Directors and Tutors
Waldorf Modern Teacher Education Community Interest Company Directors
Julia Allan
Julia moved from Germany to establish her work and family life in London. She began her kindergarten teaching career well over two decades ago and has incorporated specialist training in music therapy, SEN, trauma and attachment into her practice. She holds a full time Kindergarten Teacher/ Early Years manager position at St Paul’s Steiner School in London. For many years, she has taken leadership, training and mentorship roles at St Paul’s Steiner School and has represented them internationally at kindergarten conferences. Having cared for hundreds of children and their families, she enjoys passing on her knowledge and expertise to nurture those who are starting out on this journey. Julia is co-director of the London Steiner Waldorf Early Years Training in London.
Paul White
Having moved from a Christian Brothers’ school in Birkenhead, to a large comprehensive in Norfolk and then on to a Philosophy, Politics and Economics degree at Oxford, Paul emerged into adulthood with a very confused picture of what education was about. Despite his best efforts at avoiding addressing this confusion, taking up jobs in everything from building, international aid, working as a chef, a farmer, even a film director’s assistant, this question of what a good education might be stubbornly refused to go away. Gradually there was a shift, so where before teaching was a means of experiencing life in very different cultures - Chile, Brazil, Japan, Ireland, Mauritius, Ecuador - mostly through working with the British Council, more and more the teaching/learning became his primary interest. Inevitably (?) Paul found his way to Waldorf and anthroposophy, beginning his first Class Teacher journey at the turn of the millennium in New Zealand. After completing his ‘round’ Paul became Senior Lecturer for the Steiner programme of the B.Ed at AUT university, Auckland and then Director of the Education programme at Taruna, the anthroposophical adult education centre. He returned to England to be part of the wave of Steiner Free schools, becoming the first class one teacher at Frome Steiner Academy, and, save a two year period helping set up the Lotus Garden Waldorf-inspired school in Myanmar, has been involved teaching in Steiner schools here since. Outside the classroom Paul’s main passion is the performing arts and he continues to write, direct, produce and occasionally even act in plays and short films from his current home in Brighton.
Jenny Bolsius
Jenny Bolsius is a non-executive member of WMTE CIC. She has 25 years’ experience in Waldorf class-teaching, mentoring and learning support at the Steiner Academy and Elmfield. Jenny has also worked for five years in the field of child protection in a residential family assessment centre, as a link between vulnerable families and social services. Jenny holds a certificate in Waldorf Education from the London Teacher Training Seminar, a FdA in Learning Disabilities and Autism and a BA(Hons) in Social Welfare from the University of Worcester.
Core Tutors
The Core Tutors will provide time for individual conversations each weekend. They will also mark assignments and inform students of their progress. To optimize communication, students will need an email address and access to the internet.
Sven Saar
Sven Saar grew up in Germany and gained his Waldorf Teaching diploma as a very young man. After moving to England, he worked as a class teacher for 30 years, eight of those in Southern Germany. He also taught in the High School, specialising in history and drama. Throughout his career he has had an active interest in mentoring, teacher development and leadership and served his schools in these areas. He now works full time in Teacher Education and is on the faculty of several courses in the UK and abroad. Sven gives lectures and seminars internationally and works as an active mentor and advisor to schools and teachers in Britain, Germany, Asia and Africa. He co-founded the Waldorf Institute, now Waldorf Modern, in Southern England in 2021 and runs the Waldorf Facebook communication group The Chalice.
Alan Swindell
Alan has had a distinguished career as a class teacher, teacher trainer, adviser for the Steiner Waldorf Schools Fellowship and, in recent years, as the first principal of the Steiner Academy Exeter. He is co-ordinating the work of the British Steiner Waldorf Teacher Education Courses (www.aswte.org) and co-founded the Waldorf Institute, now Waldorf Modern, in 2021.
Jenny Wragg
Jenny has worked for many years as a class teacher in both mainstream and Steiner-Waldorf education. She has led teacher education programmes in schools and has lectured on the WESTT course, of which she is also a graduate. Jenny has a Masters diploma in Steiner Waldorf Education.
Guest Tutors
Amanda Bell
Amanda Bell has been a Waldorf teacher for 25 years. She was a Class teacher for 16 years before moving into the Upper School to teach History, Art and Philosophy. She and two colleagues founded The St Michael Steiner School in West London, where she still works, in 2001, and became co-director of the London Waldorf Seminar in 2010.
ANN SWAIN
ANN SWAIN began her professional career as a registered music therapist focusing her work on children and adolescents in psychiatric settings before her curiosity took her to study Waldorf pedagogy at Emerson College in Sussex. She was a class teacher in London and then moved to the special educational needs department at Michael Hall where she worked for 20 years. During that time, she trained as a Neuro Developmental Therapist, Johansen Sound Therapist and completed the Bothmer Movement Training. Ann currently holds the post of SENDCo at Norwich Steiner School and is co-director of SWASEND (Steiner Waldorf Association for SEND). She provides educational consultancy to Steiner Waldorf Schools in the UK, teacher training internationally and has a private practice working with children and adolescents with movement, co-ordination, sensory, attention and learning challenges.
Kevin Campbell Davidson
Kevin worked as a Games and Bothmer Movement teacher in Waldorf schools for ten years including Greenwich and St Paul’s Steiner schools. He has been teaching Bothmer internationally since 2018 and also lectures in creative learning at Goldsmiths College, London. Kevin is also a choir leader and folk dance caller and enjoys weaving these practices together with games and movement.
PANKAJ SULODIA
PANKAJ SULODIA is a Steiner-Waldorf Teacher with many years of teaching experience. He completed his teacher training at Steiner House, London in 2007. Pankaj's teaching experience includes teaching the Waldorf curriculum at Thornbury Camphill community and at Cardiff Steiner School where he also helped with setting up the school as well as being actively involved with the school management team. For a brief period of time Pankaj also taught one-to-one Therapeutic Remedial Lessons. He became the Class 5 teacher at Ringwood Waldorf School in 2016 and had an amazing four years with the class. After saying farewell to Class Eight, he went back to Class One in 2019. Prior to his involvement with Steiner Education in the UK, Pankaj worked in the IT profession in Delhi, India where he was born and grew up.
Angela Querido
Angela began her career in special education. She then worked as a class teacher for 22 years at the Bristol Steiner school. Her work in adult education started at Emerson College, where she co created and taught the part time courses. As well as being co director of the WESTT course in the past, she also worked as an advisor for the Steiner Waldorf Schools Fellowship, conducting appraisals in Steiner schools.
MARTINA GAYER
Martina trained at the Ringwood-Botton and London College of Eurythmy and is currently the resident Eurythmy teacher at the Ringwood Waldorf School. She has previously taught at the Sheiling School Ringwood, the Steiner Academy Frome and the Alderbridge Steiner School. Her connection to Waldorf Education goes back a long time. She has four girls (now grown up!) who all attended the Ringwood Waldorf School. She loves working with a variety of ages, teaching from Kindergarten right up to class 12, and now with adults through the teachers training programme. Martina set up an online weekly Eurythmy session during lockdown, guiding her participants through hygienic Eurythmy exercises. She is passionate about sharing her love of Eurythmy and continuing her learning as she goes through life.
Simon Gillman
After working extensively in the conservation movement, with spells in Snowdonia, and the Peak District, Simon spent three years as the forester in Botton Village, where he encountered the Steiner movement for the first time. He later joined Michael Hall School, where he taught gardening, forestry and green wood work to 8-16 year olds for over 20 years. He also co-taught and supported class teachers who wanted to integrate an outdoor or practical aspect into their main lessons. Simon held several leadership roles in the school and was a member of The Heart of Teaching training in Forest Row. He has contributed to the London Steiner Waldorf Teacher Training over a number of years, having developed original land based curricula and led workshops in Germany, China, France and Spain as well as in the UK. He currently lives and works on the west coast of Brittany.
Jody Lukas
Jody is a qualified, experienced class teacher, school leader, trainer and mentor specialising in Steiner Waldorf pedagogy. She aspires to support relational, holistic and creative education worldwide and is passionate about the development of imagination, cultivating reverence and responsibility for the natural world and the endeavour to develop free-thinking individuals able to impart purpose and direction to their lives. After training in mainstream and Waldorf Education Jody worked as a class teacher at Wynstones School and co-founded the Village Forest School in Northern Italy.
Graham Kennish
Graham Kennish is a Waldorf science teacher and trainer of 45 years. He is also a driving instructor and a BACP counsellor, giving workshops and individual sessions in Goethean Psychology. Graham is a grandfather and lives near Stroud with his partner, Jane.
