Premises
We have been delayed by NHS circumstances beyond our control and as such have had to find alternative accommodation in the short term in order to open in 2012. In doing so, we have to re-consult and we are now open for additional consultation with regards to our proposed temporary home, the Corsley Centre and all the information about this consultation is on http://www.proposedsaf.org.uk/

Admissions
We will be opening admissions very soon and there will be forms for you to download on our main website - www.steineracademyfrome.co.uk . Despite being in a temporary home, admissions will still be measured from the front gates of the proposed hospital site in Park Road.

Please feel free to comment via the consultation site or by email to info@proposedsaf.org.uk or you can leave a message on 02079245109 or post to Freepost RLSL-UJXY-BUKH, 15 St John ’s Hill, London SW11 1TN

I will update you on admissions as soon as it is open.

Guy

A VERY brief update for you all as I am concious there has not been much info for you recently.

Premises
We are still on course for opening in September this year but we will definitely be in temporary accommodation initially as the new GP surgery building schedule has been delayed which is delaying our access to the buildings we need to start work on. More on this as it develops.

Admissions
We are still waiting on the DfE for final approval on this but I am really hoping we will be able to open admissions in the next few weeks – sorry there is not more on this one…..

Teachers
We have had an amazing response to our teacher ads and we are confident of having an extremely experienced and well qualified teaching staff when we open which is very exciting.

That’s about all I can give you for the moment but will keep you updated when there is more news. Main thing to look out for is admissions!

Regards

Guy

I wanted to provide you all with an update on where are in the process of opening this September and to give you some dates for the diary.

Admissions
The recurring theme from all of your emails is how do we get our children into the school. I am sorry to inform you that at this stage we don’t have any update on admissions as soon as we do we will share it with you.

Appointment of Principal Designate
We are very excited to announce that we have appointed Trevor Mepham as the Principal Designate who is currently Principal at the Steiner Academy Hereford. Trevor is the only man in the land with an excellent Steiner pedigree who has been directly exposed to State funding and setting up an Academy. His reputation will attract a very strong standard of teaching staff and he will formally take up the post of Principal in August 2012.

Parents Open Day – 24th January
We will be holding an open day on the 24th at the Frome Memorial Theatre. There will be 2 sessions starting at 13.30 and 20.00 for parents to come and learn a bit more about the Academy and what parents and pupils alike can expect from engagement with Steiner education. This will be the only one we will hold prior to opening our Admissions so I strongly encourage you to attend!

Consultation
We are currently undertaking a statutory stakeholder consultation (a key requirement of the Free School process) and would welcome you adding any comments or support on the form on our website. If you are after information about the Academy as a parent, please come on the 24th but if you have a wider interest in the impact of the Academy, we have a drop in day on the 11th January with details on the site below: -
http://www.proposedsaf.org.uk/get-involved/questionnaire.php

New website
Following a tender process for this work we are pleased to announce that a very local design firm has been awarded this contract and we look forward to working with them – http://www.bathmarketingconsultancy.co.uk

More info to come as we get it and can share it!

Regards

Guy Marson
Lead Proposer
Steiner Academy Frome

I wanted to update you on few things.

1. Name – there will be a slight name change to the Steiner Academy Frome which aligns with Hereford and hopefully other Steiner Academies as they manifest in the future.

2. Opening – we are still planning on opening the Academy in September 2012 and we will have 26 places per year group from Reception to Year 4.

3. Admissions – this is a burning question for all and is still very much in the planning stages at present. The only thing I can say is that we will not be ready for admissions prior to the existing Local Authority deadline in mid January. As such you are very strongly advised to continue with your current application process and secure a place for your child at an existing school as we are likely to have strong demand and may not be able to offer places to everyone who applies.

4. Teaching – a number of prospective teachers have asked what they need to do if they wish to transfer from the existing State system to be a Steiner teacher and all the information you need can be found below. A new intake started very recently at Stroud but if you get in touch with them quickly you may be able to catch-up this years course which will save you a year delay in conversion.

The course is the West Of England Steiner Teacher Training (WESTT) and is run in Stroud on a Friday evening and all day Saturday once per month. This is a two year part time course designed for those wishing to become a Steiner Waldorf teacher and for mainstream teachers who want to enliven their existing practice or convert to become a teacher in a Steiner school. 01453 298874 mail@westt.org.uk www.westt.org.uk

More info to come as we get it.

Regards

Guy Marson

Many of these are about how to get your children into this school or if there is a job available. We will answer all of these in due course and many will be answered in an FAQ (frequently asked questions) section that will be added to this website soon.

At the moment we are in the early planning stages and meet with the Department for Education this week so as soon as we are under way, more information will start to flow.

In the meantime, please bear with us!

We have heard back from the Department for Education today that we have been approved for opening in September 2012!

We are very excited and will keep you posted on how things unfold.

Speak soon.

Guy

No news yet. I understand that Michael Gove is speaking at the Conservative Party conf. this Tuesday (4th) and will announce how many Free Schools he has approved and we will hear after that. Either this week or next.

Will let you know as soon as I do!

We should hear in the next couple of weeks and you will all be one of the first to know.

Regards

Guy

We have now done our interview and it went extremely well. We were very happy with our performance and felt that it couldn’t have gone any better.

It’s now a waiting game and we will hear from the DfE in mid to late September whether we have been successful. Once we get the go-ahead it will be full steam ahead to get the school open for Sept 2012.

Keep checking the website for updates and keep sending those positive vibes to the Department!

Great news!

The next stage of our dream is unfolding and we have been invited for interview at the Department for Education on the 4th August to present our plans for delivering State funded Steiner education to the school community in Frome and we are VERY pleased.

This is a very important step in the process and is the final one prior to moving the project to business case and delivering on the project with the help of the DfE. Post this interview we will hear by late September if we have been successful and the school will then plan on opening in September 2012.

We will need lots of help and positive thoughts to get us to where we want to go so watch this space for updates.

A BIG thank you to all who have helped to date!