When is a school not a school? When it’s a ‘project’ in a yurt…
A FEE-PAYING “education project” where children learn in a Mongolian-inspired yurt is being examined by Ofsted over concerns it may be an “unregistered school”.
Formed in 2014, The Green House Education Project claims to be a “learning community”.
Charging fees of £1,250 per term, the project provides children with 18 hours of “enrichment” per week.
Concerns have emerged about the centre in South Stoke, Bath, after it was revealed all four of its founding members have quit – with two now opting to send their children to regular schools.
The Daily Telegraph understands that Ofsted is now looking into whether it should formally investigate the establishment, which educates 23 children, on the grounds that it may breach guidelines concerning the provision of home education. Anna Robinson, a director of The Green House Education Project, strongly denied that the centre fell within the definition of a school.
“It’s not a school,” she said. “In terms of Ofsted, even though we don’t qualify for being a school, all our policies, all our safety training has been deliberately done to Ofsted’s standards.
“Because we are all qualified home educators … it’s an unusual area – but absolutely not a school. There is full mainstream, or home education – what we provide is a hybrid. We are a new pioneering project, so it doesn’t fit easily under anybody’s categories.
“But we adhere to the standards, so it doesn’t worry me, because I don’t believe we are doing anything wrong.”
Ms Robinson added that she did not believe that the project’s three-day timetable constituted the “main part” of its students’ education.