For these education movements are 'alternative', and that word used in this sense is not one you would expect to see linked with the Tories. Both systems take a more holistic view of a child's education than traditional schooling - many of their proponents are involved in the Open Eye campaign against the statutory nature of the Early Years Foundation Stage, with its emphasis on goals and outcomes. (Of course, the Tory proposal to 'slim' the EYFS is not completely at odds with this, though it may spring from a very different base.)
However, at primary level, Steiner in particular seems an unlikely recipient of Tory blessing, with its emphasis on nature, movement and music, its mistrust of technology, and its refusal to teach reading until pupils are aged seven.
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