About - The Polaris School

Our Vision

Our vision as educators is to provide and deliver a modern, creative and virtual curriculum of Waldorf-inspired distance learning lessons to support home-schooling families. We believe the best way to do this in a virtual capacity, is through a pre-recorded format that creates and curates an experience of deep immersive learning for the child, that they can access anytime, at a pace that is right for them, anywhere in the world.

We seek to enable more families to access this education which aims to provide a holistic and engaging learning experience, inspiring children to meet the world with deep enthusiasm, imagination and an empathy for the greater world, past, present and future, that includes a sense of responsibility for those generations yet to be born.

Looking back at the last century of Waldorf education following the recent centenary, we have been reflecting on the hundred-year journey that began on the grounds of the Waldorf-Astoria factory in Stuttgart immediately following the trauma and social upheaval of the First World War. At this crucial juncture in human history , Rudolf Steiner, along with the industrialist Emil Molt and other like-minded individuals, perceived the need for a spiritual and socially inclusive education that actively sought to break down the barriers around social class, by educating all children whose parents worked at the factory together - from the lowest paid factory worker to the management and board - towards a sense of individual freedom and the responsibilities that this freedom then brings.

This aim was as uniquely radical and timely then as it is now.

One of the largest challenges to independent education, wither that is Waldorf or any other model, is making it affordable to everyone who wants it. It is our goal to ensure that all of our content is available at an affordable and fair price to anyone anywhere in the world.

Our Vision

Our Teachers

Tania Neil
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I am a teacher, parent and world citizen.

Born and raised in England, I attended a Steiner school and went on to study music and drama and then later trained as a Steiner teacher myself. I met my husband whilst training and in 2002 we moved to Australia where I completed a mainstream teacher training. With young children starting their own school journey I began working as a kindergarten assistant, moving later to class teaching.

Circumstances have since then drawn us back and forth across the world which has given me a rich life experience and a passion for bringing education to children on both sides of the globe. I have taught in Steiner schools in both England and Australia, and more recently teaching music using the Kodaly and Orff approaches. I am continually inspired to bring education to children and believe the need for flexibility in these changing times offers many opportunities for personal growth and development in my professional life.
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- BA Steiner/Waldorf Ed. - Plymouth University (UK)
- BEd Education- Primary - Charles Darwin University (AU)
- Kodaly Music Training l 1
- Orff Music Training l 1

Francis Steuck

I was born and raised around the Stroud valleys in the Cotswold Hills into a family of artists and educators who have been active in the Waldorf movement since the 1950’s. As a child, I spent many hours exploring the woods and valleys around me, getting to know the local birdlife and wildlife in great detail. This interest has accompanied me throughout my life in different parts of the world and when the time allows, I can be found on a local hilltop or coastline surveying migrant birds. Few things are more exciting then watching thousands of birds heading off on their long migratory journeys!

As a young adult, I spent a lot of time living and working most notably in Hungary, Romania and Uganda. During this phase, I was involved in biodynamic farming, youth and adult education – working primarily with the Roma community in Romania and internally displaced people in Uganda. Part of my work in Uganda also involved touring an amateur theatre company in and around Lake Victoria.

In more recent years, I trained in Waldorf education, initially working within special needs education before taking on a Waldorf Class One up to Class Five level. My inspiration for teaching has largely come from working within and witnessing the curative and transformative qualities of Waldorf education for vulnerable individuals and communities, as well as from having my own three wonderful children.
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- Steiner Teacher Training - West of England Steiner Teacher Training (WESTT)

Sam Dourson

My name is Sam Dourson, and I am a teacher, a mother, and a learner. I grew up in the small beach town of Carlsbad, California, surrounded by expansive natural beauty. The sun and sea provided endless inspiration, wonder and healing for me. I developed a deep admiration for the wilderness at an early age, where I was drawn to interact with its beauty - from the oceans to the deserts to the rugged mountains or the beautiful Sequoia or Redwood forests. I could often be found out in the surf with my father or just watching the sun set into the Pacific. Wherever I looked, I found endless beauty and inspiration in the sights, sounds and smells - the plants, animals and landscapes around me.

I also found a love of travel, where I encountered different landscapes and architecture, flora and fauna, music and dance, food, craft and culture. These still play a big role in my life today.

As a young adult, I graduated from university with a BSc in Business Administration – Marketing (Hons) and worked in the San Francisco Bay Area and London before having three lovely children. After my first child was born we joined our local Waldorf school’s Parent and Child class and I became increasingly involved in Waldorf education and the movement.

In 2012, my family and I moved to the UK, where my impulse and involvement continued to grow. I took up various trainings, including a Waldorf Practical Skills Therapeutic Education course, the Handwork Teachers course, alongside leading monthly parent craft workshops, running parent and child sessions and teaching handwork. I then completed the Steiner Teacher Training while I worked as an assistant and cover teacher before taking on my own class as Class Teacher.

My teaching impulse has largely derived from a longstanding and deep interest in the healing aspects of education. Our children deserve a rich, creative and curative education. The joy and continual challenge of stimulating a deeper sense of beauty and truth for the children of today is a fundamental aim for me.

- Steiner Teacher Training - West of England Steiner Teacher Training (WESTT)
- Waldorf Handwork Teacher Training - UK Waldorf Handwork Training Course (Gloucestershire, UK)
- Steiner Practical Skills Teacher Development Course - Pyrites PSTDC (Gloucestershire, UK)
- Simplicity Parenting Coach - Simplicity Parenting (certificated)
- BSc (Hons) Business Management & Marketing - San Jose State University, USA

Our Teachers

Testimonials

Dace
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“I just want to express my gratitude for the lessons! Even though we are only on lesson 3 in Botany, our son is so excited and drawn in by your presentation and beauty of the lessons. The lessons have captured not only his interest, but even the curious 6 year old sister’s who sits on sidelines when it comes to drawing and has her notebook out. Thank you from the bottom of my heart! Beautifully done and presented! What a joy and depth to education you bring to our family.”

Vanessa
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“My fourth grader started taking the Norse Myths this week and after just one day of main lesson he told me that Sam and Francis are the best teachers he has ever had and that he wishes he could have “real, live” teachers like them. He added that “they are such good artists and they seem like they are having fun (teaching)”. He also told his brother who is in 7th grade that he hoped Sam and Francis would be his teachers as well because they are “so good”.

My son is loving every minute of his day of main lesson. The work is varied (poems, drawing, painting, writing, stories etc…) and my son is engaged the entire lesson. He doesn’t even want me to be involved or check in on him. It’s like he enters the dreamy bubble of the Norse Myths! We are so grateful for this class. This has been a blessing and a gift for our family.”

S. Wood
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“Thank you so much for all your effort! Polaris is a dream come true as a waldorf homeschooling family with parents who work from home. I am a qualified Waldorf teacher and a writer and I have longed to find support to bring the best to my children without having to send them to school, or having to work full time at a school in order to afford them the best education.

My daughter loves her focused lesson time, it is special to her and allows her autonomy from younger siblings for her own learning journey, something she was fully ready to embrace (4th grade).

Polaris school is genius. It provides the best of both worlds: total flexibilty, autonomy, affordability, and the best quality content to meet the child at each age. I feel we get a far better user experience by using pre-recorded content supplemented with live meetings than if it were a live online class - live online classes have poor internet connectivity challenges and tons of distractions. We get our social time elsewhere, and this is purely an opportunity for a child to be handed a piece of gold that will serve and support them as they grow and become.

Thank you for creating this!! We are excited to use Polaris as our anchor through the grades. ”