Coming up time to make some big decisions. The first born will be 4 next year and a position is avail Steiner school. Done some reading and I quite like the idea.

Anyone here have a Steiner education? or have kids that are in at the mo?

I’ve toured shows to some. They didn’t seem like they had a lot of cash.

I’m sure they educate as well as anyone else and probably more opportunitys for the less academic. I’m sure I would have excelled at one!

A friend of mine went to one, enjoyed the lack of pressure and option to choose and had a great time, but had to go to a secondary in the end to drop into the whole system of assessment for GCSE, A-Level and that was quite a change from what she was used to.

She is however, one of the most driven people I know, far from stupid and not a hippy arty type as some perceive the schools.

Both her parents were educated in Steiner schools and support it, she says that when she has children, she will also send them to one, great childhood

Hi,I went to one from 10 to 18.A great all round education. My children all went to steiner school until finances meant I could no longer afford
it. My wife is a kindergarden teacher so she is the best person to talk to, as your child is in her class range. Where is the school you’re thinking obout? They might have an open day.It’s quite an commitment, but if you want for your child an holistic education where the child is considered as an individual not just a machine for exams then I highly recommend it.

Hullo

My wife is a Steiner teacher. Our daughter did her first 3yrs of education in a Steiner school.
We have had to put her into a state school now as there is no Steiner school locally.
Those first years of a childs education could not be spent in a better environment. The kids are allowed to be kids, no pressure of any kind to “achieve”.
The emotional and spiritual development of the kids is paramount, and all the Steiner kids I have met are well grounded and most of all they are HAPPY.
Our daughter soon caught up with system in state school, even though she could not read when she started.
The Steiner school she was at did suffer from a lack of funds, and it lacked a real leader when it came to decision making, but it had a true sense of community.
Given the same choices we would put her in a Steiner school again.

Looked into them out of general interest and they’re not for me as a parent – diametrically opposed to what I would look for in a School. Illiteracy in 9 year old kids is not a selling point for a place of education IMO.

What is less a matter of opinion is the incompatibility of the Steiner curriculum with general UK Schooling. You would need to be aware of this if you had to have your kids change school for whatever reason – It could be a very tough transition.

i went for one year. in my school you were stuck with the same teacher for 8 years for most of the lessons. he was a **** who beat a few of us boys regularly (this was 25 years ago) needless to say i was out of there. check the teacher out! my wife did 8 years in steiner ed and loved it. bonus for her is she is excellent at music and languages which def comes from her early steiner ed. some of it can be fluffy and not ‘real world’ enough etc and i did much better in mainstream schools with across section of society which has been more of a help to me in adiult life. rich, poor, black, asian you name it my mates came from it. all my steiner buddies were white middle class kids who went mental at teen time which the steiner system didnt cope with well. that said both of my children are in/have done the kindergarden as its such a great enviroment.

i think each school varies allot and while the philosophy may be the same, its implication can differ. try speaking to other parents about their experiences.

Thanks for the replies. Definitely some points there I had not come across.

It’s a big decision. Means leaving UK which we have called home for the last 10 years and heading to NZ. School is in Auckland – not my favourite place in the world.

Im not really too worried about academic achievement for my kids. I know they will do ok wherever they are. And I believe most kids will teach themselves to read before 8/9 anyway. The Steiner approach seems to make sense – especially for the younger years.

Funnily enough, there is not much opinion/criticism to be found on the internet.

More reading required.

Have you tried googling around ‘Waldorf’ schools Earl? That’s what they’re called in the US.

leaving the UK?

sure my friend went to one near Brighton
NZ isn’t such a bad sounding move though

There are several Steiner Schools here in the UK and they are big in Europe (especially Germany) where they are not considered so ‘alternative’. (And yes, I did go to one…)

A group local to us has set up thier own Steiner school. A group of parents have employed thier own Steiner teacher – so the parents have group control of what happens to the kids, with all the benefit of Steiner education. I think they contacted Steiner in UK to find a teacher to employ. It has been going several years and both parents, children and teacher all seem very happy.

Re above, I think that comment about not learning to read until 9 is wrong as my friends child loves reading and is only 6.

I had very bad experiences of ‘normal’ school with long term reporcussions into adulthood. From the description of how the children are viewed in a steiner school I would send children there if I had any. They seem to be treated as people instead of state statistics.

My friend says there are loads of Steiner ‘groups’ as opposed to formal schools in the UK. As his is so sucessfull for everyone, I suggest you contact Steiner and ask as the groups are not as obvious as a school building. I dont think you need to leave UK to find one.