Fees and finance

Standard Scale of Fees

Kindergarten One: Appleseed (Age 2 years +)
Session Dates	Academic year 2025/26	Monthly	Summer’25	Monthly
Full time 8.45am – 5.30pm	£18,369	£1,531	£4,898	£1,225
5 Waldorf Days 8.45am – 3.15pm	£13,883	£1,157	£3,939	£985
3 Mornings*	£6,311	£526	£1,715	£429
There is a minimum of three mornings in our Appleseed Kindergarten, where there is a 1:5 ratio for all 2-year-olds. Illustrative costs for a different provision pattern to the above three models can be viewed here. Up to £10,000 of Kindergarten One fees can be met through a Tax-free Childcare account, bringing down the cost by 20%

Kindergarten Two: Acorn, Appleseed & Greenfinch (Age 3 years +)
Session Dates	Academic Year 2025/26	Monthly	Summer Term ’25	Monthly
5 days until 3.15pm	£11,865	£989	£3,605	£902
5 Mornings	£8,541	£712	£2,357	£590
Extended to 3.15pm
5 afternoons 4 afternoons 3 afternoons 2 afternoons 1 afternoon	£3,324 £2,659 £1,994 £1,330 £787	£277 £222 £166 £111 £66
Edinburgh Steiner School is a Partner Provider of Scotland’s 1,140 Hours ELC Programme, giving families access to a Waldorf early years education at no cost for up to 30 hours a week during term time, namely five days until 3.15pm during term time. This provision includes an organic fresh lunch and snack. All children living in Scotland become eligible the term after they turn 3; as well as a quarter of 2-year-olds and deferred 5-year-olds. Children need to reside in Edinburgh and be applying for five days until 3.15pm if you would like fees to be met through the ELC programme. There are a limited number of funded places offered in our Kindergartens. Priority on the waiting list will be given to enrolled Acorn children and prospective pupils who meet one or more criteria. To be added to the waiting list for enrolment in August 2026 and August 2027, please apply here: Blackbird / Greenfinch (age 3-4.5yo) / Treetops (age 4.5-6yo).

Kindergarten Three: Treetops

(Age 4.5 – 6 years old)

Session Dates	Academic Year 2025/26	Monthly	Summer Term ’25	Monthly
Treetops Morning (8.45am – 12.45pm)	£10,249	£854	£2,828	£707
Extended until 3.15pm:
5 Afternoons 4 Afternoons 3 Afternoons 2 Afternoons 1 Afternoon	£3,989 £3,191 £2,393 £1,596 £944	£333 £266 £200 £133 £79
Extended until 5.30pm*
Termly Emergency / Flexi	£15.75 / session £20/session
Treetops has a minimum of five mornings. *Kindy Club (until 5.30pm) is VAT exemplary and can also be met through a Tax-Free Childcare account, reducing the cost by 20% Gift a further Kindergarten year: Children who turn five between the start of the state school year and the end of February have the legal right to a financially supported place in Treetops. Families must make a written request for this to your local Council by their specified deadline (Edinburgh Council – closing date 28th February ’26, reside in Edinburgh, and be applying for five days until 3.15pm if you would like fees to be met through the Deferred ELC programme. There are a limited number of funded places offered in Treetops. Priority on the waiting list will be given to enrolled kindergarteners seeking to continue their Waldorf education in the school and prospective pupils who meet one or more criteria. To be added to the waiting list for enrolment in August 2026 and August 2027, please apply here: Treetops (age 4.5-6yo).

Lower School

2025/26	Annual VAT applied at 20%	Monthly
Class 1	£10,880	£907
Class 2	£12,486	£1,041
Class 3	£12,486	£1,041
Class 4	£14,819	£1,235
Class 5	£14,892	£1,241
Class 6	£15,039	£1,254
Class 7	£15,039	£1,254
Class 8	£15,039	£1,254

Lower School – Find out more

Classes 1 – 6 After School Club

	1pm finish	3.15pm finish
Class 1	4 days	1 day (Thurs)
Class 2	3 days	2 days
Class 3	2 days	3 days
Thursday	1 day (Fri)	4 days
Friday	1 day (Fri)	4 days
After School Club is VAT exempt. The cost can also be met through a Tax-Free Childcare account until the September after your child turns 11.


Termly block booking session:	1pm – 3.15pm	1pm – 4.15pm	1pm – 5.30pm	3.15pm – 4.15pm	3.15pm – 5.30pm	4.15pm – 5.30pm
Cost per session: £7/hour pro rata Exempt from VAT	£15.75	£22.75	£31.50	£7	£15.75	£8.75
How to book block booking:	Block-booked for the full term saves 10% and cost is added to monthly direct debit. Contact Bursar, Donna Ewing, before the start of the term to reserve a place: bursar@edinburghsteinerschool.org.uk / through School Shop
Emergency / Flexi booking cost per session:	1pm – 3.15pm	1pm – 4.15pm	1pm – 5.30pm	3.15pm – 4.15pm	3.15pm – 5.30pm	4.15pm – 5.30pm
£7.70/hour pro rata Exempt from VAT	£17.35	£25.05	£34.65	£7.70	£17.35	£9.65
How to make emergency / flexi booking:	Booked through the School Shop Availability depending

Upper School

2025/26

Annual

Monthly

Class 9 – 11

£16,823

£1,402

Class 12

£16,498

£1,375

Upper School – Find out more

Visiting Students

	2025-2026
Annual (35 weeks)
Autumn Term (14 weeks)	£8,520
Spring Term (11 weeks)	£6,694
Summer Term (10 weeks)	£6,085

The tuition fees above for Visiting Students includes class outings most Fridays and EAL.

Visiting Students – find out more Session Dates

Financial Information

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, the School reserves the right to charge 10% interest per annum from the due date until payment as per the signed enrolment agreement. Please promptly contact the School Bursar if you have difficulty making payment.

Payment termly or annually in advance is also welcomed.

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 bank transfer or other methods. These payments are not included in the direct debit agreement for fees.

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 as per the terms and conditions of the signed enrolment agreement.

Tax-Free Childcare

As Edinburgh Steiner School is a registered childcare provider, fees for Seedlings, as well as Wraparound in Early Years and the School and Extra Curricular Clubs costs for children aged eleven and under, can be paid through a Tax-Free Childcare account. This UK Government scheme reduces the cost of childcare delivered by a registered provider by 20%.

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 that all children are attending Edinburgh Steiner School simultaneously.

Fee Discount For Employees Of Anthroposophical Organisations

Employees of organisations with an anthroposophical ethos are eligible to receive 25% fee remission for all children enrolled in the School. Employees who work at least 50% of a full-time contract but less than 100% will be entitled to fee remission. Families in receipt of this discount will still be eligible for a school bursary if justified by their household income.

List of qualifying anthroposophical organisations

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

It has long been an ambition of the School that access to a Steiner education should not depend solely on the ability to pay fees. There are various avenues of financial support listed on this page.

BURSARY

Bursaries are available to help fund up to 60% of fees for qualifying families. They are provided on a year-by-year basis. Please read both before submitting anything.

Bursary application processes for the current academic year 2025/26 are now open.

Closing Date: 2nd May, 2025

Application Form – Financial Bursary (2025-2026) PDF

Applicationn Form – Financial Bursary (2025-2026) Word

Bursary Criteria (2025/26)

No applications will be accepted after this date. ALL supporting documents MUST be submitted along with the application. Should you of course require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact our Bursar, Donna Ewing: bursar@edinburghsteinerschool.org.uk

The Board of Trustees reserve the right to vary the criteria for Bursaries each year.

FAMILY SUPPORT FUND

The intention of this fund is to provide financial support for families who may need it in times of hardship. Funding will be in the form of a one-off grant.

Criteria Summary:

This fund is only available for families of children who have been with the School for one year or more.
Funding applications will be means-tested based on the financial information of the family. This process will be liaised with the School Bursar and the Management team.

DONATING TO THE BURSARIES SCHEMES

To make a donation to the Bursary or Family Support Fund, please use the bank details below:

Caf Bank
Edinburgh Steiner School Trust
Sort Code: 40-52-40
Account number: 0009 0083

1,140 HOURS PROGRAMME

Since 1991 Edinburgh Steiner School has been an Early Learning and Childcare Partner Provider for the City of Edinburgh Council. We offer the 1,140 Hours Programme – providing up to 30 hours a week of funded ELC during term time to all 3- and 4-year-olds and eligible 2-year-olds living in Scotland – in partnership with City of Edinburgh Council (CEC). Those living outside CEC boundary are also eligible for funding.

We actively support parents & carers wanting to Defer Entry to P1.

Families are entitled to benefit from the 1,140 Hours Programme, the Tax-Free Childcare Scheme and our Third Child Reduction Scheme in conjunction with each other.

Our aim is to develop responsible, free-thinking young people who can contribute to society with initiative and purpose.

Nobel Prize Winner Professor Sudhöf is Patron of Acknowledging Creative Thinking Skills (ACTS) project, from which the Integrated Education suite of qualifications arises.

More than ever nowadays, where things are changing, where the way we interact with the world has become so much more indirect because of new technologies, where we need to cope with a completely different sensory environment, this type of education is more important than ever.

Nobel Laureate (Neuroscience) & Waldorf graduate, Dr Thomas Sudhöf’s keynote speech, at Waldorf 100 celebrations in Silicon Valley.