What influences children’s development of thinking and social skills? How much technology and T.V. is right for our children?

Building on the work of Rudolf Steiner and exploring how this correlates with recent developments in scanning techniques, Dr. Sue Peat examines the available evidence and offers some thoughts towards how we can work with these questions.

Dr. Sue Peat is a medical consultant at Kings College Hospital, working in the specialist field of pain management. She regularly runs groups and workshops at Steiner House in London, and serves as a trustee of 2 Steiner Schools.  Parents, friends and Upper School pupils are very welcome.

Exam Timetable 2012

To read the National Trust’s Report click here.

Click here for the link to a BBC article on the National Trust’s Report.

The Steiner Waldorf Schools Fellowship (SWSF) shares many of the concerns highlighted in Stephen Moss’s research commissioned by the National Trust.

An active engagement with the natural world is an important aspect of Steiner Waldorf education.

In Steiner early years settings the young child is given every opportunity to play outside, to explore and make use of natural materials and to experience the outdoor as a familiar environment, full of wonder and possibility.

Throughout the primary school years teachers will look for opportunities to link classroom learning to the outside environment. The study of house building and farming at age nine may involve the making of clay bricks or the hands-on experience of farming techniques. Chemistry  lessons at age 12 may involve the building of kilns to make charcoal or lime; physics  lessons may involve green-wood turning or practical engineering solutions that take children out of the classroom and into the natural world.

At the same time a sense of wonder and appreciation for the natural world is fostered from pre-school all the way to adolescence.  This is supported by the use of stories that draw on the world of plants and animals, the celebration of seasonal festivals and a curriculum that includes botany, geology and animal study .

At secondary level there is an approach to natural sciences that emphasises  the need for observation and  direct experience rather than simply an abstract knowledge of prevailing theories. A sense of the moral responsibility we have towards the natural world is cultivated.

Steiner schools engage their parents in critical debate on issues such as play and screen entertainment,  encouraging them to give their children wide opportunities to get active out of doors.

Steiner Waldorf schools form the largest group of independent, non-denominational private schools in the world. They thrive on every continent, in every culture and within a wide range of ethnic contexts, including Israel, Egypt, Kenya, Sierra Leone, Taiwan, Japan, Brazil and China. There are currently over 1,000 Steiner schools worldwide and 35 in the UK. There are over 2,000 Early Years settings in a total of 64 different countries. The first school was opened in Germany in 1919, the first in the UK in 1925.

Please visit the SWSF web site for more information or contact us directly.

Alan Swindell SWSF

Talk and workshop by Chen Atid on Saturday 12th May in Eurythmy room. Workshop 1 to 5 pm (2 sessions, with a break; and talk 7.30 to 9.30 pm.

What are the twelve senses and why is nurturing the senses so important for the healthy growth of children of any age? Chen Atid was head of faculty at Emerson College (Waldorf school teacher training), and an upper school science teacher at Elmfield. Currently he teaches at an Israeli Steiner school and trains Steiner school teachers.

Suggested contributions: workshop £6 and talk £3.

Class 7 have just completed their Recycled Projects.

The Brief – to create an object that is either a piece of art or something useful, using only recycled materials.

The results have been delightful. Do pop in to our class room to see the full project which will be on display for the next few weeks. Well done Class 7.

Monday 23rd April at 7pm – Part 1

Monday 30th April at 7pm – Part 2

Contributions at the door. For enquires telephone 01384 399458. For more information about the film, please click on the link below.

Press release Steiner Film

May we remind you to turn off mobile phones and that photographs are not allowed.  In order that there are no distractions for the pupils’ presentations, we ask parents of younger children to take one of the seats close to the door, so they can take them out if they become restless or noisy.

Pupils should wear, or bring with them, bright and smart clothes on that day