Spearwood Alternative School or Perth Waldorf?

Hi all,

Im way ahead of myself here seeing as bubs isn't born yet, but wanted some opinions from any mums whose kids go to either Perth Waldorf School in Bibra Lake or Spearwood Alternative School.

From what I can ascertain, Spearwood Alt has similar policies/teaching principles to Waldorf but is a lot cheaper cause its public.

I have researched Waldrof schools and love the idea but dp has known a few people who went to Perth Waldorf and are now 'off with the fairies' cause its quite hippy-ish. Also I can't find any info on the net about Waldorf fees but I've heard its expensive.

If any of your kids go to Perth Waldorf or Spearwood Alt (or any Waldorf/alt school in Aus) I woudl love to hear your opinions, good or bad, thanks!

Hi! :) No kids yet, but my mum wanted to send us to Waldorf when we were younger - I remember some stuff about it. The thing she was most impressed with was that kids were put up to the next grade when they were ready, not when the year changed. I don't really know anything about Spearwood Alternative, but if they have the same basic teaching methods and Spearwoods cheaper, I'd go with Spearwood!

HTH :)

It would be drawing a very long bow to compare Perth Waldorf School and Spearwood Alternative School and say they are very similar.

Both schools are very well regarded and there are some parents who send one child to one and another to the other. (Perhaps where there are different fathers and therefore one father will pay the fees and the other wont.)
The fees at PWSchool are relatively cheap compared with many independent schools. $4000 per year approximately and the school goes all the way from playgroup to year 12 from 2011.
A Waldorf School has a very structured curriculum and certain things are always taught in certain years. (Fairy stories in grade 1, aesops fables in grade 2, Hebrew stories in grade three, norse myths in grade 4, greek myths in grade 5, roman history in grade 6 and renaiisance in grade seven among many other things).Reading and writing are delayed a little till the children are developmentally ready and until the children can learn with ease as opposed to lots of rigorous teaching in pre-primary that is exhausting for kids who are not ready. The children have the same teacher for a number of years. For example when they enter class one they form a class and that class stays together right through till grade seven. Often with only one or two teachers the whole time. Children don't stay down years as the last post suggested.

Waldorf schools place an immense emphasis on the arts. Drawing, painting, music and handwork are very important and taught with rigour. This sometimes gives Waldorf schools the appearance of being free and relaxed schools that are full of arty types but actually in terms of its set curriculum and structured teaching approach they are less free and easy than mainstream schools.

One emphasis that waldorf schools have that seperates them from most schools is their media/computer policy. Waldorf schools emphasize the need to give children healthy childhoods and believe they should eat healthy food and not be exposed at an early age to computers, and TV/movies/computer games etc. The culture of Perth Waldorf school is such that most of the pupils are restricted from these influences by watchful parents and therefore their imaginations and love for the purity of the world often surprises people. (They have an innocence and wonder that can surprise people used to mainstream educated children.)Such things are not banned but it is recommended that children are not exposed to them till puberty so they can develop healthily and 1)play more because they are free from the act of sitting in front of a screen and 2)free from the unhealthy images and programmes that we all know abound on our screens.

Spearwood Alternative School is known to have a very nurturing approach to education and is known for its pastoral care. However, it is still a fairly mainstream educational approach. People may choose to send their child to SASchool because
it is their local school, its has a more free education approach where children are given choice in their education (study what interests them sometimes),
the parents can be more involved and active than at many mainstream schools,
they have not been able to fit in at other schools or
they have been excluded from other schools for behaviour issues.....

If i were to choose a school for my child I would investigate further but on the face of it, you would be choosing two very different curriculums and two very different structures. It would be unwise to go to a Waldorf school unless you have an understanding and commitment to fully support the ethos at home and in your child raising.

There are regular tours of the PWSchool and there is an open day in August, I think.

My friend recently tried to get her child into PWS and found there were no places and long wait lists, you wont find that at SASchool, so in the end you may have no choice!!

Good luck.