Dear Friends of the
European Council for Steiner Waldorf Education,
Summer is here. All over Europe, pupils are going on holidays and the European Parliament in Brussels is getting ready for its summer break. Before the ECSWE office closes its doors for the summer, we would like to briefly inform you on the last six months activities. In this volume, you find information on:
Changes in ECSWE: board elections, admission of Lithuania and new staff;
The results of the Members survey on Steiner Waldorf schools in Europe;
ECSWE's membership in the European Commission Working Group schools;
An info-note on the European Parliament's position on standardised testing;
The report on the Symposium on Pluralism in Assessment in Luxembourg;
Reports of the last two Council meetings;
Domestic reports from Spain and the UK.
Enjoy your summer holidays!
Georg Jürgens and Ilona de Haas
ECSWE Office
European Council for Steiner Waldorf Education
Changes in ECSWE
New ECSWE board
After three intense years, the ECSWE board says goodbye to the Treasurer Rosmarie Bluder, Secretary Karen Chapman and Vice-Treasurer Cathrine Nordlie. During the council meeting in Ringwood on the 6th of May, the leaving board members were thanked for all their hard work and three new board members were elected: Frans Ebskamp (Treasurer), Margareta Van Raemdonck (Secretary) and Frederikke Larsson (Vice-Treasurer). The board handover took place in June. Our president Richard Landl and Vice-President Iztok Kordis were both re-elected for another mandate. Please visit the ECSWE Board page to find their pictures and contact details.
Lithuania becomes a member
ECSWE is proud to announce that a new member country has joined us this year. Warm welcome to the Lietuvos Valdorfo mokyklų asociaija / The Association of Waldorf Schools of Lithuania represented by Ausra Puskunigiene. (puskunigiene@gmail.com).
Georg Jürgens is no longer alone in the office
The ECSWE board has recruited a new office assistant: Ilona de Haas. Her personal e-mail address is de.haas@ecswe.net. She is also co-responsible for the office inbox: info@ecswe.net.
Survey on Steiner Waldorf schools in Europe
Basic information and country specific profiles
Want to discover country specific information about the European Waldorf movement? We are happy to announce that the ECSWE website now features country profiles offering basic statistical data and a general fact sheet providing an overview of Steiner Waldorf schools and pupils in Europe. These are the results of our recent Members' survey conducted by the ECSWE survey group. [ read more ]
Membership in the European Commission
Working Group schools
Results of the call
ECSWE successfully applied for membership in the European Commission Working Group schools and is now one of only three European Civil Society / stakeholder associations who made it into the Working Group schools. Regular members of the Working Groups are EU Member States, Candidate Countries, EFTA Countries (Iceland, Norway and Switzerland), relevant EU bodies, EU agencies such as the ETF, CEDEFOP and the Eurydice Network and other international organisations such as the OECD and the Council of Europe. [ read more ]
First meeting in February
During the meetings of the Working Group, ECSWE is represented by its president Richard Landl. The first meeting took place in February 2016. [ read the report ]
European Parliament criticises teaching to the test
ECSWE welcomes the adoption of the European Parliament’s resolution on the 2015 review of the ET 2020 Framework. The document reflects on the new priorities in education and training and makes recommendations for educational reform. In their report, the Members of the European Parliament find very clear words on the negative effects of standardised testing on the quality of teaching and learning and the phenomenon of teaching to the test. The report therefore supports ECSWE’s advocacy for pluralism in assessment. [ read more ]
Symposium on Pluralism in Assessment
in Luxembourg
How exactly do standardised tests affect the quality of teaching and how can we find alternative assessment methods that support students’ learning outcomes holistically? To explore these questions, the European Council for Steiner Waldorf Education (ECSWE), together with the Universal Education Foundation, the Waldorf School Luxembourg and the Alliance for Childhood held a Symposium on “Pluralism in Assessment” at the University of Luxembourg on the 15th January 2016. Opening speeches were held by Professor Heinz-Dieter Meyer of the State University of New-York, and Jens Björnavold who is working with the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training. [ read more ]
ECSWE Council meetings
United Kingdom, May 2016
Loes Van Alphen reports on the Council meeting in Ringwood, UK: "The meeting was held at the Ringwood Waldorf School in the beautiful surroundings of New Forest and the river Avon, South England. We were welcomed on Friday afternoon in the hall. In the afternoon, Georg Jürgens presented the latest developments of ECSWE’s Advocacy. The main achievement of the past few months was ECSWE’s successful application for the ET 2020 Working Group schools ..." [ read more ]
Luxembourg, January 2016
Julia Kolinichenko reports on the Council meeting in Luxembourg. "The ECSWE Council meeting on Friday evening started with the presentation of the Luxembourg Waldorf school. The Luxembourg school opened in 1984 ..." [ read more ]
Domestic reports
United Kingdom & Republic of Ireland
Kevin Avison reports on the situation in the United Kingdom and Ireland: "The (SWSF) was founded 1953 with 7 members. Nowadays, it counts 35 schools, of which 13 are Associate members ..."
Alberto Caballero reports on the situation of the Spanish Waldorf schools: "Until now Waldorf schools in Spain have had two options regarding national requirements: 1.) Being partially funded by the state, thus compromising some aspects of the pedagogy, or 2.) remain a private school and increase the timetable where needed in order to complete the Waldorf Curriculum ..." [ read more ]
Upcoming events
ECSWE Board meeting, Brussels, 7th September 2016
Lifelong Learning Week, Brussels, 10th - 13th October 2016 [ read more ]
ECSWE Council meeting, Tartu, Estonia, 14th - 16th October 2016
