Fees and Bursaries
Early Years and School Fees
Waldorf schools aim to be as accessible as possible for all families. In many countries schools are state funded but in the UK 21 are independent and 1 school is a state funded academy (Steiner Academy Hereford). This means all but one school charge fees.
Government early years funding is available in most settings for a proportion of the kindergarten provision.
Childcare vouchers are also usually accepted by schools. School fees are kept to a minimum to facilitate greater access and extend public benefit. They can be less than half the average cost of other independent schools ranging between £6,000 and £14,500 per year. As a result facilities tend to be moderate, particularly where schools are small.
However, the strength of our schools is in creating strong relationships between teachers and children and there are often higher teacher/children ratios with specialist subject teaches employed even at primary level. Traditionally teacher salaries have also remained low in comparison to other schools. However, trustee/governor boards are working to remedy this situation.
Teachers are at the heart of our schools and deserve to be paid at a reasonable rate. As a result school fees are increasing.
Bursaries
Most schools offer some kind of fee reduction to families who experience a change of circumstances and find themselves without sufficient income to pay full fees. Each school runs its own scheme.
