STATEMENT FROM THE STEINER WALDORF SCHOOLS FELLOWSHIP

STATEMENT FROM THE STEINER WALDORF SCHOOLS FELLOWSHIP

The Steiner Waldorf Schools Fellowship (SWSF), which has operated in the UK and Ireland since 1953, acknowledges the important role Ofsted fulfils and welcomes its honest, informed feedback to guide school improvement.

Steiner Waldorf schools across the UK and Ireland are run independently from SWSF, each with their own governing body. SWSF instils a shared responsibility across its network of 31 Steiner Waldorf schools and 14 independent early years’ settings.

The executive at SWSF 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. Our role is to provide guidance to schools in order for them to ensure all standards are in-line with the requirements set out by the Department for Education (DfE).

“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.

“SWSF proactively sought and agreed to meetings with both DfE officials and Ofsted prior to Ms Spielman’s findings and will continue to make the vital changes required.

“We have appointed a team of four quality care advisers to complete our own independent compliance checks so that all schools continue to uphold DfE regulations and requirements.”

SWSF welcomes regular and robust inspection to ensure that its schools are both adequately safeguarded and providing high-quality teaching built on the internationally valued principles of Waldorf education.

ENDS

Notes to editors:

The underlying values that SWSF is built upon have driven success for over a century. As part of the largest independent school movement in the world, with over 1,100 Waldorf schools and almost 2,000 Waldorf kindergartens in some 80 countries around the globe, SWSF has found no common pitfalls in its method of teaching.