Any first hand experience here good or bad?

A semi-literate innumerate cult, but the kids do get to play outside in the rain with some sticks.

exeter one recently got put into special measures.

totnes one seems popular locally but I know a few people who are scathing about it…

A semi-literate innumerate cult

Any downsides, though?

worthy school / childcare for naughty offspring of middle class parents.

Anti-vaxxer racists according to the BBC.

I grew up with several people who went to Steiner’s in Edinburgh, they loved it and went on to be successful well rounded people. They did go to other schools to sit exams and achieved high grades despite not having the same education. However, my niece went to one in Aberdeen and it was a shambles, which led to it closing down as pupils were removed. My niece struggled to fit in to mainstream school and was held back a year in primary, but she caught up quickly.

The (statistically insignificant) small number of people I know who attended one are damaged individuals. That may well be nothing to do with their schooling.

HTH

Work with someone who has worked in them, and met quite a few kids who have been to them. The original UK one was based near us and closed a while ago.

They can suit kids who struggle in a mainstream environment, but at some point the kids have to find a way to adjust to the mainstream. Some kids with genuine issues have done well through them, other kids/parents who just don’t know how to deal with structure and some discipline and routine are just delaying the entry to reality.

I understand from my colleague that some of the schools had issues around having proper policies and processes in place for things like safeguarding, which never went down well with Ofsted,but my daughter’s CofE primary school had the same problem.

Anti-vaxxer racists according to the BBC.

Source?

Trailwagger, go visit your nearest Steiner school and see for yourself, they all welcome this, typically including info sessions and seeing the school/classes in action.

Given above responses (dear god!) I’m happy to chat or email if you want. I inflicted the Steiner school on all 3 of my children. Both me & wife were stated educated.

Faerie may be right but I used to teach in one of the schools that got them through the exams. Very laid back kids with no real self discipline or in some cases discipline. The first 6 months with us was getting them into formal education. Mainly turned out fine. Like a mix of the two mindsets might actually be beneficial.

Having watched a student from a Steiner school struggle to adapt to a mainstream school I’d not consider one.

She arrived in year 10 and it took her a year and a half to adapt to a normal state secondary.

Source?

https://www.bbc.com/news/education-28646118

My favourite part:

Four white teachers, asked to tick a box giving their ethnicity, ticked every box. They believed that they had ascended through all the races.

One of the more kick-ass students I know at the uni I work for, went to the edinburgh steiner school… Then left, and basically had to restart his education from scratch. His route to uni ended up being surprisingly similar to another of our kick-ass students who came to uni via jail and heroin rehab

Equally I know a couple of folks from outside of work who it worked great for. And I know a hell of a lot more kids for whom state school just didn’t work out, though of course that’s a numbers game.

The thing is, there’s a lot of safety net stuff for people who go to normal school and have it not work out, and generally the outcome is either to find an alternative for people who can’t do normal, or help people back into normal. Not so much, with deliberately unnormal schools.

My pal who is french and a french teacher met a young chap who had recently left a Steiner School. He said he was by a country mile the best non-native french speaker he had ever met, essentially indistinguishable from a native speaker.

There’s a Steiner school at the end of my road. Parents look normal middle class eco aware type people. The kids just look like kids 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️

A friend went to one from nursery onwards. Went on to get a degree from Cambridge, ran her own company for a decade, now her son goes to the one near where she lives.

YMMV

Steiner was, by any modern definition, a racist.

If you use modern definitions, I would suspect that many here are not only racist but misogynistic, anti-non hetrosexual and ableist. Oh, and poor people too.

I know a family who all went through Steiner. Brilliant young people all of them. Mum is a Steiner teacher. They did brilliant things at school. Like followg a river from source to sea. Back packing the upper river than in canoes. They probably could have done with at least 1 more gcse. 3 of 4 now have degrees

But. There are issues. The biggest IMHO is too many kids who are sent because they didn’t like school have already failed in several other schools.

I’m sure it’s a successful method for some kids and there are probably elements of the approach that are beneficial for children. Sadly, I can’t get past the (oc)cultish element of Steiner’s teachings. Scientific spiritualism, espoused by one person (no-one else had the gift to see what he saw), homeopathy, re-incarnation, not believing in germ theory, believing that measles was beneficial for spiritual development of the child and as stated above, effectively racist beliefs on re-incarnation through to being white/enlightened.

Some investigations into Steiner beliefs.

Humanists UK have called them out on issues of racism and bullying.

They’ve been linked to measles outbreaks and are recognised as an under vaccinated group. And this was confirmed to me by people responsible for the immunisation program in Forres (Drumduan Steiner school). Drumduan is struggling financially, £8500 ish per year per pupil but go cap in hand to the Scottish Government who (quite rightly IMHO) refused their request for funding and they’ve had to sell off land and buildings to keep it afloat. And kids leave school with no qualifications but a lovely portfolio of work. As mentioned above, they have to find a way to fit in with the rest of the world – some will manage it, some will struggle.

I’m all for kids playing outside, experiencing the world around them, having practical skills and being good, rounded individuals (I can provide this as a parent) but not while being inculcated with spiritualism and quackery. YMMV.

Kurt Hahn did it so much better. The model all schools should follow.

Outward Bound yes.

Gordonstoun – now – is probably not what he envisaged.
Caught between striving for academic excellence and personal development (and raising cash to stay afloat).

Have friends who went to Steiner schools in the UK. Most of the people I know have at least a degree, some with multiple degrees, masters and doctorates. In the mix are an airline pilot, one of Europe’s leading geologists specialising in hummocky moraines, several doctors, senior navy (captain – aeronautics engineer), lawyer, artists and musicians. My partners brother is a mathematician, works for Allianz in Germany.
They’re not for everyone. Some of the schools are better, some worse. A friend teaches at the one in Hereford which seems pretty good. Some of the ideas are interesting. The people I know are all open minded and certainly not racist. Not sure anyone would describe any of them as innumerate illiterates 😂.

cult-based private schools that underplay their ‘anthroposophical’ beliefs to avoid difficult questions? There’s some interesting reporting on Steiner and today’s schools in parts 1 and 2 of this podcast.