'Steady progress' for Rudolf Steiner school threatened with closure

Small steps of progress are being made under the new leadership at a school that was threatened with closure.
Rudolf Steiner School is under new leadership and is being given a radical overhaulRudolf Steiner School is under new leadership and is being given a radical overhaul
Rudolf Steiner School is under new leadership and is being given a radical overhaul

Rudolf Steiner School, in Kings Langley, still ‘requires improvement’ according to its latest Ofsted progress monitoring report – but it is starting to head in the right direction.

Inspectors found that improvements across the school have ‘accelerated’ since September, though teaching quality remains ‘too variable and pupil progress is not good’.

But the report also found that safeguarding is now effective, pupil behaviour has improved, teachers are ‘more focused’ and ‘more professional boundaries’ have been put in place across the school.

Inspectors found the principal and new trustees have had an ‘immediate and substantial impact on setting the cultural direction of the school’.

A school spokesman said: “We recognised in August that there was significant work to do to restore faith and confidence in the school and as the Ofsted report demonstrates, significant improvements have been made. There is much more work to be done in the weeks and months ahead.”

It is unclear whether the Secretary of State for Education is still intent on removing Rudolf Steiner from the Register for Independent Schools – as reported by the Gazette back in August – following its small shoots of recovery.

Meanwhile, former Steiner teacher Denis McCarthy, who was sacked by the school in January 2017 for ‘gross misconduct’ has withdrawn an employment tribunal claim against the school.