Holistic education & childcare
Monday-Thursday 8am-5pm
Welcome to Free Spirits
We are a Steiner Waldorf inspired holistic education and childcare facility within 30 minutes of Salisbury, Winchester and Southampton.
We hold Hygge family sessions for children aged 0-7 and their adults, childcare for children aged 3-7, and subject lessons for home educated children aged 5-11.
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.
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Free Spirits strives to provide natural learning experiences for children that will respect them as individuals, cater for all aspects of development and allow learning at each child's pace through play and exploration in an aesthetically pleasing, ergonomic environment.
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 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
