Parent Involvement

At Edinburgh Steiner School, we believe that children thrive when there’s a strong connection between home and school. The Parent & Teacher Association strive to help fortify these vital connections through social events, fundraising initiatives and volunteer opportunities. Beyond the PTA, there are many visible opportunities for parental involvement and voice - recognised as contributing significant benefit to our School.

Our families and teachers are diverse in their religious, political and social beliefs. What we all have in common is an education based on the principles of the internationally recognised Steiner Waldorf curriculum. Uniquely, it cultivates connection, reverence and responsibility.

Could the Waldorf model, with its lowermost tuition fees for senior pupils, enriched by generous community involvement, offer a creative solution for the independent education sector to circumvent a portion of the impact of VAT on tuition fees? As a not-for-profit, the talented support from enrolled families, alumni and its employees benefits the pupils' holistic education immeasurably.

"What amazes me about the School is how much the parents are contributing to the education. It's something that I've never seen before. It's wonderful. And because they are so invested as parents it really makes us as teachers rise to the occasion. The children have so much more of a thirst for learning, because they can see all the adults in their life are so invested. They're enjoying their education." Class Teacher, Karen Ford, in 'Community' film)

"It felt like part of the agreement we made when we joined the School. While it can be hard work, it is a joy when people come together. The children thrive from us all being connected," Laura Delahunt (parent).

Like every nonprofit, Edinburgh Steiner School Trust depends on the philanthropic support of the people who care about our school and our mission. And like every independent school, tuition alone does not support everything we do to educate the children of our school.

Lowermost Senior Fees Enriched By Generous Coterie Buy-In

Over twenty ways our involved community enhance the life of the School can be viewed here:

Enrolled Family

We are deeply grateful to you for your commitment to our vision and thank you for your ongoing support, which is critical in helping us to continue to offer Waldorf education as a viable option in the independent sector in Edinburgh. We are aware that school fees are burdensome to many families and fully appreciate the lengths to which families go to pay their monthly direct debits. Our roll from Kindergarten to Class 12 mirrors the number of pupils in 2023/24.

2. Ambassadors

A large proportion of prospective families who come along to an Open Tour have heard positively about ESS through word of mouth from a current or former enrolled family. We are hugely grateful to you for helping to spread the word about the distinct educataion offered here.

3. Reviews

So many of our enrolled families started their search for a school for their child online. Parental experience is highly important to prospective families. Thank you to the parents and carers who have taken time to add their Review of Kindergarten and School to Google.

4. Edinburgh Steiner School Trust Member - The Trust is open to anyone who has the welfare of the School at heart. Trust Membership pplication Form. Return completed form here.

6. Board of Trustees

The legal, financial and employment matters of the School are the responsibility of the Trustees. Any member of the Trust can be nominated and elected at the Trust AGM to stand as a Trustee.Chair is currently parent, Tobias Emonts Holley. Trustee Handbook

7. Work Days

Several Work Days throughout the academic year are organised in collaboration with the PTA. So many families gift their time and energy to repairing, painting, tidying up and building elements of our campus.

7. Class Convenors

Each Class from Kindergarten to Class 12 has a Class Convenor or two, some of whom have held the role for several years. These individuals provide an important social link between the Class Teacher or Class Guardian and all the families in the Class. Class Convenor role

8. Christmas Market

The entire school rolls up their sleeves to bring this annual event to fruition in November - the School's largest fundraiser. Organised each year by Class 4 parents. In the most recent year, this raised £18k to go towards projects that benefit the School.

9. Spring Fair

Proceeds from this annual May event go into individual Class pots towards Class trips (in contrast to the CM); however, it is understood some can afford to meet the expense of these outings outright and could argue their weekend is worth more than the money raised, especially collectively. Fundraising has a strong community element that is not always economically sound and yet is socially invaluable to the enrichment of community on campus.

10. Waldorf Teachers

Our body of teachers continue to work tirelessly in the vocation of Waldorf education despite comparatively low wages for many years, and are asked to be more qualified by being both GTCS-registered and Waldorf-trained. We are deeply grateful to their ongoing commitment to our school. View Our people

11. Volunteers on Day Trips and Residentials

Our curriculum is busy with stay-over school excursions to Garvald Farm (Classes 3, 4, 9), the Steiner Olympics (Class 5), Hadrian's Wall (Class 6), Lime Kiln Cycle (Class 7), International Exchange (Class 8), Surveying (Class 11) and Class 12 partake in a cultural trip at the end of their school career; as well as the many day trips and Ascension Walk. Many of these require the help of parent / carer volunteers to go ahead.

12. Curriculum Engagement

Parents often offer their expertise or experience to a particular Main Lesson or class experience, e.g. personal insights into a faith (World Religion Main Lesson had seven different key speakers from the School community, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Christianity, Baha'i and Judaism), foraging and outside craft, a Geology Professor teaching about the importance of Arthur's Seat, and an expert fisherman joined Class 3 as part of their Traditional Industries Main Lesson.

13. Parent & Teacher Association

All parents and/or carers of pupils and teachers attending the School are automatically a PTA Member. The PTA Committee focus on two projects each academic year, as well host social gatherings, a Book Club, PTA Listening Space, and information workshops such as the series of evenings on Child Protection Parents Evening – Education, Empowerment and Strategies for Online Safety.

14. Host Boarding Families

Every term the School hosts a number of Visiting Students from abroad. In order to be able to do this the School needs families who will host these students for one, two or all three terms. We are very grateful to the handful of families who open up their homes to these 16+ year olds. (Tuition fee benefits now incorporated).

15. After School Clubs

This academic year has seen many parents coming forward to offer after school clubs, including skateboarding, Aikido and belly dancing, as well as basketball and acrobatics next academic year. All offerings are under review as we hope to grow our after school clubs.

16. Screen-free until secondary

"The Steiner school is a community of parents who don't want our children on screens for hours and hours a day from the age of nine. And that's possible here. You hold it back a lot longer, and by doing that I think you give them a proper childhood. You need a community to do that. You can't do that on your own as a parent. It turns the campus of the school into such a lovely place, such a happy place, such a warm place," parent William Sutcliffe commented during shooting the series of short films. (Watch #KidsOnTech). More than half our pupils aged 13 and below are protected by a Parent Pact pledging to hold off a smartphone until age 14 and social media until age 16. There is also an established culture whereby parents, pastoral teachers and the public put their phones away whilst on campus, thus modelling a healthy detachment from our tech.

17. Support Festivals

In a society where many of the natural rhythms of life have virtually disappeared, this is now vital in addressing the basic human need for rhythm and repetition, so that they can feel safe and secure knowing what’s coming next. "Festivals serve to connect humanity with the rhythms of nature and of the cosmos. They join children to the seasonal moods of the year in a festive way.” Steiner. Suppporting our cultural life, such as Michaelmas attire and food bank donations, deepens this appreciation.

18. Engaging in social life of the School

Each year Class 12 families host a Halloween Ceilidh in October. Class 11 families host a Burns Dinner & Ceilidh in February. Both involve a huge amount of creativity, time and organisation, benefiting the sense of community as families come together and dance together.

19. Philanthropists

Growing Spaces Project has received thousands from parents and the wider school community, helping ESS invest over £1 million over the last decade to maintain the architectural heritage of our buildings, including C-Listed protected villas; and meet our long-term campus goals:

A purpose-built Seedlings Building
This would free up West Coach House to realise twelve full-sized classrooms (25 pupils) in the school.

Over the years, philanthropists have made monthly and one-off donations, left a legacy (e.g. £100k literacy royalties from former ESS teacher, Charles Kovacs), as well as raffle/tombola prizes for the Christmas Market, or precious lends like the Red Bus.

20. Self-build

Many corners of our campus and whole buildings have been built with grassroots help. The East Coach House won an ‘Honourable Mention – in Architectural Design / Educational Buildings’ by international Architecture Masterprize owing to being a living example of a community build, with pupil, parent and pastoral teacher participation. The purpose-built Kindergarten, West Coach House, School Hall and Science Lab all had elements of self-build, as did the renovations of Edenwood, Craigneen and Woodlands villas.

It has meant that Edinburgh Steiner School Trust can be proud to say it has no mortgage on its 3.5 acre campus situated within a protected conservation area of Merchiston.

21. We spend...brands donate

Parents and staff who have installed this widget on their smartphone, receiving a 'donate' prompt button to tap at checkout are helping to raise hundreds for ESS. If a brand is part of the easyfundraising initiative, it will transfer pennies to pounds as a 'Thank You' every time you shop with them. It's that simple.

22. Alumni

Our alumni demonstrate how the distinct education cultivates pupils who are responsible, creative, free-thinkers, who contribute to society and a sustainable environment with vision and purpose. Alumni Wall

More...

The above is by far not an exclusive list of the many evolving ways our Waldorf community have gone beyond the lengths of meeting tuition fees.