10th March 2006

Written by Administrator

Friday, 10 March 2006

ARCHITECTS REPORT - STAGE A-B Fielden Clegg Bradley have produced an initial briefing document for the Hereford Steiner Academy. A bound version is available to look at in Church Farm and we are hoping to get hold of a further copy to go in the Parents Shed. Please note that neither of these should be removed from school. We are also planning to put a version on the web site which should be available shortly. GOVERNANCE GROUP Our Mandate has been threefold: To produce a Vision and a Mission Statement that reflects the school and its specialism as an Academy (Steiner Education, Land and the Environment). To define the role of ‘Principal’ for the school. To define the governance/management of the school. Each of the above has been asked of us by the DfES as part of the Feasibility Study towards Academy status. As we move forward as a school into our maturity (having now reached the age of 21 years) it has also been a valuable and necessary exercise for us. To date we have now produced the Vision and Mission statement and submitted them to the DfES but in the knowledge that we will and should revisit them periodically as the school moves and changes over the years. We are now attempting to reach a conclusion on the ‘role of Principal’. Each Academy, if it is to be publicly funded, is required to have an accountable person, primarily for financial accountability. We have tried to look outside the box around this remit and decide what we as a school need to further and sustain the education brought to our children. We have struggled with the concept of a hierarchical system suggested by the inclusion of a Principal, with the sustainability of a Collegial based system and even the title ‘principal’. Currently we have suggested Education Facilitator (no doubt this will change again!). We have asked ‘what is it that our College of Teachers requires to support them in educating and caring for our children’. During the process we felt the need to ask other people/schools how they perceive the role of both ‘principal or accountable person’ and the management of their school and ours. We held meetings with both Ken Power, College Chair at Wynstones and Professor Philip Woods, author of an in-depth study of Waldorf Schools in the UK who contributed greatly to our discussions. We also contacted schools in Europe and gained email responses from them about what does and does not work in their own particular setting. We have also had many interesting supporting papers passed to us from the United States, Fellowship and other sources too numerous to mention – bedtime reading has taken on a new dimension! Our next step is to meet with the College of Teachers to further explore their vision for the ‘Principal’.Any thoughts or questions from the community would be welcome - via the web or via the pigeon holes in the Reception Office. PEDAGOGY The pedagogy group sent out information on SATs and testing in their paper to parents some time ago. They have been involved in all areas of the Academy from input into the design of a new academy building, the number of teachers required to create a full complement of staff to teach a comprehensive Waldorf curriculum to land use and IT requirements. They are meeting on the 18 March (workday) and will spend a whole day together bringing their research together. ACADEMY COMMUNITY GROUP The Academy Community Group is currently considering the facilities that are important to our community and the manner in which they might be incorporated into the new school layout (new school buildings and existing school buildings combined). Thank you for sending us your views and apologies for not getting back to you with the results sooner. The most popular suggestion was that of Rentable space (17 ticks) with suggestions that this could be used for anthroposophical doctors or nurses, music lessons, healing arts amongst others. It was widely felt that Parent and Child Friendly space, Meeting Rooms and Library and Quiet Study space (all 15 ticks) would be welcomed. A School Shop and Café (both 14 ticks) were considered a good way of linking the needs of the school community with those of the outside community and creating an awareness of Anthroposophy and Waldorf Education. Outdoor spaces, Craft Workshops and After School Club space (all 12 ticks) elicited a number of suggestions for both the existing buildings and proposed new school. It was suggested that Covered Areas (11 ticks) might be incorporated in a ‘walk to school’. Facilities forTraining in the existing buildings have often been mooted and this suggestion was fairly well received (9 ticks) whilst it was suggested that Church Farm may form an aspect of visitor accommodation (2 ticks). Some other suggestions included somewhere to display the history of the school, covered bike racks, tennis courts and indooor badminton, sculptures, meditation space, gallery space and a puppet theatre. The results of this piece of work can be found in greater detail in the Parent’s Shed and in the ACG post box in Reception.These suggestions are likely to form an important part of our discussions in the near future. The Academy Community Group are about to consider the implications of public access to parts of the existing school buildings and also parts of the new school premises should the new school Academy come into being. This would mean people, not known within our community, being able to access certain facilities. The regularity of public access could vary depending on the facility in question. E.g. a shop/café or artist workshops in the redundant school buildings may be accessed daily, whereas a function in the school hall or hired out sport facilities are likely to be accessed outside of school hours. What does everyone think? There are good reasons to support some public access but equally there are some very valid concerns. If you have any views on the matter please try and make it along to our next meeting on 28 March at 8pm, or post something into the ACG box in the Reception Office before that date.

Last Updated ( Monday, 20 November 2006 )

 

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