insideKENT Magazine Issue 63 - June 2017 | Page 172

EDUCATION CANTERBURY STEINER SCHOOL’S FUTURE IS NOW SAFE WITH NEW PRIVATE INVESTMENT SECURED TO GROW THE CHARTHAM-BASED INDEPENDENT SCHOOL FOR 3-14 YEAR OLDS. Canterbury Steiner School is changing. Following recently agreed new private investment, the school is set to transform in the coming years into one of the region’s most exciting and forward-thinking independent schools. School Leader, Tessa Carias, says: “We’re delighted to not only have safeguarded the future of the school and removed the pressure and understandable anxiety from staff, parents and pupils but to be in a better position than ever to continue to build the school, with a view to opening a new Upper School with a strong international component in the future.” Chair of Trustees, Judith Hawarden, says: “There has been a lot of hard work behind the scenes and we have been fortunate to find an investor who shares our vision for a school offering a more international outlook preparing pupils for a far more connected and faster moving world. Like increasing numbers of people and parents we believe a new approach is needed to education. We are seeing globally, from Europe to the US and China, that parents are turning to a Steiner-based education as an answer to producing pupils who are engaged, confident, creative and resilient.” The school’s leadership is actively developing plans and consulting with parents to shape a new school fit for the 21st century. Parents are increasingly looking for an education which is more in-tune with their child, and at Canterbury Steiner, they can find this genuinely different approach. The school appeals to those parents who place as much value upon a pupil’s personal and emotional wellbeing as on simply academic achievement. As the school’s development plan is finalised over the coming months the school’s ethos and values will continue to offer the strengths a Steiner Waldorf education, which inspires imagination, involvement and discovery in the child. The curriculum arises out of a deep understanding of a child’s natural development, embracing a ‘heart, hands and head’ approach to inspire a lifelong love of learning and an enduring curiosity about the world. Tessa adds: “We have always felt we have enormous strengths, from our passionate and highly skilled teaching staff and our truly holistic curriculum to the beauty of our location. Now, with the right resources, we are fully confident in becoming a school for excellence.” Canterbury Steiner School Garlinge Green Chartham Nr Canterbury CT4 5RU Beginning with its “outstanding” Kindergarten (SIS Inspection 2014), the school aims to make the Lower School achieve excellence in all areas, leading to the permanent establishment of a new Upper School (14-18 years olds). Canterbury Steiner School is a member of the Steiner Waldorf Schools Fellowship Registered Charity No. 273147 Company No. 1299345 174 01227 738285 [email protected] www.canterburysteinerschool.co.uk