The Kildare Steiner Waldorf School offers an experience of education which is focused on recognizing the needs of each child and respecting their individuality. Within this we are true to core Steiner Waldorf pedagogy and have a robust daily rhythm with attention to academic as well as physical and emotional progress.

Some of the key benefits of choosing a Steiner Waldorf education for your child are:

A curriculum tailored to your child’s needs and stage of development

There are distinct phases to a child’s physical, psychological and emotional development, the first of these being from 0-7 years. Since its inception over 80 years ago, the Steiner Waldorf approach to education has been to carefully match the educational content being taught to the individual student’s stage of development. This age-appropriate methodology enables each child to maximise their own potential, since each child develops at their own pace and in their own way.

Readiness for formal learning based on a very solid foundation

Modern life puts children under increasing pressure to grow up as quickly as possible. However, current research is showing that children pressured into early learning can suffer from high levels of anxiety and stress. For example, the 2009 Cambridge Review of primary education in the UK was extremely critical of the overemphasis on numeracy and literary which it found were extremely unhelpful to the development of the child as a whole. In Steiner Waldorf schools and many state schools in countries such as Finland, children do not start formal learning until their seventh year. Experience has shown that learning comes easily and joyfully when your child is developmentally ready – children are generally more mature when they do start, their progress is more secure and within a few years they are working at the same level as their peers in other schools. In Steiner Waldorf schools, each subject is brought to the children at the point when it will be most beneficial to their overall development.

Educating the whole child

Steiner education seeks to educate the physical, emotional, intellectual, cultural and spiritual aspects of each child. The value of this multi-faceted approach has been borne out by the work of researchers such as Howard Gardner in his theory of “multiple intelligence”. It is achieved by a deep immersion in each subject and the use of a variety of learning tools such as art, drama, music and foreign languages to explore the material presented.  Each lesson includes a balance of intellectual, artistic and practical content – plain rote learning has no place in a Steiner school! There is also regular qualitative assessment to check the children’s progress in human, social and academic spheres.

Emphasis on 21^st century skills

To meet the demands of today’s (and tomorrow’s) rapidly-changing and complex world, our children will need to be creative, resourceful, self-confident and able to think critically and independently. In addition to the traditional academic subjects taught in other schools, Steiner schools offer a broader curriculum that includes life skills such as cookery, gardening and crafts as well as nature-based learning, languages and music, all serving to produce rounded, resourceful, independent-minded children.

Other benefits

Other benefits of choosing the Kildare Steiner School for your child include:

• Small class sizes;
• Positive peer group and role models;
• Support of a dedicated local, national and international community;

All the above and more make the Kildare Steiner Waldorf School the school of choice for parents who want to raise confident, capable and resourceful children.