Sunfield is an
Independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independ ...
special school
Special education (known as special-needs education, aided education, exceptional education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, or SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates th ...
, Children's Home and charity on the border of Worcestershire and the
West Midlands
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...
in England. It was founded in 1930 and now supports boys and girls, aged 6 – 19 years, with complex learning needs, including
autism
The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...
.
General outline
Sunfield offers 38- and 52-week residential placements to students from across the UK, as well as day places to students from neighbouring local authorities.
It supports young people with a range of learning and behavioural needs, including
Autism spectrum
The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...
Disorder (ASD),
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by excessive amounts of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity that are pervasive, impairing in multiple contexts, and otherwise age-inap ...
(ADHD),
Downs Syndrome
Down syndrome or Down's syndrome, also known as trisomy 21, is a genetic disorder caused by the presence of all or part of a third copy of chromosome 21. It is usually associated with physical growth delays, mild to moderate intellectual dis ...
,
Epilepsy
Epilepsy is a group of non-communicable neurological disorders characterized by recurrent epileptic seizures. Epileptic seizures can vary from brief and nearly undetectable periods to long periods of vigorous shaking due to abnormal electrical ...
and
Pathological demand avoidance Syndrome (PDA).
Sunfield is on the list of Secretary of State Approved Independent Special Institutions.
Founding
Sunfield was established in 1930 by
Friedrich Geuter and
Michael Wilson, based on the principles of Austrian philosopher
Rudolf Steiner
Rudolf Joseph Lorenz Steiner (27 or 25 February 1861 – 30 March 1925) was an Austrian occultist, social reformer, architect, esotericist, and claimed clairvoyant. Steiner gained initial recognition at the end of the nineteenth century as a ...
. This impetus established Sunfield as one of the leading Curative Educational Communities in the UK.
Fried Geuter, a co-worker of Dr
Ita Wegman
Ita Wegman (22 February 1876 – 4 March 1943) co-founded Anthroposophical Medicine with Rudolf Steiner. In 1921, she founded the first anthroposophical medical clinic in Arlesheim, known until 2014 as the Ita Wegman Clinic. She also developed a s ...
in Switzerland, had come to the UK at Wegman's request to establish anthroposophical special needs education there. He and his wife, Maria, took charge of a home for children with disabilities in Kent.
Fried was invited to lecture on his work to the anthroposophical group of Theodora Wilson, in
Selly Oak
Selly Oak is an industrial and residential area in south-west Birmingham, England. The area gives its name to Selly Oak ward and includes the neighbourhoods of: Bournbrook, Selly Park, and Ten Acres. The adjoining wards of Edgbaston and Harborne ...
. Here, he was introduced to Theodora's son Michael, who was the second conductor of the British National Opera Orchestra and a violinist and composer.
Some time later, Michael Wilson discontinued his musical career and Fried left the home in Kent. Together, they founded Sunfield in a house in Selly Oak, close to the Wilson family home of Elmfield. It was named after the original therapeutic home of Dr Wegman, the "Sonnenhof" in
Arlesheim
Arlesheim is a town and a municipality in the district of Arlesheim in the canton of Basel-Country in Switzerland. Its cathedral chapter seat, bishop's residence and cathedral (1681 / 1761) are listed as a heritage site of national significance ...
, Switzerland. A small Rudolf Steiner school was also started at
Elmfield, run by
Eileen Hutchins
Eileen Morley Hutchins, born 28 June 1902 in Hay-on-Wye, Herefordshire and died 9 October 1987 in Stourbridge was a Steiner school teacher, writer and founder of the Elmfield Rudolf Steiner School in Stourbridge.
Biography
Together with her sis ...
for the Sunfield co-workers' children.
A considerable number of talented artists and other professional persons were drawn to the initiative including the painter and later painting therapist,
Liane Collot d'Herbois; the musicians Mary and John Kobbe;
Walter Braithwaite
General Sir Walter Pipon Braithwaite, (11 November 1865 – 7 September 1945) was a British Army officer who held senior commands during the First World War. After being dismissed from his position as Chief of Staff for the Mediterranean Expedi ...
, Eileen Hutchins’ sister Shirley amongst others. Other early supporters included David Clement, well known throughout the anthroposophical movement, and Lady Cynthia Chance, whose family once owned Clent Grove, where Sunfield is now located, close to the new site of the Elmfield Steiner school in Stourbridge.
History
In the early days, treatment of disability was often ‘out of sight, out of mind’ but the team at Sunfield believed in pioneering a different, more holistic, approach to the care and education of disabled children. Throughout
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, Sunfield continued its work and even accommodated the children of Elmfield school for a time.
In 1947, Fried Geuter and Michael Wilson approached the anthroposophical mathematician and General Secretary of the
Anthroposophical Society
The General Anthroposophical Society is an "association of people whose will it is to nurture the life of the soul, both in the individual and in human society, on the basis of a true knowledge of the spiritual world." As an organization, it is d ...
in Britain,
George Adams Kaufmann, to settle in Clent. There, Adams and Michael Wilson founded the Goethean Science Foundation, for the purpose of supporting anthroposophical scientific research.
Olive Whicher also moved there to participate in this research work. Many other anthroposophical initiatives were also inspired by the work at Sunfield over the years, including the Park Attwood Clinic in Kidderminster, and
Hawkwood College.
Fried Geuter left Sunfield Homes in 1951, with his second wife, Isabel Newitt, who had been a co-worker there with him. They went on to found the
Ravenswood community in 1953. Fried's son joined Sunfield and continued his father's work with Michael Wilson, who remained a director for 40 years after Sunfield's foundation.
In 1954, Clive Robbins joined his wife Mildred at Sunfield. In 1958, an American composer and professor of music, Paul Nordoff, visited and was asked by Dr Herbert Geuter, the son of Fried Geuter, to play to one of the children and observe their reactions. The results inspired Nordoff to give up his academic career and devote the remainder of his life to developing music as a therapy. He and Clive worked together for the next 17 years to establish Nordoff-Robbins music therapy, which is still practised in many countries today.
In 1962, Sunfield became the first home of
Emerson College
Emerson College is a private college with its main campus in Boston, Massachusetts. It also maintains campuses in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California and Well, Limburg, Netherlands ( Kasteel Well). Founded in 1880 by Charles Wesley Emerson as a ...
, which was founded there by
Francis Edmunds, his wife Elizabeth who was working as a colleague at Sunfield, Michael Wilson and David Clement. They were initially joined by 11 students from the United States of America, New Zealand, South Africa, Norway, France and Britain. Emerson offered a foundation year in
Anthroposophy
Anthroposophy is a spiritualist movement founded in the early 20th century by the esotericist Rudolf Steiner that postulates the existence of an objective, intellectually comprehensible spiritual world, accessible to human experience. Followers ...
followed by specialised courses in
Waldorf education
Waldorf education, also known as Steiner education, is based on the educational philosophy of Rudolf Steiner, the founder of anthroposophy. Its educational style is Holistic education, holistic, intended to develop pupils' intellectual, artistic ...
,
Biodynamics
Biodynamics may refer to:
* Biodynamic agriculture
Biodynamic agriculture is a form of alternative agriculture based on pseudo-scientific and esoteric concepts initially developed in 1924 by Rudolf Steiner (1861–1925). It was the first of th ...
and later other courses.
At the time, the Stourbridge area was cited as being probably the area of greatest anthroposophical activity in the country. It included Elmfield School, Sunfield, Broome Biodynamic Farm and the Goethean Science Foundation. Many of the people involved in these activities could therefore be called upon as visiting teachers to the new college. During the summer of 1964, Emerson College moved from Clent to
Forest Row
Forest Row is a village and a large civil parish in the Wealden District of East Sussex, England. The village is located three miles (5 km) south-east of East Grinstead.
History
The village draws its name from its proximity to the Ashdo ...
.
By 1968, a new hall had been built at Sunfield, as well as a specially designed pool for hydro and colour therapy. As Sunfield developed, the children were also encouraged to become involved in the growing of produce and animal husbandry at Sunfield's farm. Therapies involving play, painting, colour, music and movement and were researched and promoted. Michael Wilson himself pioneered colour therapy, water therapy, other artistic therapies, and assisted in the establishment of music therapy.
Sunfield is once again closely associated with Steiner's principles and follows the principles of Practical Skills Therapeutic Skills Education (PSTE) method that draws its inspiration from the insights of Rudolf Steiner, John Ruskin and William Morris..
Arms
References
External links
Sunfield Children’s Home website
{{authority control
Organizations established in 1930
Therapeutic community
Special schools in Worcestershire
Independent schools in Worcestershire
Schools for people on the autistic spectrum
Autism-related organisations in the United Kingdom
Educational institutions established in 1930
1930 establishments in England
Boarding schools in Worcestershire