‘Rotten to the core’ flagship Steiner school to close, as it emerges concerned parents were sent gagging letters

A flagship Steiner school is to close amid fears over child safety, after it emerged that parents who tried to raise the alarm about safeguarding lapses had been sent gagging letters. 

The Rudolf Steiner School Kings Langley (RSSKL) has told parents that it will shut down at the end of this term, following a string of damning Ofsted reports.

Steiner schools, which are favoured by liberally-minded middle-class parents, base their curriculum - which emphasises creativity and imagination - on the spiritual philosophy of Rudolf Steiner. 

Parents have accused the school of attempting to "cover up" the full extent of its failings by trying to intimidate those who sought to voice their unease about the goings-on at the school. 

When parents tried to raise concerns about the behaviour Denis McCarthy, a teacher at the school, they were sent threatening legal letters.

In a letter from solicitors in 2014, the parents were told that they must agree to sign up to a series conditions and failure to do so would result in their child being removed from the school.

Parents were warned not to make any further “unfounded allegations” about Mr McCarthy, with lawyers adding that if they did, their child would be asked to leave.

Anonymous threatening letters were also sent in the post to parents who raised concerns about the teacher’s conduct, saying: “We know where you live. We know your children and where they go”.  

A parent told The Daily Telegraph that the school’s management presided over a “culture of secrecy” that was “rotten to the core”. "The school just tried to cover up and defend the previous cover up,” the parent said.

“They narrowed, delayed and then stopped an investigation that they needed to have, so have not learnt the lessons.

“There is a misguided culture of trying to protecting the institution rather than protecting children. The school's behaviour has been damaging to children and utterly appalling.”

Another parent added: "The failures of the school has put children at risk and made our lives hell".

The school’s most recent Ofsted report noted that “the culture for safeguarding pupils at the school is not strong enough” and that leaders have “underestimated and downplayed these inadequacies”.

Inspectors said that the process for addressing historic safeguarding complaints has “stalled”, and that “resolution is no longer in sight”.

Mr McCarthy was dismissed for gross misconduct in January 2017 following a series of concerns about safeguarding, but the school did not inform parents of this until August. 

In the intervening months, Mr McCarthy continued to meet up with a group of RSSKL children outside of school, with many parents unaware about the nature of his dismissal.  

He has denied any wrongdoing and told The Sunday Telegraph the complaints “had no basis in reality” and said the school settled his claim for unfair and wrongful dismissal “as they had no case.”  

A parent told how the school community were “left in the dark” about the reason Mr McCarthy left the school. The school announced in January 2017 that he was ‘no longer employed by the school’.

“Although he had actually nominally been sacked, parents were not told that, and many took their children to have lessons with him in his house, and some hosted his lessons in their own homes.”

RSSKL was ordered by the Department for Education to close last year and had said it would fight the order at a tribunal. However, this week trustees wrote to parents to inform them that they the school will close at the end of term.

Georgina Halford-Hall, CEO of Whistleblowers UK

A spokesman for RSSKL acknowledged that the legal letters were “inappropriate”.

“This letter was sent four years ago under former leadership, none of whom have been involved with the school for years,” the spokesman said.

“It is a matter of public record that the recent leadership of the school apologised to children and families who were let down by the school for a range of past failings. The school’s current leadership has always sought to be open with parents.”

Mr McCarthy said: “At the request of a group of parents and their children I gave a weekly lesson for several weeks out of school hours. This was arranged and hosted by the parents. I had not been forbidden to do this.”

Georgina Halford-Hall, CEO of Whistleblowers UK, said: “This case exposes an alarming pattern of behaviour across education where the first reaction of the school is to deny all concerns.

“When parents rightfully pursued matters, they sent threatening solicitors letters demanding retraction of concerns or removal of students.”