‘Where else could you learn about the politics of the middle east and how to make an axe in a forge?’

Kent current has spoken to a pupil who studied in both mainstream and Steiner schools about Ofsted’s recent crackdown on ‘hippy schools’.

The uncertainty surrounding Steiner schools was sparked after a series of sudden Ofsted inspections found three of their schools ‘inadequate’, causing many to debate whether the state should be funding Steiner schools.

Some parents described this as a “witch hunt” following Education Secretary Damian Hinds decision to order urgent inspections of all Steiner schools in a letter to Ofsted’s chief inspector.

Reports for the Frome and Bristol Steiner academies are due to be published by the end of the week and have already been shared with parents, many of which have criticised the comments.

Concerns raised in the Frome report include include safeguarding, bullying and lack of support for children with special educational needs and disabilities.

Daisy Forster, 18 from Sussex attended the longest running Steiner school in the world, known as the Michael Hall School, for three years.

 She enrolled after facing bullying at her state secondary school.

She said: “I didn’t have many friends and felt very isolated in such a big year group, without many teachers who I felt like I could go to.

“I felt like I was lost in a crowd and didn’t really get much recognition both pastorally and academically.

“One of the things I adored about Steiner Schools is their incredible relationship and communication between teacher and student.

“Lessons were much more conversational and this really stimulated me to think critically and be creative”

Daisy responded to the pressing safeguarding issues raised by Ofsted by saying the officials “just don’t understand Steiner schools”.

“Steiner parents choose to send their children to a Steiner school for a reason, because they want their child to be able to dip in ponds that aren’t fenced off and to be able to climb trees.

“I understand the concerns… but every Steiner parent recognises that the freedom the children have to explore and discover is probably the thing they find most appealing about the school.

“I think Ofsted just need to leave it alone, because if the parent is happy, then they shouldn’t have anything to worry about.”

Despite enjoying her time at Steiner school, Daisy chose to return to state education on completion of her GCSEs.

“I moved back to a state school to study my A-Levels as I didn’t think I had the discipline to be able to do well while also juggling the Steiner curriculum.

“As well as this, Steiner schools are smaller and they didn’t offer some of the courses that I was considering studying.”

On her move back to state education Daisy quickly noticed the difference in teaching between the two systems, and struggled to settle in to a less open environment.

“I had quite a shock moving back to a state school after the three years spent in a Steiner.

“Lessons were much more conversational and this really stimulated me to think critically and be creative, now my lessons are more of a lecture style and the relationship with teachers is much more formal, which I don’t like so much.

“In my Steiner school if I ever had a complaint I would feel completely comfortable to feedback to the school and more often or not something would change. We even convinced them to provide WiFi.

“At my new school, there is no real student council for us to feedback to management and complaints are never taken seriously, which makes me feel like I have no voice when I have come from such an open environment.”

However, in terms of academic achievement, comparisons can be drawn from Daisy’s memories and the recent Ofsted reports.

“Without doubt I have flourished more academically in a state school. When I joined Michael Hall in year nine I really noticed that the syllabus lagged behind what I had been learning in my old school

“This being said, I still think I achieved as best GCSE grades as I would have done anywhere else, when I say I ‘flourished more academically’ in a state school, this can only mean my success in the accordance to the National Curriculum, which doesn’t necessarily reflect how well I was progressing.

“Personally, I think I needed the extra push and pressure that a state schools gives you in order to achieve your potential, which is something that the Steiner ethos does not provide.

“However, the knowledge and understanding I learned about the world in general through Steiner education was second to none, and my debate and questioning skills flourished so much there.

“Where else could you learn about the politics of the middle east and how to make an axe in a forge?”