Evidence of Steiner consultants input into curriculum redesign at SAB
Dear Steiner Academy Bristol,
Please provide specific, detailed documentary evidence of the input from Steiner consultants into curriculum redesign at the academy formally known as Steiner Academy Bristol, as outlined on Page 7 of the Grant Offer Letter for Emergency Funding (grant reference GR1000119, DFE Reference X231).
Yours faithfully,
Ms Darling
Dear Katie
I am emailing to confirm that we have received your Freedom of Information
request to:
"specific, detailed documentary evidence of the input from Steiner
consultants into curriculum redesign at the academy formally known as
Steiner Academy Bristol, as outlined on Page 7 of the Grant Offer Letter
for Emergency Funding (grant reference GR1000119, DFE Reference X231)."
We will begin processing this immediately.
Following the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act we have 20 school working
days from the date of request (14th November 2019) to either:
* Provide you with the information you have requested
OR
* If we are unable to provide this information. To inform you as to why
we can't provide the data referring to a relevant exemption in the FOI
Act.
Following this you should expect a response by no later than the 12th
December 2019.
If you have any questions at this time, please let me know.
Yours sincerely
-
Joseph Atkinson
Data Officer
Steiner Academy Bristol
Dear Ms Darling
I'm emailing in response to your Freedom of Information request for:
"specific, detailed documentary evidence of the input from Steiner
consultants into curriculum redesign at the academy formally known as
Steiner Academy Bristol, as outlined on Page 7 of the Grant Offer Letter
for Emergency Funding (grant reference GR1000119, DFE Reference X231)."
Below I have attached details of the planned curriculum review, which was
shared with our parent body on the 21st November 2019.
Details regarding who is involved in the review team are enclosed,
including details regarding two Steiner Consultants:
* Dr. Richard Pountney - Expert in Steiner Education
* Adrian Dow - Headteacher of Steiner School, Greenwich
The curriculum review has not formally started yet and the school is
scheduled to have its first meeting regarding the review as of the 22nd
January 2020.
I hope this helps, if you have any further queries please let me know.
Many thanks
-
Joseph Atkinson
Dear Data Officer,
Thank you but this is not the information I requested. The grant offer letter I refer to and the curriculum review I refer to are both in the past. I am asking for information on the Steiner expert(s) input into the review as funded by the emergency funding Strategic School Improvement Fund of circa £120k.
Additionally, please correct me if I am wrong, but I do not see any evidence to suggest Richard Pountney is a Steiner expert. His academic expertise is in Higher Education, professional development and technology. I understand he was paid by the Steiner Waldorf Schools Fellowship to undertake a review for them, but he is not (as far as I am aware) a Steiner expert, or even an early years or primary/secondary school expert. See his profile here:
https://www.shu.ac.uk/about-us/our-peopl...
Adrian Dow trained and worked in the state sector for over 16 years and trained/moved into Steiner education in 2012.
Yours sincerely,
Ms Darling
Dear Ms Darling
The curriculum redesign has not formally started yet, therefore we do not
have any data on what specific input Steiner experts are having at this
time.
In terms of the definition of a Steiner expert, this is separate from the
FOI request and would be something that would need to be highlighted to
The Avanti Trust. I would be happy to pass these concerns on if you would
like me to?
Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns.
Many thanks
-
Joseph Atkinson
Dear Data Officer,
Thank you for this response. I'm asking about the past not the present. The DfE released £123k to CLF and the school to spend on improvement between Jan 2019 and Sept 2019. Part of that £123k was earmarked in the documentation to be spent on Steiner experts consulting about the curriculum. I am asking for detailed evidence that this took place and exactly how this happened.
Ref: The Grant Offer Letter for Emergency Funding (grant reference GR1000119, DFE Reference X231).
Yours sincerely,
Ms Darling
Dear Ms Darling
Apologies, I believed this to be relating to the upcoming curriculum
redesign and not relating to the School Improvement Plan supported by
Cabot Learning Federation.
I will have to review this and get back to you as soon as possible. This
may be information that is actually held by CLF, however I can not say for
certain at this moment.
We will be back in touch shortly.
Many thanks
-
Joseph Atkinson
Dear Ms Darling
I have talked to Cabot Learning Federation (CLF) regarding the above
request. It is my understanding that the same request was made to CLF and
I will share the overview of the results of this FOI below.
According to CLF, during the time period you are referring to (Jan 2019
and Sep 2019), no curriculum redesign took place and no Steiner experts
were commissioned or involved in a curriculum redesign. The Academy
Management Committee decided this work should not happen until the new
trust (Avanti) were in place in order to allow them to determine the
curriculum vision. According to CLF, the funding identified for the
curriculum work will be returned to the DFE.
Documentation for this information is held by CLF and not Avanti Gardens
(formlery Steiner Academy Bristol). Therefore any requests for specific
documentation regarding this needs to be made to CLF directly.
The planned curriculum redesign is now being led by the Avanti Schools
Trust with the help of Steiner consultants, details of which have been
shared previously. However, as I have explained before, this redesign has
yet to formally begin and will be taking place in the new year.
I hope this helps. Thank you for your patience in receiving a reply and if
there is anything else I can do to help, please let me know.
Many thanks
-
Joseph Atkinson
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