Our schools do not allow the use of mobile phones during the school day and we discourage access to phones until children are much older than is the norm.

It is important children learn how to make friends in the real world before making friends on social media. We want them to be conscious users of the technology, not unconscious consumers of it. They need to be mature enough to understand the benefits and the risks. In this way they will both be safe and able to make the best of what the technology has to offer.

There is considerable concern that young people are losing the skills to socialise on a face to face basis. This is impacting on their ability to develop much needed soft skills in the workplace and make friendships that will sustain them in life. Children in Steiner schools are well known for their social skills and personable approach. We believe much of that comes from the fact they learn by doing real things and interact in real not virtual ways for the important early and primary school years of their lives.

A recent blog by the race equality think tank, Runnymede Trust, about how to decolonise the curriculum in traditional state/independent schools, focused on the fact that teachers were “important agents for change” https://www.runnymedetrust.org/blog/decolonising-the-curriculum-the-importance-of-teacher-training-and-development.

Teachers are even more important in Steiner Waldorf schools where they are empowered to shape the delivery of the curriculum to meet the individual needs of the children in a particular class.

Our annual Teachers Conference this Easter focused on issues of diversity and inclusion in relation to race, sexual orientation and neuro-diversity. Presentations by a range of UK and international contributors examined the biases and assumptions that underpin current thinking. The conference helped raise awareness, understanding and knowledge about issues or racism and discrimination and stimulated debate about how to create a non-euro-centric curriculum. There were workshops from teachers already working to de-colonise the curriculum in their classrooms and huge enthusiasm for a collective re-working that would re-fresh the SW approach and meet the needs of children for generations to come.

SWSF’s Kath Bransby is currently working with Waldorf academic, Dr Martin Rawson developing a new approach to defining and understanding the Steiner Waldorf curriculum which will enable teachers to deconstruct the euro-centric curriculum and create a much more inclusive and individualised approach. It is to be launched in the Autumn. More news to come.

See the first stage A Framework for Curriculum Practice https://www.steinerwaldorf.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/1.Waldorf-Education-for-the-Future-A-Framework-for-Curriculum-Practice.pdf.

It has been disturbing to read the testimonies on the Everyone’s Invited website www.everyonesinvited.uk and in the recent Ofsted report about peer on peer abuse in and around schools throughout the UK. Steiner Waldorf Schools have not so far been included in the list of schools published by Everyone’s Invited but we do not assume that the children in our schools have been exempt from such experiences. It is something that touches the whole of society. We are discussing with our colleagues in schools what steps can be taken to create an open dialogue about issues around sexual harassment, rape culture and bullying and to create better awareness and safe spaces for children to report issues of abuse in their lives and to be believed. Developing the ability to treat others with respect and empathy is a central aim of Waldorf Education and is something we strive for in our school communities. The testimonies found in Everyone’s Invited have held up a mirror to society to which we all have a responsibility to respond and work together to find solutions to end these experiences for all

The WESTT teacher training course is holding an introductory webinar on Tuesday 8 June at 7.30pm – 8.30pm.

Based now at Ringwood Waldorf School you can register for the webinar on their website.

The webinar will be hosted by Alan Swindell and Sven Saar two of the course leaders, and will include an introduction to Steiner-Waldorf Education, an overview of the WESTT course and the opportunity to ask questions.

Register on the website.

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This new film explores the issues and dilemmas around children’s use of technology. How do we teach our children to use technology in a way that serves but does not dominate their lives? Will access to an early childhood free from technology become a privilege available only to the few? And whose responsibility is it to find the right path?

https://kidsontech.smartrvideo.com/channels/1eaf1256-e8cf-4ca7-a4ae-3ce16f362671/videos/f747829f-d4b9-4f68-97d5-a8fd89208eb2

A film from the Waldorf School of the Peninsula in the heart of Silicon Valley USA. Entrepreneurs, Stanford researchers, investment bankers, and parents who run some of the largest hi-tech companies in the world, talk about what children need to navigate the challenges of the 21st Century in order to find success, purpose, and joy in their lives.

Unfortunately the Board of Trustees at Wynstones in Gloucestershire have had to postpone initial plans to re-open the school this September because the pupil numbers needed have not been secured. The school has nonetheless retained its registration with the Department for Education and the Board is conducting a review. Alternative plans are expected to be announced in the next few weeks. SWSF have been supporting Wynstones on a number of levels and will continue to do so as the Principal and Board navigate their way around what we hope, will be only a pause in the re-opening of a school on the site. 

Two Waldorf schools in the West Bank are doing important work educating Jewish, Muslim and Christian children together. The work of Ein Bustan, (teaching Jewish and Muslim children) and Tamrat El Zeitoum, (teaching Muslim and Christian children together) seeks to foster in the children resilience, acceptance and understanding of each other at an early age. Children who have grown together are more likely to work towards peaceful solutions when adults. Trauma informed, the education also helps the children cope with the stress of living in a world surrounded by conflict. There are other Waldorf schools in Israel and the West Bank doing similar work but take a look here at these two inspiring schools https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzDlFUqtJEo. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nY4DdW3-bkk