Waldorf Education
Waldorf education places the child at the centre of all educative efforts. It enquires into the gifts and potential available in each child, and tries to nurture and develop these. It tries to help the child unfold his or her full potential, to care for children in the community context in which they grow up, and to prepare them for the tasks facing them in the modern age.
Waldorf education nurtures the whole human being by accentuating scientific, artistic and social aspects in a balanced way. In doing so it takes account of the child’s age and his or her varying needs. Its schools are co-educational, do not propound an overarching view or doctrine and ensure the best developmental opportunities for all children, irrespective of class and background.
In Waldorf schools, foreign languages are taught from the first year of schooling. The basic subjects are augmented by a series of artistic and practical subjects such as handicrafts, eurythmy, painting, modelling, music and drama. Class groups form socially intact learning and development communities since children are never “kept down” and made to repeat a year.
The contact between pupils, teachers and parents is intense. Teachers usually accompany their classes over many years in order to ensure that a positive educational environment develops in the long-term. Waldorf Schools are independent schools in which parents and teachers share legal and financial responsibility.