all inadequate Steiner schools that fail to show improvement.

The Department for Education closed the Rudolf Steiner School Kings Langley in Hertfordshire over the summer following a series of damning Ofsted reports.

In response to the letter, Mr Hinds said: "Where any independent school fails to meet the independent school standards, we will take robust action; and we will move academies that are deemed inadequate to new sponsors where necessary. We will continue our work with Ofsted to act quickly to ensure no pupil experiences a substandard education."

Steiner Waldorf Schools Fellowship, which represents all 31 Steiner schools and 14 independent early years settings in the UK and Ireland, said: “It is a matter of deep regret when individual schools fail in their duties. There is no compromise where the welfare of pupils is concerned.”

They added: “Whilst we celebrate the good outcome for Steiner Academy Hereford, we are disappointed that six schools have been judged as inadequate and have taken immediate action to ensure that standards rapidly improve as per Ms Spielman’s recommendations.”