Fees and finance

Standard Scale of Fees

Playgroup – Click for more info

Kindergarten – Click for more info

Lower School

Upper school

* The monthly amount applies only if you are paying over 12 months.

Visiting Students

Session dates  for 2020/21

Payment

Fees for a full session are payable by direct debit in twelve monthly instalments from August to July inclusive. In the event of any instalment not being met timeously, 10% interest per annum will charged from the due date until payment. Please contact the School Bursar if you have difficulty making payment.

Charges and Outlays

Upper School parents will be required to make a contribution towards textbooks and art materials. These will be charged each term in arrears and are payable by cheque.

Notice Period

If you wish to withdraw a child from school you must give written notice to the School Bursar one full term before the last day your child attends School. If a child is withdrawn without appropriate notice the fees for that term are payable.

Tax-Free Childcare

Fees for the School’s Early Years attended without a parent / carer can be paid through a Tax-Free Childcare account. This UK Government Scheme reduces the cost of childcare delivered by a registered provider by twenty-percent. Playgroup and Kindergarten fees are reduced by up to £1,220 and Afternoon Care costs are lowered to £4.80 an hour.

It is available to parents and carers that are either employed or self-employed. Fees for Playgroup, Kindergarten (for children under P1 age) and Afternoon Care / After-school Clubs (for children up to the age of 12 years old or 17 years old if the child has disabilities) can be paid from this account.  To check your eligibility and set up the government account, visit: Tax-Free Childcare on the UK Government website

Third Child Reduction

We offer a 25% discount on the fees of a third child and any subsequent children providing all attend the Edinburgh Steiner School.

Early Years Funding

Since 1991 Edinburgh Steiner School has been an Early Learning and Childcare Partner Provider for the City of Edinburgh Council. Changes to this scheme scheduled to be implemented by August 2020, including the increase to 1,140 Hours, involve a paradigm shift in our Early Years provision. We very much support the principle that this could make Steiner education more accessible.

The Scottish Government has decided that the implementation of the 1,140 Early Years funding scheme, which was planned for August 2020, will not now be compulsory across Scotland. Individual local authorities have been allowed to make their own decisions about whether they will implement the scheme in August 2020 or delay it. Edinburgh Council has decided to delay.

This means that the current system, which offers 16 hours of subsidised child care per week per child will continue for the time being. This funding of up to £2,280 per academic year is available to all children, starting the term after their third birthday, and ending when they reach statutory school starting age. Edinburgh Steiner School continues to be a registered Partner Provider. We are the only Partner Provider attached to an independent school offering young children to attend Playgroup or Kindergarten less than five days a week.

For parents in receipt of Working Tax Credits or set up with a Tax-Free Childcare account, Edinburgh Steiner School’s Playgroup, Kindergarten and Afternoon Care are registered childcare providers; and these of options for reducing the cost of childcare can be used in conjunction with the above subsidy.

Bursary

Parents, and prospective parents whose child has been offered a place in the Kindergarten or School, can apply for help meeting the cost of fees. Bursaries of up to 40% of fees are provided on a year-by-year basis. See the sidebar to the right (or below if using a phone) for more detailed information.