York Steiner School

Overview

This progress monitoring inspection found that the school “does not meet all of the independent school standards that were checked.” Although leaders have begun addressing previous failures and submitted an accepted action plan, their work is “in its infancy and is not yet embedded.” Consequently, the standards identified as unmet in the previous inspection “remain unmet,” particularly regarding curriculum coherence, teaching quality, and leadership consistency.

Strengths

• Safeguarding arrangements are effective, with pupils feeling “safe and well cared for” and staff recording concerns “promptly and accurately.”
• The school fosters a “welcoming and inclusive” environment where pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities learn alongside peers in a “mutually supportive, collegiate and respectful manner.”
• Recruitment procedures are “robust,” ensuring staff suitability, and the single central record is “fully compliant.”
• The curriculum is “rooted in nature,” offering practical and outdoor learning opportunities, with older pupils working towards qualifications.
• The accessibility plan “sufficiently considers pupils with physical disabilities” and aligns with the Equality Act 2010.

Areas to improve

• Leaders must ensure the curriculum is coherently sequenced, as some learning sequences “lack coherence” and concepts do not clearly build from kindergarten to upper school.
• Staff require training to develop pupils’ foundational skills effectively, as some pupils “form letters incorrectly” and lack opportunities for independent writing practice.
• Teaching adaptations for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are inconsistent, with some tasks being “too difficult” and individual support plan targets lacking “precision.”

Safeguarding

The report states that safeguarding is effective, noting that “pupils feel safe and well cared for,” know how to report concerns, and that staff take “appropriate action following a concern to ensure pupils are safe.”