Alder Bridge Steiner-Waldorf School was founded in 1987 and currently offers education for pupils aged between three and fourteen years. It follows the philosophy of Rudolf Steiner and the curriculum developed from his thinking. It is located in Padworth, near Reading in West Berkshire. It is in a semi-rural location and beside outdoor play areas there are woodland, vegetable plots, willow structures and a wide range of outdoor facilities. There are 61 pupils on roll. Besides the two Kindergarten classes there are four combined classes which each contain two age groups covering Classes 1 and 2, 3 and 4, 5 and 6, and 7 and 8, respectively. Admission is non-selective and one pupil has a statement of special educational needs. The school ‘strives to help the child meet and address the challenges and demands of modern life. By educating the children in a more holistic manner, we nurture and develop head, heart and hands, awakening and encouraging independent thought, confidence in themselves and skills necessary for future life.’ Steiner class names Kindergarten Class 1 Class 2 Class 3 Class 4 Class 5 Class 6 Class 7 Class 8 National Curriculum Nursery, Year R, Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 6 Year 7 Year 8 Year 9 Kindergarten Lower School Ditto Ditto Ditto Ditto Ditto Ditto Ditto Summary of main findings: Alder Bridge Steiner-Waldorf School provides a good quality of education for its pupils. Overall, they make good progress but there are inconsistencies in some classes. The quality of teaching is good. Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good with some outstanding features, notably community links and the range of cultural visits, outings and trips undertaken. The classrooms and 3 grounds provide excellent and varied opportunities for learning. The school has sought to address the issues raised at the last inspection, but some of these have not been met consistently. The school has devised a policy for assessment and recording across the classes, but this is not as yet applied rigorously enough to be fully effective. Teachers know the pupils very well to good effect, and consequently behaviour is good. Especially in the older classes, a strong sense of being in a team has been built up and includes both pupils and teachers. Pupils’ speaking and language skills are developed effectively throughout the school, as is work in the creative and aesthetic areas. Parents who responded to the inspection questionnaire indicated that they are very happy with the school. Provision in the Kindergarten classes is good; they provide an outstanding quality of care and the children’s personal and emotional development is excellent. What the school does well: it provides a good quality of teaching; it enables pupils to make good overall progress; it promotes particularly positive relationships between adults and pupils which support learning; it develops pupils’ speaking and listening skills well, along with their creative and aesthetic achievement.
Alder Bridge School Parent Reviews
Average Parent Rating
“"Each day is a celebration"”
22 February 2022AUTHOR: A Parent
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Every morning is a celebration for our children to go to Alder Bridge Waldorf School and they don't want to miss a day there.
Joy of learning, inner motivation, no notes and no fear, development of creativity, fantasy, cognitive openness, love of our earth, of different cultures, animals, environement; where individuality is being respected and nurtured — so grateful to have all these for our children in the 4th and 6th classes of this wonderful school.
The kindergarten is the realm of sensible activities, good habits and natural, imagination-fostering toys…
If only there were more of such schools — raising the youngsters who trust their own thinking, who have initiatives and power of will to bring their ideas into reality. Who use their creativity in creating something good for the world.
“Education as it should be”
19 January 2018AUTHOR: Parent, Class 5
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Alder Bridge Steiner Waldorf School provides an unhurried approach to education in the early years and allows children to develop physically, socially, and academically. The focus on is on nurturing the child, its imagination, creativity, thinking, and social interaction. Rather than apply pressure children are able to explore and experiment. They gain confidence and develop a joy of learning that are invaluable life skills. As they grow older the curriculum becomes more demanding, always oriented at the children's ability and development. Alder Bridge school goes up to Class 8, and most teenagers who then leave will go into mainstream education. The curriculum takes account of this and the transition they will face.
Anthroposophy is reflected in this holistic approach. Being a Steiner-Waldorf school it goes without saying that many principles of Rudolf Steiner's pedagogy apply. There are some who see this as an outdated approach and imply religious bias. I have never seen this at Alder Bridge and my child could not be happier. Quite contrary to many schools, religion as a lesson introduces the main world religions, and although primarily Christian in outlook, no indoctrination in any way takes place. Rudolf Steiner's work went beyond education into the fields of philosophy and politics in terms of wider social reforms. Many of his findings have to be seen in the context of time, and not all apply to education. I hence believe that Steiner-Waldorf schools have to adapt and make some of the principles more applicable to modern times, and I think they do. Alder Bridge School certainly does as far as I can say (and I did not go to a Steiner School myself).
Alder Bridge School provides more than just teaching. The community is warm and welcoming. It is a small school and as such state of the art facilities are not easily affordable and hence introduced but it is continuously improving and the children have a lot on offer, including a vast woodland area with a hut/outdoor classroom, a woodwork room, veg patches, play areas, etc.
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Alder Bridge School Catchment Area Map
This school is independently managed and its admission criteria may be selective. There is no set catchment area as pupils are admitted from a wide variety of postcodes and, in the case of boarding schools, from outside the UK. Contact the school directly or visit their website for more information on Admissions Policy and Procedures.
2015 GCSE RESULTSImportant information for parents
Due to number of reforms to GSCE reporting introduced by the government in 2014, such as the exclusion of iGCSE examination results, the official school performance data may not accurately report a school’s full results. For more information, please see About and refer to the section, ‘Why does a school show 0% on its GSCE data dial? In many affected cases, the Average Point Score will also display LOW SCORE as points for iGCSEs and resits are not included.
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