Like most institutions, Norwich Steiner School has been through some turbulent and difficult experiences during its early development, some of which have been written about on the internet.
Below are statements and information from the school relating to these.
Family that left the school in December 2012
Headline “Threatened family leaves Norwich Steiner School”
This concerned a family that withdrew its children in December 2012. The school wanted to resolve the situation so that the children could return to school and provided support to help the parents submit a formal complaint. Once the school had a full understanding of the parents’ complaint, investigations were carried out and a formal and thorough written response was provided. However, the school received no further communication of any kind from the parents.
The school does not agree that the version of events as portrayed on the Internet, is either accurate or complete.
Employment tribunal 2009-2011
Many Internet listings about this, including the Telegraph
In 2009, a series of events occurred, which led to a member of staff resigning and later serving notice on the school of their intention of taking the school to an employment tribunal.
The tribunal eventually took place in March 2011, with the judgment being released in July 2011. An out of court settlement took place in October 2011 with the cost to the school being £13,000. The school’s insurance company covered all other costs.
A few weeks later, on Wednesday 9th November 2011, the School received an unannounced visit from the Chief Inspector of the Schools Inspection Service. This was in response to a request from the Department for Education following an article that appeared in the Telegraph in July 2011. The Chief Inspector’s remit was to find out what had gone wrong in 2009 and to check our Child Protection Procedures, especially those in the Kindergarten. A copy of his report following that visit may be read here.
The school learnt a great deal from the experiences of 2009 and has consequently developed more robust procedures in many key areas, including safeguarding, personnel and training. Formal government inspections of the school have been consistently complimentary and have praised various aspects of the school’s administration and teaching.
Any parents interested in this school, but with any outstanding questions relating to the above or any other matter, please do feel free to ask.