Joint Action: Corona Help. Help for an independent Waldorf School in Bristol

In the southwest of England, the Bristol Steiner School has been offering Waldorf education since 1973. When a state funded Steiner Academy was opened near the school, many students migrated because the school fees for the Waldorf School are a high hurdle for many parents. As of September 2017, the school had to close its middle and high school phases due to a lack of students. Today, it is a small, independent school for children ages 3 to 11. Many parents run small businesses or are in therapeutic professions and struggled to afford school fees due to the impact of the Corona crisis. Without support from Joint Action: Corona Aid, the school would have had to close. This did not happen, as the school's director Nicola Forder wrote to us in February:

The generous donation we received through the Friends of Waldorf Education meant that the school could continue to operate with all five classes in the primary school for the rest of the school year. An enormous relief. This made it possible to release energy and motivation. The classroom teachers found the determination to put their passion into continued engagement with their children, with the school, and with online learning. In addition, it allowed us to plan for the targeted use of resources to prepare our oldest students for transition to secondary school at the end of the school year.

Maintaining the existing structure of classes has resulted in our ability to stay open in compliance with government guidelines. We are currently implementing face-to-face instruction for 30 of the 51 primary pupils, which is an exceptionally large number under the current circumstances. Although we have had to adapt our teaching and curriculum to the particular situation, we are still able to offer a broad and rich Waldorf education to the children.

On behalf of the Bristol Steiner School staff and administration, I would like to extend a heartfelt thank you and express my gratitude for your support which has allowed the school to remain an effective, progressive educational institution.”