North London Rudolf Steiner School

Inspection of North London Rudolf Steiner School 1–3 Campsbourne, Hornsey, London N8 7PN

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Inadequate

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Overall effectiveness Good

Does the school meet the independent school standards?

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What is it like to attend this school?

Children arrive happily each morning and settle quickly. They enjoy daily routines, such as ‘ring time’, when they join together to sing, tell stories and share their ideas. Staff make sure that children are safe and very well cared for.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Children behave well. They develop high levels of confidence and self-esteem. This helps them to learn and play together effectively. Bullying is not an issue, but when minor disputes happen, staff help children to sort these out quickly and sensitively.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Children spend lots of time outdoors. They are rightly proud of their school garden and all that it offers. Children learn first hand about the environment, nature and the seasons. They take on responsibilities admirably. For example, they know that it is their job to keep the inventory of garden tools up to date. They check on the potatoes that they have planted and make sure that the sunflower seeds have enough water and sunlight to grow.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff know the children extremely well. They know what children need to learn and when. They all share high expectations of what children can achieve in each area of learning. Children’s language and communication skills develop well. They learn to use words correctly in real-life situations.

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better?

All staff have a deep and accurate understanding of each child’s learning and development. Staff work well with parents and carers to make sure that everyone knows children’s next steps.

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better?

Leaders have developed plans for what they want children to learn and when. Since the last inspection, leaders have thought carefully about what the older children need to learn to be prepared for their next schools. Children leave the school with strong foundations in reading and all other areas of learning.

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better?

Children remember very impressively what they have learned. This is because what they learn is almost always in context and relevant to them or their daily lives. Because staff provide many opportunities for children to revisit things, rehearse, repeat and practise, children build their knowledge securely. Children apply what they know to a range of situations, including in their imaginative and creative play. They think of their own ideas confidently.

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better?

Leaders prioritise children’s reading. Storytelling is an important part of what and how children learn at this school. Staff use these sessions effectively to capture children’s imagination and broaden their vocabulary. During the inspection, children listened so attentively to a story told by the headteacher, you could hear a pin drop. But their learning did not stop at the end of the story. In their own imaginative play, children used key words and phrases from the story accurately. They created their 18–20 May 2021

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own books based on what they had heard. Children retell their own stories to their friends with enthusiasm.

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Children learn about the world around them through a range of real-life jobs and projects. For example, they use numbers and scales on their homemade weather station to measure the rainfall and temperature. They record and compare their findings in charts. On a recent walk to Alexandra Palace, children worked together to construct a map. It identified key landmarks, including some of their homes.

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Through various festivals and celebrations, children find out about different cultures, faiths and backgrounds. Staff use resources, such as books and puppets, that promote equality and diversity. These enable children to begin to learn about different people and families.

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Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are very well supported, not only by the staff, who are knowledgeable, but also by their friends. Children behave well. They are kind to each other. They begin to understand how their actions might affect others. For example, in their own free play, children created a row of houses using wooden frames for the walls and cloths for the canopies. They became neighbours along a street. In their imaginative play, they exchanged good deeds, such as helping each other in return for baking cakes. Children learn how to share their things and wait their turn.

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Leaders know how they want to improve the school. They want to develop staff knowledge and skills, so that the curriculum is taught consistently well. However, their plans for improvement need to be more sharply focused on the quality of education. Leaders also need to strengthen their plans for how they intend to support staff to take on the proposed new roles and responsibilities.

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Trustees bring skills and expertise to the school. They ensure that leaders are well supported. They make sure that the school meets the independent school standards and complies with schedule 10 of the Equality Act 2010. The school also complies with the applicable statutory requirements of the early years foundation stage. However, trustees’ involvement in school development planning is not as effective as the other things that they do. Their checks on the quality of education children receive are inconsistent.

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Staff are very positive about their work. Leaders support the staff team well. They are considerate of everyone’s workloads. Parents and carers are overwhelmingly positive about the school. All those who responded to Ofsted’s questionnaire, Parent View, said that they would recommend the school to others.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Staff understand how to keep children safe, including on walks in the local area and when they are learning outdoors. Leaders make sure that safeguarding is on the 18–20 May 2021

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agenda of every team meeting. Leaders have improved their lines of communication with the owners and managers of the premises. Together, they ensure that the site is safe.

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Staff help all children, in an age-appropriate way, to learn how to keep themselves safe. Children use a wide variety of tools and equipment safely and sensibly. Leaders work with parents to ensure that children use the internet safely at home.

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Leaders make sure that the safeguarding policy meets statutory requirements. The policy is available to parents via the website.

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

 Leaders intend for staff to take on different roles and responsibilities as the school continues to develop. However, their school improvement plans do not focus sufficiently on this. Leaders should sharpen their plans, so that everybody is clear about what needs to be done and by when. Leaders, including trustees, should set clear milestones by which to measure their successes.  Trustees offer both support and challenge to leaders. They know the school well. However, their checks on the quality of education are not as effective as other aspects of their work. Trustees’ involvement in school development planning is inconsistent. They should use their skills and expertise even more effectively to check for themselves the quality of education children receive.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to find out what other parents and carers think. We use Ofsted Parent View information when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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How can I feed back my views?

If you are the provider and you are not happy with the inspection or the report, you can complain to Ofsted . 18–20 May 2021

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School details

Unique reference number 102169 DfE registration number 309/6067

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School details

Inspection number 10193515 Type of school Other independent school

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School details

Email address info@rudolfsteiner.london.sch.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 7–9 May 2019 18–20 May 2021

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Information about this school

 North London Rudolf Steiner School is an independent school for children aged between three and six years. All children attend five mornings each week. The vast majority of children currently on roll are in the early years age group.  The school is located within a church building in Hornsey in north London. The owners of the building are responsible for premises management. The school does not employ those responsible for the safe upkeep of the site.  The school follows the early years foundation stage, with exemptions agreed with the Department for Education. The school is exempt from teaching the literacy requirements and has agreed modifications to elements of other early learning goals.  The school’s last standard inspection took place in May 2019. Ofsted subsequently carried out a progress monitoring inspection in October 2019.  The school uses no alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

We carried out this inspection under section 109(1) and (2) of the Education and Skills Act 2008. The purpose of the inspection is to advise the Secretary of State for Education about the school’s suitability for continued registration as an independent school.

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Information about this inspection

The school meets the independent school standards. These are the requirements set out in the schedule to the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors held meetings with senior leaders. Inspectors met teaching and support staff. The lead inspector met two trustees, including the chair of trustees.  Inspectors did deep dives in four areas of learning. These were: mathematics, understanding the world, personal, social and emotional development, and early reading, which included language and communication. In doing so, inspectors visited sessions, spoke with staff and children, and looked at records of children’s learning and achievements.  Inspectors met with parents at drop-off times and reviewed the 21 responses to Ofsted’s questionnaire, Parent View. Inspectors evaluated the responses to the staff survey.  Inspectors met with senior leaders to discuss the school’s safeguarding arrangements. Inspectors checked the single central register of staff suitability and other documentation related to safeguarding matters.  Inspectors considered a range of documentation and toured the premises to

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Information about this inspection

check the school’s compliance with the independent school standards. 18–20 May 2021

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Inspection team

Gary Rawlings, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Amanda Carter-Fraser Her Majesty’s Inspector 18–20 May 2021

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to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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