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| THE HISTORY OF SUNFIELD |
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Sunfield was established in the 1930’s by Michael Wilson and Friedrich Geuter, based on the principles of Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner. This impetus established Sunfield as one of the leading Curative Educational Communities in the UK.
Although Sunfield is no longer a Steiner School, some of the very ‘human’ aspects of Steiner's philosophies still remain as keystones to the work we carry out today.
Sunfield was originally located in a small house in Selly Oak, Birmingham and the first carers were a small band of young men and women who had given up their own jobs to devote themselves to what they saw as a worth-while and charitable exercise. It was a struggle in those early days as public perception of disability was so different from the view taken today. Now we rejoice in the successes of our children but in the 1930s people turned their gaze away - sadly, 'out of sight, out of mind' was the order of the day.
However, the founders battled on regardless for what they believed. Money was tight in those initial difficult times, in fact it was so tight that anyone needing something as straight-forward as a new pair of shoes had to go cap in hand to the financial director for an allowance, but the usual answer was 'We will see what we can do at the end of the month'.
In these hard times Friedrich Geuter, Michael Wilson and the staff knew that self help was the best way forward and Sunfield became a self contained community. It grew most of its own organic crops, produced a large part of the school's furniture in its workshops, and sold a whole range of goods including handcrafted furniture and pottery, together with an extensive range of Christmas cards through a small shop on the perimeter of the site. They even had a mail order service!
The community spirit of all who worked at Sunfield during this early era paid off tremendously. Without their willingness to pull together and share tasks it is doubtful that the school could have survived, less still have developed into a major force in the education of the disabled.
Although the initial financial outlook was bleak, donations and loans from the growing number of supporters enabled the dedicated directors and staff to purchase Clent Grove near Stourbridge in 1933, and gradually things improved.
Continuity helped the situation even further. Friedrich Geuter's son became involved and Michael Wilson was still a director some 40 years after Sunfield took in its first resident. The school had become recognised as one of the leaders in its educational sector. This was recognised nationally when Michael Wilson was the subject of a 'This is Your Life' TV programme in the 1960s. By then Sunfield had also seen many additional buildings appear at Clent Grove. Therapy through play, painting, music and movement was promoted and a small farming project encouraged children to be involved in the growing of produce and animal husbandry.
By 1968 there were six special classes, a new hall had been built to complement the various workshops and one particularly notable venture was the specially designed pool. This was used for hydro and colour therapy. Michael Wilson conducted a lot of research into this latter approach and some of his work continues today.
Today, Sunfield is not only considered one of the leading special schools in the UK, it is heralded internationally as a centre of excellence for its work with children with profound Autistic Spectrum Disorders.
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Sunfield founders Michael Wilson and Friedrich Geuter
A promotional poster from the 60s
Clent Grove in the 1960s
Bedtime in the 60s
A classroom in the 60s |
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Sunfield, Woodman Lane, Clent, near Stourbridge, West Midlands, DY9 9PB Tel: 01562 882253
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