The Steiner-Waldorf method is based on a method devised by Rudolph Steiner (1861-1925), the Austrian philosopher, scientist and educator.
He set up his first school in a cigarette factory in Germany in 1919, and there are now 700 such schools in 43 countries worldwide.
The Coolenbridge Steiner school in Co Clare was the first- established Steiner school in Ireland, "on the conviction that a true education must engage and nourish the whole child: body, mind and spirit.
"It is an education that seeks to awaken capacities, not to impose mere intellectual content on a child".
Other initiatives have since occurred in Naas and Cork city, while a successful Steiner school is in operation in Hollywood, Co Down.
When children go to a Steiner school, they get a teacher who stays with them for the seven primary grades.
The method of teaching is child centred; children are regarded as continuously evolving and the education must also evolve.
The education is practical in its orientation and includes imaginative art and creativity. It also includes the rudiments of primary education, reading, writing, arithmetic, history, geography and physical education.
The focus is the child, rather than the needs of society. Teachers must have engaged in a seminar on Waldorf pedagogy for one year, as well as other qualifications.
The method is a deliberate project to educate children for the world in a complete way. The belief is that there is a time for everything, and it intrudes on a child's educational possibilities to try to teach them too early.
Steiner schools have a kindergarten catering for children from the age of four and a school starting when the child is seven. The primary grades operate to the age of 13.