I got this off their central website just to give you an idea:
What is Steiner education?

Steiner education...

* Works for all children irrespective of academic ability, class, ethnicity or religion;
* Takes account of the needs of the whole child – academic, physical, emotional and spiritual;
* Is based on an understanding of the relevance of the different phases of child development;
* Develops a love of learning and an enthusiasm for school;
* Sees artistic activity and the development of the imagination as integral to learning;
* Is tried and tested and is part of state funded, mainstream provision in most European countries;
* Is respected worldwide for its ability to produce very able young people who have a strong sense of self and diverse capacities that enable them to become socially and economically responsible citizens.

OH was involved in the design of the building! It will be a pretty great learning space. It was certainly well thought out!

I've just spent a little while trying to find something that is a clear explanation. Not easy I've found! I came across this:
Which sums up my understanding of it quite neatly. It's often called 'spiritual science' as I think Steiner was keen to document his spiritual experiences in a scientific way. The specifics of Steiner's writing are to my mind a bit bizarre in places though. Definitely worth reading and judging for yourself.

I'd like to send LO to one as it's such a lovely learning environment and alot of the things they do (such as bushcraft) we do already with T

I would love to send LO to one. It seems like such a lovely learning environment and a lot of the things they do in the kindergarten stages such as bushcraft, we already do with LO.

Problem is, there are NONE anywhere near us!.......... The closest one was in Aberystwyth (which is still 3 hrs away!) but the council closed it down because it wasn't billigual (engligh/welsh) which is ridiculous!!!

This link goes into a lot of detail about the philosophy / religion behind Steiner schools. While it is quite anti the Steiner method (which they explain in detail) I think it is worth reading in order to fully understand what the method is about. That way if you do choose a Steiner school you go in with your eyes wide open about the advantages and disadvantages.

From reading about, it seems the various schools in the UK vary quite a lot in how flexible they are with the Steiner method.

http://www.dcscience.net/?p=3528

This is interesting, as i was about to post something similar. We attend a parent&toddler group at our local Kindy in Cardiff, and love it. I have 4children, one in year one in a mainstream school, and one in nursery. The eldest is finding school pressured, and is not ready to put pen to paper, moreover being forced to do so has had a negative effect on his learning experience. My 3year old loves mainstream nursery, but is extremely confident, however i was disgusted to find the school assessing the children within 6weeks of them starting. I love alot of Rudolf Steiners principles, but as with anything in life there are aspects of which i am sceptical. I love the ringtime, home environment, calmness, stories, and respect for nature&our earth, moreover i feel at ease there. This form of education deals with the child from a spiritual, and educational perspective, and yes...i have heard alot of tales regarding gnomes, fairies, the occult, and even cliqueness with parents (I feel this could happen any where, especially without a hieracrchy as in the case of Steiner schools) Moving on from Kindy, I like the fact GCSE'S are not the be all, and end all, and a more vocational approach can be taken. I too am looking for experiences as have heard alot of negatives regarding athroposophy, that i have not personally experienced. I guess i am feeling unsure as my children are due to start in Jan, and it's so different fromthe 'norm'. I feel we've (me included?)been conditioned to feel mainstream schools are the best option, but i guess it's not always better the devil youy know so to speak.

*Anthroposophy, a philosophy founded by Rudolf Steiner, postulates the existence of an objective, intellectually comprehensible spiritual world accessible to direct experience through inner development. More specifically, it aims to develop faculties of perceptive imagination, inspiration and intuition through cultivating a form of thinking independent of sensory experience and to present the results thus derived in a manner subject to rational verification. In its investigations of the spiritual world, anthroposophy aims to attain the precision and clarity attained by the natural sciences in their investigations of the physical world.

I don't think this link could give any form of idea what it's all about as its so against it completely!

I taught at a steiner school, but my primary career is in public education 7-12 grades. This is the U.S. model for high school. Being a teacher and having taught in many environments, my favorite for little ones is the Waldorf School for sure and if I don't home school my daughter, that is where I would send her.

Fair enough. It is very anti. You could read the Steiner website and then that link to get two sides of the story.

I was someone who was initially attracted to the Steiner method for the reasons listed on the Steiner website. However, I've since read a far amount by people who've had bad experiences and had one friend with direct experience. The bad experiences tend to be mostly because people didn't know much about the philosophy/religion behind it when they first sent their kids to a Steiner school. Let's face it, Rudolf had some very bizarre views.

As long as you know as much as possible about the method, as well as the advantages and disadvantages, then you can be sure you're making the right choice for your family.