Amy testimonial

My Daughter is nearly four and a half, and I have just entered the world of “Ooh, has she started school yet?” People can't help themselves. Strangers in shops or on the bus just making conversation. The confidence in my reply is gaining strength. “Well, yes, she does go to school. She goes to a Steiner School , which actually means that she goes to a Steiner Kindergarten – she won't move into school and formal learning until she's seven.” Which means that at four and a half she's only in ‘school' for three mornings a week with one afternoon top up. Isn't that fantastic?! Just three mornings, which over the next three years will build up at a nice healthy pace to five full days when she starts in Class One. The rest of the week we are either together, or she is with close friends and their children so that I can work. In comparison my friend's son, who lives in an area where options are rather more limited, has gone from three mornings of nursery last year, to five full days this year, with only a summer holiday (seemingly endless at that age) in between. Remember yourself as an adult having a period of unemployment, and the shock of starting full-time work again – and then think how that must feel at four years old.

But that is just one reason why we go to the Exeter Steiner School – a really good one admittedly, which could put me on my soapbox for hours! How about why we went there when we were a mother and toddler, and why we are still there now.

Soup. Yes, it is not a typo. SOUP! I went to pick my daughter up from school on Monday and in the playground the Class 4 children (ie 10/11 year olds) were selling organic soup which they had made. Get this – some of the ingredients they had grown in the school allotment (basic biology and horticulture!), the rest had been brought in from home (sharing and finding resources), they were all involved in the cooking (teamwork, health and safety, Home Ed), they were all involved in the selling (confidence building, maths), they then cleared up, recycled the cups and spoons and gave the money to the school. Wow!

And then seeing the community response – my daughter went from having the confidence to buy the soup with me on Monday, to doing it solo on Tuesday, to now choosing items to buy and paying the cashiers every time we go shopping! And to top it all, every lunchtime parents and children have taken the time to sit together in the playground, have a good natter, and eat delicious soup. It was a momentous community event!

The families which make up our school community come from all walks of life – scientists, artists, teachers, travellers, social workers, therapists, gardeners, farmers, homemakers – and from many cultural backgrounds, emphasising to our children the importance of diversity and acceptance. When we moved to our current site we had the opportunity of moving area, yet we have consciously chosen to stay in our neighbourhood – a mixed council estate on the ‘other side of the river' where the local kids and families face real challenges in their every day life. We want to be here, we know that when we open our doors and say ‘Come on in' we are shining a ray of light on a wider community that really appreciates it. We know this from the local families that attend our school.

Everything in our school has thought, attention, and lots of love behind it. All the materials and play-things are natural, tangible, alive, beautiful. All cooking is done at school by the teachers and children, and made with organic ingredients – just the memory of the freshly baked bread made together and then served at the toddler group makes my mouth water. In our new premises we have a wonderful outdoor space with plenty of grass, mature trees, and flanked on two sides by the park. Inside is bright, airy and welcoming – and the school hall is just amazing.

We are a community led school. Most of the running is done by the parents, and friends of the school which brings us closer together as a community and sends out an important message to our children – “We really care about you, that is why we are here, that is why we are doing our bit”. My daughter is at Exeter Steiner School because I trust the teachers and I know that what they offer her nourishes her mind, body and spirit. I am there because I like being a real part of a community, and being given the opportunity to be truly involved in my daughter's education – after all, I'm her Mum.

Many people are put off by the idea of a fee-paying school, but that is one of my motivations for writing this – to reassure you that it can be done if that is what you want for your children. I am a recently single mother on a minimum income. In the beginning I felt that the toddler group was more than worth my money because it wasn't just about my daughter, it was about me to. I felt really supported during my transition into motherhood because there is a whole world behind what they do here which has helped me to find my own way of mothering. Since my daughter was three, LEA Nursery vouchers and Working Tax Credit have eased our nursery and kindergarten fees. The school also operates a generous bursary fund which allows parents on a low income like myself to seriously consider Steiner education as a viable option. We are extremely privileged in this country to have a ‘free' education system – but it is only free in the monetary sense. By choosing to pay, I am able to choose the education my daughter receives – and that to me is worth every single penny.

So do me a favour – if you have children, or are interested in children's education, check these out. You never know, you might just learn something unexpected…

www.exetersteinerschool.com

www.steinerwaldorf.org.uk

Thanks for listening,

Amy