I intend on sending Clodagh to the local Montessori pre school, it's gorgeous and very into nature and learning to care for animals etc as well as their emphasis on teaching children self respsonisibilty.

Having said that, I also LOVE the Steiner approach...very much and so much so that if we had a local school here I would send her there in preference probably. But the closest one is too far, half hour drive and that seems illogical to me given some of the reasons I want my kids to attend these types of schools lol.

I don't think they're ness better than other ECE's...just different approaches. I've also dealt with many parents and children of all ages from BOTH these schools and tbh have found them almost without exception to be empathetic, kind, outgoing with great social skills and very attuned to the natural world around them. Of course this could be luck on my part hehe but it certainly helped shape my views on these schools.