Free school in South London - Steiner

[dontpanic]

Hi All,

We are the Waldorf School of South West London

We are starting the process of applying to become a free school. This means we would be able to offer our education for free to locals in a new site. This site may well be in the East Dulwich or Southwark area. If you have young children, please consider taking a moment to fill out our survey so that we can see demand and what you want in this area.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/FreeSchool

We are currently temporarily based in Streatham, after losing a long term lease on Tooting Common, we are a small school with a very close and active community of parents and teachers. Our school has been in existence for over twenty years, and we are investigating all avenues for securing a site for our school that would allow us to make our ideal school building and environment. One of the priorities for this, in line with the Steiner ethos of the school, is to have close and constant access to green space......

To put us into context you may want to see our website: http://waldorflondon.co.uk/ . Briefly: we are applying for free school status, we are committed to supporting a broad range and diversity of families (we currently offer quite a few bursaries), we are very local-community based, and and we run playgroups for preschool children, both at our current premises and as an outside-based group in the local parks and woods. We have a diverse and active group of parents, and our clear vision for our future is to provide a great city-based education for our children.

[sophiechristophy]

I am interested to see that you haven't (as far as I have found) included anything on your website about Steiner philosophy. Can you tell me why that is?

[Carbonara]

There is so little capacity, financially and site availability, for new secondary schools that I would actively campaign against a Steiner School in the area.

Anthroposophy would be one of my reasons for objecting.

[Curmudgeon]

I would join Carbonara in vociferously opposing the opening of a Waldorf Steiner school in Southwark

[heber jumble queen]

I'm afraid I'm another one who would oppose it quite strongly too.

[prickle]

I am not opposed to Steiner schools per se, but strongly opposed to free schools.

[Coach Beth]

I think the Steiner approach is very interesting and kids I've known who have gone through Steiner education are confident and creative individuals. But I'm not in favour of free schools - I feel they drain resources for all. On a purely selfish note, we could never, ever follow Steiner thinking around not letting children watch any TV (except for the occasional treat!) - I know it's not great but we are definately a TV/media household and my kid would never be accepted into a Steiner school based on this alone!

[dontpanic]

Note: our school asks you to read a brief on why TV not needed for very young before enrolling. That's all. We do get asked not to let them watch anything really crazy before an important day. Perfectly reasonable and a relief that they don't spend all day talking about XYZ TV programme.

Just helps keep it all in perspective.

[dulwichgirl2]

Why so negative everyone? Is the current provision so spectacular that you can't conceive of better? Aren't there frequent threads on here complaining about inflexible schooling failing to provide for all children? Surely increasing the range of education on offer would address some at least of these concerns?

I didn't attend a Steiner school but I know a few people who did and I wouldn't dismiss a further local option for education out of hand as previous posters are doing, unfairly perhaps?

[Carbonara]

I can conceive of more-as-good-as-the-best-of-what-we-have, and indeed better alternatives, yes.

But my research into Steiner schooling leads me to believe that it is based on The Right Sort of Families buying into what is at best woo and at worst a very dubious set of values and practices rooted in some horrific beliefs of the founder.

I have separate objections ot Free Schools, but agree that they divert resources.

[Dorothy]

Ah yes, have been waiting for this announcement since James Barber's strangely indecipherable post on the general thread about secondary schools. I'm sorry but you'll have to put me down as another strong opponent.

[Saffron]

I'm with dulwichgirl2. RE: Why so negative? Can anyone explain in a non-biased way why opposeing free schools is beneficial? It seems like cutting off the nose to spite the face. Surely it plays into the council's hands in a way. I mean, the real problem is that government needs to allocate more resources for schoola. Simply excluding free schools gives the council an 'easy out' from tackling the real problem, no?

I don't dig the Steiner philosophy personally, but equally I'm not opposed to it. It's not intrinsically bad or evil. For comparison, if you're not Christian, then C of E schools seem pretty far-fetched in their philosophy too.

[prickle]

"I mean, the real problem is that government needs to allocate more resources for schoola. Simply excluding free schools gives the council an 'easy out' from tackling the real problem, no?"

Saffron, not sure what you mean by the council getting an 'easy out' but both academies and free schools (a type of academy) are not in the council's control at all. All their funding comes from the central govt and are run as independent from the local council.

Here is a clear and impartial explanation from the BBC website (can't get more unbiased than the bbc ;-))

bbc website

The reason I oppose the free school system is that it allows anybody with their own agenda be it Steiner, religious group, self-publicist (Toby Young or Katherine Babilsingh) to set up a school in their image. This is not the way to run a school system. For instance KB has moved her free school from Kennington to Tooting simply because she could not get the premises that she wanted. Its not about what school is needed in a community at all! (sorry the last bit may have been a bit biased).

[Saffron]

prickle Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> "I mean, the real problem is that government needs

> to allocate more resources for schoola. Simply

> excluding free schools gives the council an 'easy

> out' from tackling the real problem, no?"

>

> Saffron, not sure what you mean by the council

> getting an 'easy out' but both academies and free

> schools (a type of academy) are not in the

> council's control at all. All their funding comes

> from the central govt and are run as independent

> from the local council.

>

Sorry that's just an egregious typo! I meant to type 'government' (as in central government), not council (as in local).

[Saffron]

prickle Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

>

> The reason I oppose the free school system is that

> it allows anybody with their own agenda be it

> Steiner, religious group, self-publicist (Toby

> Young or Katherine Babilsingh) to set up a school

> in their image. This is not the way to run a

> school system.

from the bbc article:

"There have also been fears that the changes will give too much freedom to faith schools or fundamentalist agendas - for example that they would allow the teaching of Creationism. These have been dismissed by the Education Secretary Michael Gove. He says to reach the necessary "funding agreement" with the government, a school will have to show that its curriculum is broad and balanced."

So that doesn't seem too bad?

[prickle]

Well, Gove would say that wouldn't he? Or am I being too cynical?

ETA Also personally, I think all schools should be secular so would disagree with any system which would go against that.

[Saffron]

So where does that leave C of E schools?

I don't know yet if I'm for or against the free school policy. I think I'll actually have to see it played out before I can decide.

[bibimax]

Decided to work out what a free school is - because I assumed all schools are free (of course apart from private) so the title is confusing....also looked at what steiner means - found this article -

http://www.localschoolsnetwork.org.uk/2011/03/steiner-schools-fail-to-get-free-school-funding-for-this-year-at-least/

Basically no funding for steiner schools 2011...seems the govt need to look into this more...

ALSO....Steiner schools were founded by the Austrian mystic Rudolf Steiner, who held racist ideas, believing black people were of ?childhood? and Asian people were ?degenerate?.

[Curmudgeon]

dulwichgirl2 Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I didn't attend a Steiner school but I know a few

> people who did and I wouldn't dismiss a further

> local option for education out of hand as previous

> posters are doing, unfairly perhaps?

ANTHROPOSOPHY

Groups and groups of 'Steiner Survivors' including support forums

[mattpearson]

Here is an article about the planned Steiner School in Frome http://bit.ly/wxgWS3, showing the rather eccentric ideas upon which they are founded.

[Curmudgeon]

http://www.dcscience.net/?p=3528 is just one of the sites discussing Steiner 'education' that is interesting as a jumping off point in terms of why people 'may' be opposed to the Steiner philosophy. Of course each individual must investigate for themselves and make their own decisions over the analysis.

I find the 'categorisation of children' half-way down illuminating .. http://www.dcscience.net/The_Four_Temperaments_Rudolf_Steiner.jpg

[Carbonara]

I know 2 families who have had children in Steiner schools, one in the N of England, one in Scandinavia. Both experienced horrible problems with bullying undealt with by staff. I have no idea whether all schools or indeed individual teachers subscribe to all the original elements of the 'system', but one of those is that children sort out problems between themselves and learn to do so and that adults must not intervene for fear of damaging the child's own self (I forget the Steiner-jargon word for it - roughly 'karma').

I also have no idea whether individual schools or teachers subscribe to the rules of no black paint to be used in art class, no figurative drawing, just layers of watercolours, no faces on dolls, every day starting with 'eurythmic' dancing, etc. I guess all of those things have their own benefits, and are at least harmless, but if that system of categorisation is in use in any way at all I would have strong objections to public money being used to support it.

I do not happen to support state funded faith schools, either, but sadly Blunkett and now the Free School movement makes it a free for all for a variety of beliefs.

As for letting it 'play out' before we can make a decision, once all the money available for state funded education has been poured into Steiner schools and Birbalsingh's vanity project, Creationist schools and Latin-speaking Academies, there will be no more money left for a decent local co-ed which caters for parents of mainstream belief who want a broad and balanced secular curriculum available to all. Either support it or object - letting it 'play out' is fence sitting.

[Saffron]

Yes, perhaps it is fence sitting, but I don't personally see that as a bad thing in this case. Available monies from the state are neither a finite nor an infinite source of funding, but rather are part of system that can be flexible over the long-term. Nevertheless, somehow I can't help feeling like this thread has slid somewhat off topic from what the OP intended when starting it, although I find the discussion endlessly fascinating! Best of luck with your plans to forumite dontpanic.

[Sanne Panne]

To avoid hijacking this thread I'm wondering if anyone remembers a good discussion that was had on here about why it is ok to have church schools at all? I'm not from the UK and always wondered, please let's not start the discussion here but if there is a thread can we revive it and if there isn't one I'm happy to start one.

[prickle]

'As for letting it 'play out' before we can make a decision, once all the money available for state funded education has been poured into Steiner schools and Birbalsingh's vanity project, Creationist schools and Latin-speaking Academies, there will be no more money left for a decent local co-ed which caters for parents of mainstream belief who want a broad and balanced secular curriculum available to all. Either support it or object - letting it 'play out' is fence sitting.'

totally agree, carbonara