Holistic education, childcare & family sessions
Welcome to Free Spirits
MISSION STATEMENT
Free Spirits strives to provide loving childcare and informal learning experiences in a homely, child-centred environment, with ample time to play outdoors. We will respect the children’s individuality, cater for all aspects of development and allow unpressured learning through play and exploration within a rhythmic daily structure.
We are a Steiner Waldorf inspired holistic education and childcare centre within 30 minutes of Salisbury, Winchester and Southampton.
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We welcome home educated children aged 3-11 for childcare and tutoring on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.
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Our Hygge family sessions are held every Monday for adults with their preschool and home educated children.
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Our base is a wooden cabin with its own private garden within the grounds of Grade II listed manor house Norman Court, which is in the picturesque village of West Tytherley. We are surrounded by over 42 acres of fields and woodland, and we also have an adventure play area. We spend plenty of time outdoors on a daily basis.​
Our Philosophy
Our main influence is the Steiner Waldorf pedagogy. We are also inspired by Forest School and Montessori methods. We take the common areas of these three popular alternative education approaches and use them to inform our practice at Free Spirits.
Testimonials
Lovely setting. Our new to home ed 9 year old has recently joined and after a huge struggle in school she has loved her time here. We love the nurturing environment and outdoor space. Gemma and the team are really helpful and understanding.
Lisa
We have been attending the Monday Hygge sessions together since February 2023 and my son joined the Tuesday session by himself when he turned 3 in March. We initially intended for Tuesdays to be ad hoc (given the flexible booking offering) but my son loves it so much he attends every Tuesday. The Monday Hygge session is a calm, nurturing space, and it is so lovely to observe the children wash their own dishes after snack time and co-create games in the garden. It is a great opportunity for me to make and build friendships with other parents who are also wanting to make intentional choices around their children's learning. My son is happy and relaxed with Gemma and the team. He's made some great friends, has rich and varied experiences, and loves sharing what he has learnt at circle time, especially the French words and phrases he is picking up from Lynne. I highly recommend Free Spirits.
Elaine
Our three children love going to Free Spirits, they love the cabin and indoor slide, the little one gets upset when her sisters are dropped off and she has to come home. The staff are very friendly and the kids love them.
Barnaby
Lovely calm relaxed feel and atmosphere. Gemma was welcoming and great with the children and us adults too! The setting was lovely inside and out, lots for the children to do who all played very happily, my boys can't wait to come back!
I would highly recommend.
Mel
What an amazing three days we had in the Hygge sessions! My almost 2 year old loved it. It is great to have children with different ages together, so the little ones are learning and copying. We did lovely outdoors activities - open fire, making forest headbands, painting. And the indoor area is just so calming, clean and peaceful, even with children running around. I fully recommend this place to anyone.
Martina
I visited this place with my 3 year old twice so far and will carry on regularly as it’s SO AWESOME, she had SO MUCH FUN and it’s great place for socialising, she even finally began speaking English which is a huge milestone for us.
Kaz
I have just spent the most wonderful morning at Free Spirits with my 2 year old. We joined in with our first Hygge session. We learned alongside children and did some counting with adults. We shared, we investigated, we ate together and played, before saying a very tired goodbye. We can't wait to visit again! I fully recommend Free Spirits Education to anyone who is looking for an alternative to state education. See you there xx
Nicola
I have never felt comfortable leaving ZÂ in the care of any setting before until we came to Free Spirits. I trust Gemma and her vision of the school and what she provides completely and know that ZÂ is in the best place to learn and have fun. I love that he spends so much time outdoors and Gemma is so enthusiastic about teaching the children about nature and things around them
Chloe
The range of activities (both planned ones and activities for the children to choose) are wonderful. I also love that it's a small setting that feels quite relaxed compared to some larger drop-off groups. My daughters both love it and are always excited to go!
Laura
