York Steiner School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 16 September 2025

Pupils at York Steiner School are polite and courteous to each other and to visitors. There are strong and positive relationships between pupils and staff that exemplify the warmth and care of the Steiner ethos. Pupils are happy at this school. Pupils know and demonstrate the school's expectation to 'be kind, be safe, be ready to learn'. This supports pupils to behave well. The school follows the Steiner Waldorf curriculum. There is a holistic approach to education. Pupils value the practical education they encounter, alongside developing academic knowledge and skills. They embrace 'heart first, then hands, then head'. The school has high expectations for pupils. However, some aspects of the school's curriculum do not enable pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), to access a sufficiently coherent sequence of learning. Pupils learn to be good citizens. Pupils show compassion and kindness by doing things for others, such as carol singing or litter picking in the community. Pupils know how to stay safe on and offline. Younger pupils know about road and river safety. Older pupils discuss social issues with understanding and sensitivity. Pupils consider others' opinions with respect and debate in a structured, respectful way.

What the school should improve

• Some aspects of the curriculum are not sequenced well enough. Where this is the case, some pupils do not develop their knowledge and skills sufficiently well over time. The school should ensure that the curriculum is better sequenced to enable pupils to develop their knowledge and skills more effectively over time.
• The school's approach to the teaching of phonics is not implemented to consistent effect. This means some pupils do not receive high-quality phonics teaching and gaps in their phonic knowledge are not identified swiftly. The school should ensure that staff receive training to implement the phonics curriculum effectively.
• The systems and processes to support some pupils with SEND are not rigorous enough. This means that some pupils with SEND do not receive the support or have the appropriate adaptations that they need to access the curriculum well. The school should ensure that teachers have the expertise needed to adapt teaching so that pupils with SEND can access the curriculum successfully.
• New leadership in some areas of the curriculum does not have sufficient oversight of the implementation of the curriculum. This means that the school does not have a consistently clear and accurate oversight of the school's strengths and areas for development. The school should ensure that professional learning opportunities strengthen subject leadership.

Read the full Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)