Steiner Education

Rudolf Steiner

Steiner education came into being in the early twentieth century. Rudolf Steiner worked with a group of teachers to establish a school following the First World War, where children could develop personal capacities in such a way that they would have the health, strength and integrity to work for a hopeful and positive economic, political and spiritual future. There are now over 1,000 Steiner (Waldorf) Schools and Kindergartens worldwide in more than 60 countries. All Steiner Schools are independently established and run but share a common philosophical foundation.

At Little Yarra Steiner School, we work with the developing child through an educational philosophy based on Rudolf Steiner’s deep insights into human nature, with an emphasis on balanced development to help the child grow and unfold into a creative and responsible individual.

One of Rudolf Steiner’s most powerful and important insights was that the child, growing in strength and ability through the years, passes through separate and distinct stages of development whose beginnings and endings are marked by noticeable changes. Out of this insight, a curriculum and teaching method that fits the child’s various stages of development is implemented. Rudolf Steiner spoke of three phases of childhood, which are defined within the school through the Preschool (inclusive of Prep) years; the Class Teacher Period (Classes 1 – 8); and the Upper School (Classes 9 – 12).