Today in Spain there are 21 kindergartens and 29 early childhood initiatives who are on their way to fulfil the requirements to become an established kindergarten. There are also more than 40 daycare centers, and 9 teacher training centers with about 800 students. Two of those trainings offer exclusively birth to 6 training.
The presence of Waldorf pedagogy in Spain is increasing day by day. Our association of kindergartens, schools and trainings welcome all initiatives in Spain who fulfil the criteria to become member and want to belong, also those from Portugal, as they grow and create their own national association.
In Portugal there are 3 established kindergartens and some initiatives on their way, as well as 2 training centers.
There is also an increasing interest from universities in developing a relationship with the Waldorf movement through visiting Waldorf initiatives or offering lectures or introductory courses in their own settings.
We also publish a newsletter twice a year, which is distributed for free to more than 3000 families and friends of our movement and to our more than 17,000 online subscribers.
In Spain the policies are very strict and many initiatives need a long time to be able to fulfil all the requirements before they get their legal permission. All initiatives, whether or not they have government support, have to use the national curriculum. Nevertheless, we have developed a great capacity for translating the requirements of the law into a wonderful Waldorf reality!
Lourdes Tormes-Granados, Kindergärtnerin in Madrid und Mitglied im Council der IASWECE