Exemptions from EYFS: Nursery World Article

Our schools gain exemptions from EYFS

From Nursery world: Catherine Gaunt, 28 January 2013, 12:00am

Steiner kindergartens have been successful in achieving exemptions from those aspects of the Early Learning Goals in the EYFS that do not fit with the Steiner educational philosophy and ethos. The ruling applies to all Steiner settings.

Beechtree Steiner Kindergartens in Leeds

A joint application for exemptions and modifications from certain aspects of the EYFS was made by the Steiner Waldorf Schools Fellowship, the umbrella organisation that represents Steiner schools and early childhood settings in the UK.

The SWSF was asked by the settings to make the case for opting out of some of the ELGs and the entire literacy educational programme on the basis that aspects of the EYFS run counter to Steiner's 'established principles', meaning that Steiner kindergartens cannot meet the EYFS requirements, without compromising their ethos and practice.

This week, letters have been sent out from the Department for Education to all Steiner settings that applied to confirm that the Secretary of State has approved their applications.

The ruling is not time limited and will apply for as long as the setting follows the established Steiner principles, and once applied does not run out until there is a change to statutory regulations.

Full exemption has been granted from the literacy ELGs - reading and writing - on the grounds that it is an established principle in the Steiner early years curriculum that young children are not taught to read and write before rising seven.

Full exemption has also been granted from the assessment requirements of the EYFS, so that Steiner settings will not have to complete the EYFS Profile and send the results to the local authority.

The case was also made for modifications to ELGs for communication and language, physical development, mathematics, understanding the world, and expressive arts and design, and these were also granted.

Warmth and Light for the Cambridge Steiner school!

Prize-winning school warms to green future 

Energy experts lit up the faces of staff and children at a school when they came to plan a whopping six-figure makeover.Cambridge Steiner School won a competition run by the News with British Gas to transform a lucky school into one of the most energy efficient in the country.They were visited by the company yesterday to see how the money can be spent.

The school, in Fulbourn, is desperate to have its 1980s boiler replaced and is also interested in fitting solar panels and heat pumps.  Both measures would save the school thousands of pounds in energy bills over the years, which can be diverted towards giving pupils a better education.

Andrew Cleland, a trustee, said the school was grateful for “this fantastic opportunity”, adding that its ethos was about protecting the environment. He added: “We are a private school, but we are also a charity and we offer bursaries. The money we save can hopefully go towards that.”

The work will be carried out over the coming weeks following yesterday’s informal audit.

The school collected nearly 3,400 tokens from copies of the News to land the prize, worth £135,000. As well as a legion of parents, it recruited lots of different groups from the community, such as old people’s homes, to help them amass the tokens.

Kate Lemon, programme manager for British Gas Generation Green, said: “We were very impressed with their entry, which showed a real commitment to, and passion for, sustainability. “Our energy experts are looking forward to working with the school to help it become as energy-efficient as possible and inspire a new generation of sustainability experts.”

John Cary, deputy editor of the News, said: “It was a terrific team effort that won this great prize for the Cambridge Steiner School. We’re delighted that British Gas will be working with them to help fulfil their vision for an energy-efficient school fit for the 21st century.”

The Cambridge News

EYFS exemptions: good news for our Early Years settings

EYFS EXEMPTIONS AND MODIFICATIONS GRANTED TO STEINER

SCHOOLS AND SETTINGS

Steiner Waldorf kindergartens have been granted permanent exemptions or modifications from those aspects of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Learning and Development Requirements which relate to the formal introduction of Literacy, Numeracy as well as Technology and in some cases the Assessment regulations. A full list can be provided * see below.

The Secretary of State has agreed to all the exemptions or modifications requested on the grounds that Steiner kindergartens cannot meet these EYFS requirements without compromising their ethos and practice. The granting of these exemptions and modifications is in accordance with the ESTABLISHED PRINCIPLES route as set out in the Early Years Foundation Stage (Exemptions from Learning and Development Requirements) Regulations 2008 as amended by the Early Years Foundation Stage (Exemptions from Learning and Development Requirements) (Amendment) Regulations 2012.

Steiner Schools and Early Childhood Settings, made a united application through the umbrella organisation, the Steiner Waldorf Schools Fellowship. www.steinerwaldorf.org

To achieve this, the schools/settings had to complete the following steps:

1. Contact the Local Authority to make sure their funding was safe, should they have exemptions. Some settings are still waiting for responses from their LA’s.
   
2. Notify parents, and get their agreement. There was unanimous support from all parents, who chose Steiner education specifically for their children to have the benefit of a later introduction to formal learning, and experience an extended childhood in an enabling environment which prepares them for life, not only for school.
   
3. Notify the LA of the parents decision
   
4. Send the application to the DfE Exemptions team
   

In some cases, kindergartens not in receipt of the Early Years Grant made an application also for exemption from the Assessment regulations which includes the Profile submission. These too were granted.

NOTE: Some LA’s agreed that their funded settings could also apply for exemptions from the Assessment regulations including submission of the EYFS Profile at age 5. The SWSF were surprised that more LA’s did not agree to this exemption. The children in Steiner kindergartens are not formally taught to read and write in the kindergarten, therefore this would result in a poor overall score in the data collected by the LA from the Profile, which means that the LA’s overall data scores are lowered.

The exemptions will remain in place as long as the principles under which it was granted are followed by the setting.

If you would like to receive further information about this, please contact:

Janni Nicol, SWSF Early Childhood Representative jnicol@steinerwaldorf.org

Kings Langley pupil wins UK dance competition.

When judges announced the winners of a national Latin American dance competition, Kings Langley school pupil, Grace Silliton, was blown away by the result.

Grace, 20, who has just completed her A-Levels at the Rudolf Steiner School, danced her way to the top after it was announced she was the winner of the BachataStars UK Championships, alongside her dance partner Gus Mensah.

After being inspired by her father Martin, who is a salsa teacher in the area, Grace has been dancing since the age of 12.

Grace and Gus only started training together last year and worked on a bachata dance routine, which they performed around the country.

They were spotted to teach at the prestigious Latin Dance Academy in London and soon after decided to enter the BachataStars UK Championships.

Grace said: "I was really nervous. My heart was pounding. It was just down to the last three couples and I was sure that the couple who came second were going to win because they were really fantastic.

"It was really terrifying and I was completely shaking.

"I was so lucky because I had so much support from family and friends, who completely jumped on me when we had won.

"It was the best feeling ever. I have never won anything before. It was just amazing."

The regional heats for the BachataStars competition took place earlier in August, where Grace and Gus were awarded first place to go on to the final.

At sixteen, Grace began teaching Latin dance once a week and is now teaching three times a week, in London and Hertfordshire.

While juggling her dancing and teaching, Grace has just completed a drama and photography A-Level at the school in Langley Hill. Grace said her best memories of school were the performances, plays and musicals, which helped her develop confidence and stage presence, which she says judges often comment on in their feedback.

In the future she plans to visit South America to pursue her passion for dance for further research and study into Latin dance.

The pair will now go on to compete in the European Championships in Oslo and winning the UK Championship won them their flights and hotel stay in Oslo as well as £500.

Martin, her father added: "Of course we are all really excited and very proud of Grace.

"She moves very fluidly which makes her really stand out.

"Lots of girls often say how they would love to dance just like Grace."

Steiner Academy Hereford Students Raise the Bar....

RAISING THE BAR TO VICTORY! 

 

Steiner Academy Hereford won the regional final of the national Bar Mock Trial competition on Saturday 10th November at Birmingham Crown Court.

Each team was made up of barristers for the defence and prosecution, witnesses, defendants, a court clerk, an usher and jurors. Sixteen schools competed from all over the West Midlands region. Following three preliminary rounds the Steiner Academy team was declared winners of their league and met King Edward VI College in the final. The atmosphere in the Court was tense as three judges presided over the case. The outcome was the Steiner Academy team was judged as successfully defending the case and the overall regional winners. The decision was unanimous and the team was highly praised. One judge said that she trains students over three years in Law School and they did not examine their witnesses as well as the defence barristers in the SAH team.

THIS WAS the youngest team in the competition - most schools were represented by sixth form students – the smallest school entering the competition and the the first year the school had entered!

The team will now go forward to the national finals to compete against teams from 15 schools from England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The finals will take place at the Royal Courts of Justice in London on 23rd March 2013.