Welcome to the Brighton Steiner School

The Brighton Steiner School is one of 32 schools in the UK (there are 894 worldwide) that follow the renowned international Steiner-Waldorf Curriculum. The curriculum offers a comprehensive range of subjects with a focus on interdisciplinary learning and the development of social and creative abilities alongside academic achievement. The emphasis is on the holistic development of each pupil, to nurture the skills and confidence your child will need in life. The Brighton Steiner School, founded in 1984, is an independent co-educational school for children aged 3 to 16. It provides a proven alternative to mainstream education as well as offering GCSEs and Open College Network qualifications to its Upper School pupils. “Our highest endeavour must be to develop creative and responsible human beings who are able to deal with diverse situations and to direct their lives with purpose.” Rudolf Steiner, founder of the Steiner-Waldorf Curriculum

All Steiner schools follow the comprehensive and distinctive Steiner Curriculum. This international education system is designed to mirror a child's development and nurture social and creative abilities alongside academic achievement. A broad range of subjects is included, each introduced at an age-appropriate time and taught in an interdisciplinary way. In the Steiner Curriculum, the teaching of arts, crafts, drama, music and languages, in which all children participate, is woven in alongside core subjects. For a deeper understanding of the Steiner Curriculum, the teachers at the Brighton Steiner School have prepared two documents, available here as PDF downloads, which paint a fuller picture of the development of the Curriculum through a child's years at school. Curriculum Information by Class - PDF document (72KB) explains how the Curriculum builds from Early Years through to the Upper School. Curriculum Information by Subject - PDF document (111KB) explains how each subject is taught and how it fits in with the Curriculum as a whole.

The Brighton Steiner School offers education to children from 3 to 16 years old. We welcome all enquiries and endeavour to meet each individual request in an open, honest and informative manner. The Brighton Steiner School operates a socially inclusive admissions policy that does not select children on the grounds of gender, ability, race or religion. The school considers all children as having individual needs and aims to meet those needs in the best way possible, taking into consideration the child's age, developmental stage and other circumstances. Our recommended Admissions Procedure is as follows: Take the opportunity to visit the school on an Open Day, School Tour, Introductory Talk, Individual Guided Tour or other school event. Complete and return an Application Form, available from Reception, or it can be downloaded here. Attend a formal interview with your child to ascertain your child's individual needs in relation to their schooling experience and expectation. There is an opportunity to discuss school fee expectations and make a bursary application if required. If desired, attend an Insight Week (not offered to Early Years applicants) to experience the education and schooling environment before making the final decision to proceed towards enrolment. After general consideration between school, parents and pupil, an offer of place is granted or refused. Once all questions and concerns are satisfied and the offer of a place is accepted, formal registration takes place. Parents are required to sign a contract with the school, which outlines the conditions of entry and their responsibilities to the school, including providing one term's notice of withdrawal. By signing this agreement parents signify their agreement to these conditions. New pupils then attend an Introductory Term, during which their well-being is monitored by the school and the family to ensure that the new educational experience is being incorporated smoothly. To discuss the admissions procedure further, or to join the waiting list for Parent and Child groups, please call Reception on 01273 386300. Parent and Child group sessions are £7, invoiced each half term in arrears. No deposit is payable.

Parent & Child Groups (18 months to 3 years) 9.30am - 12pm One morning a week Children come from an early age with their parents one morning a week to play, sing, share a snack and celebrate the festivals of the year in a simple, age-appropriate way. The groups are small and intimate and aim to support parents during the first three years of the child's life. It is an excellent way for parents unfamiliar with Steiner Education to test the water gently with their child and share parenting issues with each other and the teacher.

Kindergarten (4 to 6 years) 8.40am - 12.20pm Three to five mornings a week The curriculum for the Kindergarten is structured to respond to the children's developmental needs and prepare them for their move up to the Main School. Love of language and communication is fostered through stories, songs, rhymes and puppet shows, along with the personal interactions of shared play. Numeracy skills develop in play through stacking, sorting, collecting, gathering, clapping and counting. Creative tasks like painting and drawing, and domestic activities such as cooking and sewing, develop co-ordination and creativity. Running, skipping and climbing outdoors promote healthy physical development. The children also learn to love and respect the earth and its seasons by tending the garden, planting flowers and vegetables and harvesting their produce. Children learn directly from life and the world around them: formal concepts are taught slightly later in the Steiner Curriculum. During the Kindergarten years, the vital building blocks for learning are laid down within a reassuring day-to-day rhythm and the yearly flow of seasonal changes and festivals.

At the age of 7 pupils enter the Main School, where they will stay with the same class teacher for eight years, building a strong relationship of mutual respect. Steiner teachers are dedicated to creating a genuine love of learning within each pupil. They work in partnership with parents to foster the holistic development of the child and consciously cultivate qualities such as trust, compassion and an inner moral sense. Academic learning is introduced in Class 1, beginning with writing, and then reading, and number work. In the younger classes, all subjects are introduced through artistic mediums, as this engages pupils to greater effect: art, music and drama are part of the daily life of the School. Languages are important in the Steiner Curriculum and pupils are taught French and German by native speakers from the age of 7. The Main Lesson is a fundamental feature of Steiner Education. It is taught by the class teacher in 3 to 4 week modules, covering literacy, numeracy, history, geography, music and science. There are no textbooks as such in the first few years. Effectively pupils produce their own textbooks in their Main Lesson workbooks, which record their experiences and what they have learned. Learning in a Steiner school is a non-competitive activity. There are no grades given in the Lower School; the class teacher and specialist subject teachers write a detailed evaluation of each pupil at the end of the year and keep regular records of his/her progress. By the conclusion of Class 4, pupils will have gained a full foundation of learning and will be prepared to take on the growing complexities of the Steiner Curriculum as they move up the School.

Classes 5-8 (11 to 14 years) As pupils progress through the Main School, the structure continues of the class teacher teaching Main Lesson and specialist teachers teaching lessons in French, German, music, Eurythmy (creative movement), woodwork, handwork, religious studies, games and gym. Upper grades use textbooks to supplement their Main Lesson work. Literacy and numeracy are practised constantly in the Main Lessons. Teachers cultivate and encourage creativity in writing as well as good grammar. The spoken language is fostered by the performance of a class play every year. Main Lesson themes progress through the school years in a logical way. Thus in history pupils will track civilisation through the Middle Ages, the Renaissance and up to modern times. Geography will move from a local focus to national, European and then global. Other Main Lesson themes for the older pupils include botany, geology, physics and economics. Individual subjects are taught in an inter-disciplinary way, which helps pupils to follow thematic threads and develop their understanding of the complex inter-relationships between phenomena. Languages and artistic and practical activities continue to be woven into the curriculum alongside academic subjects and are usually related to it, thereby enriching the learning. Learning continues to be related to development. For example, as pupils stand at the gates of adolescence, their own realities are broadening out and personal conflicts have to be accommodated. The curriculum mirrors this challenging time with the study of the British Industrial and French Revolutions, thus building an awareness of the part conflict plays in development and the need to find balance. At the end of Class 8, the pupils' journey with their class teacher is complete and they stand equipped with the learning tools required to meet the challenges of the Upper School.

Classes 9-10 (15 to 16 years) The Upper School Steiner Curriculum is specifically designed to support the critical years of adolescence. It provides the opportunity for students to develop a broad knowledge base through philosophical, practical, technical and scientific inquiry, as well as preparing for GCSE and Open College Network examinations. The Steiner Upper School Curriculum covers English, mathematics, art, literature, history, geography, anthropology, biology, physics, chemistry, French, German, drama, music, Eurythmy (creative movement) and craft. The curriculum and the teachers supporting it seek to equip the individual with powers of discernment and a critical mind whilst developing the student’s ability to judge and initiate creative decision-making faculties. In addition to following the Steiner Curriculum, students are prepared for a maximum of 5 GCSEs. At present English, mathematics, art, French and German are offered. However, it is recognised that the narrowness of the GCSE syllabus does limit, rather than develop, judgement and creativity. The school therefore offers the minimum number of GCSEs required by further education colleges, which the large majority of students go on to attend. In order to provide a recognised external validation of students' work that better fits the Steiner Curriculum, Steiner schools have recently developed links with the Open College Network. The Brighton Steiner School now offers Open College Network qualifications (OCNs) in Science and Humanities (which covers physics, chemistry, biology, geography, politics and history), Movement and Drama (which covers the drama curriculum, Eurthymy and games), Crafts (woodwork, metalwork and handwork) and ICT. The OCN certificates, which are accepted by all further education colleges, are based on internal and external assessment of coursework. They are graded from 1 to 5 with a level 3 being equal to a grade C GCSE and a level 1 being equal to an NVQ. In the Upper School, the class is led by the class guardian, who acts in a facilitator role to support the transition from being in school to being active in the world. The guardian guides students in their personal, social and intellectual development in an open environment which nurtures mutual respect, responsibility and co-operation. The Steiner Curriculum and teaching methods are all aids to the student’s increasing self-awareness, confidence, sense of belonging and understanding of the necessary balance between freedom and responsibility. Life Skills classes and work experience further help students unlock and realise their own personal potential.