Frequently Asked Questions about Steiner education

Frequently Asked Questions

Below is a selection of answers to questions that are often asked about Steiner Education. If you have a question that is not answered here then please do contact us.

• How do Year Groups correspond to classes in a Steiner school?
• In which countries can I find Steiner Waldorf schools?
• How do Steiner schools assess pupils?
• Do pupils succeed academically in an environment that places much less emphasis on testing and exams?
• Why do children learn reading, writing and number work later in Steiner schools?
• How do children integrate into mainstream education after Steiner education?
• What part do festivals have in Steiner schools?
• What is eurythmy?
• What place does sport have in the Steiner curriculum?
• What do Steiner Schools recommend about television viewing?
• When is IT taught in Steiner schools?
• What is anthroposophy?
• Do Steiner schools provide for pupils with special needs?
• Can children do what they like at a Steiner school?
• What misconceptions are there about Steiner Schools?
• Is it true that some of Rudolf Steiners writings and lectures contained statements that could be interpreted as racist?
• How do children adjust when they join a Steiner school?

How do Year Groups correspond to classes in a Steiner school?

Steiner schools provide a seamless transition for pupils from 3 through to 18 where possible. Children stay in the kindergarten until they are rising 7, after which they enter Class 1, the first year of the Lower School. The Upper School comprises Class 9 to Class 12. The table below equates this to the national curriculum school year equivalents.

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In which countries can I find Steiner Waldorf schools?

Steiner schools provide a seamless transition for pupils from 3 through to 18 where possible. Children stay in the kindergarten until they are rising 7, after which they enter Class 1, the first year of the Lower School. The Upper School comprises Class 9 to Class 12. The table below equates this to the national curriculum school year equivalents.

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How do Steiner schools assess pupils?

Continuous assessment is integral to the teaching method. This works well in a system whereby one teacher remains with the same group of children over a period of years. This allows the teacher to get to know each pupil extremely well and reduces the dependency on performance data from tests to get a snapshot of pupils’ progress in learning. In principle we avoid setting pupils against each other in a competitive sense. We do acknowledge that children enjoy challenges and we do set them challenges; but these challenges don't necessarily have to take the form of testing. Our priority is to develop a wide spectrum of skills and competencies in all our pupils and to appreciate every child for their own individuality and for what they can do. This does not lend itself to quantitative assessment. The absence of reliance on testing and exams avoids unnecessary tension and disruption to learning, especially for young children, although some tests are used in a low key way, e.g. weekly spelling tests. Older pupils are offered a relatively limited range of GCSE’s and A levels or recognized equivalents, although these are usually taken a year later than in mainstream schools. Results are well above the national average, although GCSE results are not included in the national league tables where they are taken a year later.

There is regular communication with parents through individual meetings and through termly class meetings and the class teacher aims to work with the parent where there is a difficulty. Parents receive a detailed written report for each pupil annually.

Steiner schools are inspected by OFSTED and are required to meet their standards before being fully registered with the DCFS.

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Do pupils succeed academically in an environment that places much less emphasis on testing and exams?

International research now shows that enjoying learning depends on keeping a pupil’s curiosity alive and this is a key principle in our approach so that when our pupils come to learning that requires abstract or academic skills, they see this as just another challenge - not one in which they are going to fail, but one in which they are going to succeed. In Finland for instance, the children are not tested until the age of 14 and Finland does exceedingly well on international comparisons.

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Why do children learn reading, writing and number work later in Steiner schools?

We believe that there are many other things children need to learn before they begin to read and write, like social and emotional skills, kinetic skills, skills to do with the world around them. With time to learn these skills first formal learning is easier. Pupils start formal learning, such as the alphabet and numbers, between the sixth and seventh birthday when we believe children are ready and can approach this challenge with ease and with great enthusiasm.

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How do children integrate into mainstream education after Steiner education?

A number of our students regularly have to transfer into mainstream education because their Steiner school is unable to offer the full Steiner curriculum to 18. Experience shows that they integrate very successfully, and stand out for their independence of thought and range of interests. On the ‘What is a Steiner School DVD’ the principal of a Devon Community College, which takes many Steiner pupils into the sixth form, describes how Steiner students are often better prepared for A Levels than pupils who have done GCSEs in his own school.

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What part do festivals have in Steiner schools?

Festivals, both seasonal and those adapted from the culture that is local to the school, play an important part in the life of the school. These festivals serve to awaken the child’s natural reverence, recognition of the mood that is appropriate for such occasions and a respect for the spiritual essence that exists in us all. Festivals also provide an opportunity for participation by the whole school community and for the joy in the preparation and anticipation of the celebration itself.

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What is eurythmy?

Eurythmy is an artistic form of movement where different movements and gestures correspond to different sounds or notes. The rhythms and exercises develop concentration, physical co-ordination and social and spatial awareness. It can also be used developmentally and therapeutically to help with learning and behaviour problems. Eurythmy lessons are given throughout the school, from kindergarten to upper school. Eurythmy teachers undergo an extensive specialist training.

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What place does sport have in the Steiner curriculum?

Games and sports are an integral part of social and cultural life of a Steiner school. These activities promote and encourage the development of important faculties and skills - from bodily grace and physical agility to social awareness, esteem and cooperation. From the outset, the curriculum includes games lessons, which are aimed at helping the children to develop physically in a balanced way rather than to encourage them to test and measure themselves against each other. The innate dynamic of competition and peer-testing and measuring are accepted as an aspect of the nature of sport and games and can be healthy and stimulating. However, in a Steiner school the emphasis is on fostering harmonious physical development and on the joy of participating and the acquisition of new skills and competences, rather than on the restricted attainments of coming first or winning. The movement curriculum itself reflects these priorities and the child's gradual development from a group-centred consciousness in the early years to an individual consciousness that emerges in later years through emphasising co-operation and social awareness rather than individual victories. From young adolescence, schools may prepare and enter teams in sport competitions, basket ball, hockey, tennis and cricket.

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What do Steiner Schools recommend about television viewing?

We believe that all the senses of young children are very wide open and that television, videos, DVDs, computers and electronic games have a very powerful and deep effect on these developing senses. The effect is subtle but profound and where a young child is exposed to these influences, teachers notice how this disrupts a child’s capacity to benefit from the holistic education. The teaching method relies on building mental pictures - mental pictures that can manifest themselves gradually to enable active participation in the learning process. Parents are encouraged to take part in discussions about the benefits of TV/computers-free family life for young children and the reasoning behind this stance.

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When is IT taught in Steiner schools?

It should not come as a surprise to a visitor to find a total absence of computers in the kindergartens and in the Lower school. ICT programmes of learning are introduced only after the age of 13 or so, when pupils very quickly can reach a level of computer literacy equivalent to their peers in mainstream schools.

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What is anthroposophy?

Anthroposophy is a philosophy based on the work of Dr Rudolf Steiner and this underpins the ethos of a Steiner school. However, anthroposophy itself is not taught to the pupils. Like many inspiring thinkers from the past, Gandhi and Darwin being other examples, Rudolf Steiner provides us with important insights which continue to be relevant today, as well as statements which conflict with our contemporary understanding of inclusivity and equality. Steiner Education is opposed to all forms of discrimination against any person or group of people on the grounds of race, gender, faith, disability, age and sexual orientation and is committed to promoting equality of opportunity and reflecting the diversity of the children, staff and parents served by Steiner schools.

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Do Steiner schools provide for pupils with special needs?

There is a reluctance to categorise children, particularly in terms such as "slow" or "gifted". Instead a child's weaknesses in one area - whether cognitive, emotional or physical - is viewed as usually balanced by strengths in another area. It is the teacher's job to try to bring the child's whole being into balance. A pupil with learning difficulties is given extra help and child who picks up the material quickly might be given more challenging material to work on, or possibly asked to help a less able peer.

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Can children do what they like at a Steiner school?

No, not at all. Each school day is very structured. Children learn best when they feel secure and when they know what to expect. So a warm, well structured environment gives them the support in finding out about the world and themselves in an age-appropriate fashion. Each lesson has structure to it as well and children always sit at ‘their own’ desk. Children know what to expect throughout the day and learn to respect the learning mood in the classroom, from the more relaxed mood in say a handwork lesson.

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What misconceptions are there about Steiner Schools?

The following article, taken from the Guardian newspaper website is an interesting piece about common misconceptions about Steiner education - 'Not a Guardian-reading weirdo in sight' Guardian Article.

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Is it true that some of Rudolf Steiners writings and lectures contained statements that could be interpreted as racist?

Yes. Even though Steiner's ideas are based on a profound respect for the equality, individuality and shared humanity of all people, regardless of race or ethnic origin, his works do contain a small number of quotations that are discriminatory. The SWSF rejects these statements and all racism. However, it should be noted that other great thinkers of his time including Darwin, Schweitzer, Gandhi and Carl Jung also spoke of race in a way that offends modern sensibilities. This does not render them or their work 'racist'.

It is ironic that Steiner schools sometimes have to defend themselves against these accusations. Our schools thrive on every continent, in every culture and within a wide range of ethnic contexts. For example, during the period of the apartheid regime in South Africa, the only school catering for mixed races was a Steiner Waldorf school & today there are schools following Steiner philosophy of education in diverse cultures & communities, including: Israel, Egypt, Kenya, Sierra Leone, Taiwan, Japan, Brazil or Hawaii, over 60 countries in all. It should be noted that all the Steiner schools in the UK actively are opposed to all forms of discrimination against any person or group of people on the grounds of race, gender, faith, disability, age and sexual orientation and are committed to promoting equality of opportunity and reflecting the diversity of the children, staff and parents served by their school.

Further clarification about this can be found on the Statements page of the European Council for Steiner Waldorf Education website (by clicking the 'Waldorf schools against discrimination' link).

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How do children adjust when they join a Steiner school?

Sometimes there is initial resistance to the change, although most settle very quickly. The standards in Steiner schools are high and the breadth of subjects covered by the Steiner curriculum is extensive and it can take time to adjust to this. However, usually the child will quickly feel at ease and feel a sense of relief at the absence of pressure. This in itself creates a positive relationship to the new learning environment that allows for rapid assimilation.

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