A WORLD-WIDE teaching movement is coming to East Lancashire offering parents an alternative way of educating primary age children.

The area's first Steiner Waldorf Kindergarten is planned for Clitheroe in September for children aged three to seven.

Parent and toddler groups have already been running at Withgill Fold, Clitheroe, for four years.

And by ditching text books, moving away from academia and concentrating on more artistic and practical activities it is a distinct alternative to mainstream state education.

Waldorf education addresses a range of intelligences rather than subjects: moral, imaginative, practical and emotional. It homes in on a need for children to "impart meaning to their lives."

Children are not taught to read until they can write -- and there is no space for computers. Central activities are those found to be 'added-extras' in mainstream schools -- like gardening, foreign languages, knitting, music and art. There are no text books until later year groups and no grades -- the antithesis of the National Curriculum and testing at Key Stages.

Lessons range from folk and fairy tales, alphabet and spelling, comparative zoology, fractions, Renaissance, ancient civilisations and geography.

Jane Robson, launching the new school, said: "It is all about learning the laws of life and making most of the crucial development years before the age of five.

"Children seem to feel more comfortable with the more spiritual approach to learning. They will be learning maths but in such a subtle way they hardly even notice. It can take a bit of catching up when they reach secondary school in mainstream, but in the end they usually flourish."

Waldorf education began in 1919 when Rudolf Steiner, an Austrian philosopher, founded a kindergarten at a German factory. There are now 870 schools worldwide.

He designed a curriculum consistent with his philosophy of anthroposophy, or human wisdom: nurturing children's imaginations and responding to the needs of children rather than government ministers. Teachers are usually required to have a recognized Waldorf teacher training qualification as well as main stream degrees.

The services being offered are an alternative to the mainstream education options provided by Lancashire County Council.