Amongst the many influences that have shaped the Centres, two have been especially significant:

• the insight gained from Rudolf Steiner's curriculum for the Waldorf Schools; and
• the experiences and comments of the students who have taken part in courses at the colleges over the past decade.

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The Holistic Approach
One of the key features of the Steiner curriculum is the holistic approach to all aspects of education. Each learning activity needs to be seen as contributing to the individual's ability:

• to think clearly
• to work actively and
• to be aware of and in control of their emotional responses.

This holistic approach is central to the curriculum followed by students at both centres. The majority of students have experienced frustration in their attempts to learn in previous educational establishments. That frustration is frequently born out of a range of factors including the following: emotional and social factors; cognitive factors; medical and constitutional factors. The students have shown that if the emotional and social factors are addressed as the priority in planning a course or activity, then there is a far higher chance of intellectual development taking place.

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Achieving Success - The Craft Experience
The experience of success achieved not easily but in a fairly short time span is widely recognised as having the potential to enhance self-esteem. When the activity is one that the student has not encountered before, the possibility of experiencing that success is so much greater. Early on in the development of the curriculum at Ruskin Mill College, the students demonstrated that their emotional response to an activity was fuller and more beneficial if the craft activity was seen in a wider perspective than simply the making of an artefact. The crafts and activities that are practised at Ruskin Mill College and Glasshouse College enable the student to take part in an entire process from sourcing the raw material to designing and completing the finished article. Thus a student wishing to make a leather article of clothing has the opportunity of tending the cattle, accompanying them to the abattoir, processing the hides and then designing and making the article. A student's involvement in catering can begin in the market garden and culminate with preparation and presentation of a meal served to the public in the Ruskin Mill or Glasshouse Coffee Shop.

This full involvement in the whole process of each activity enables the student to experience its intrinsic integrity. This plays a vital role in shifting the onus of responsibility for providing a discipline and authority structure away from factors external to the student i.e. the teacher or works supervisor to factors internal to the student i.e. the relationship between the student and the activity itself. This provides a far less threatening learning environment than the conventional classroom without in any way watering down the challenges that are available.

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The Social Experience
The combination of craft and land work available at the RMET is able to offer the student a full and balanced picture of their relationship with the environment and the people within it. This activity can give a sense of structure to the young person's experience of their world by taking them through a range of materials and sources. They will work with plant material in the market gardens, in making paper, scented soap, willow baskets and other construction, and in developing a wide range of skills involving wood. They will work with material of animal derivation on the farm, the fish farm, the leather workshop and in the construction of fabric from wool. They will work with mineral material, frequently involving the transforming element of fire, through pottery and kiln building, glass blowing and cutting, stone carving, iron work, jewellery and stained glass.

This work builds an intimacy between the student and the natural world allowing them to feel the creativity that can give them alternatives to the more destructive influences to which young people are exposed. Creative problem solving through practical work that aims to meet human needs is also the first step towards discovering "social empathy". When the students see that the approach to work that they are taking is related to the contemporary ideas of environmentalism and sustainability, it can give them a new self-respect.

There are more immediate social skills to be gained through the practical activities. The small group settings that characterise most RMET activities take away the threatening and competitive aspect of a conventional situation, and individual attention is always available. However, shared responsibility and group projects demand that the students nurture inter-personal skills. Carrying out practical and creative tasks alongside others who have also experienced difficulty and frustration, helps many students to begin to develop tolerance of themselves as well as others.

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Thinking Through Doing
Making decisions and solving the myriad of problems involved in any practical subject helps the students build the habit of thinking constructively. This forms the foundation on which they can make a fresh attempt to master the basic educational skills of literacy, communication and numeracy. Primarily this takes place when repeated opportunities for recording and calculating are made available within the practical activities. Then, for most students, literacy and numeracy classes take place in a more conventional desk-based manner. Where appropriate, the material is based on examples drawn from the students' practical activities, and usually these sessions lead to a nationally recognised accreditation.

In addition to the craft and land work, there are a number of other course elements available. In most, however, there is a strong practical side. Both dramatic art and story telling are popular with the students and can be seen as practical approaches to the study of literature. This approach has lead to some memorable performances. Producing a regular magazine to a high quality has proved a highly successful method to help students develop both writing style and word-processing skills.

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The Students Orientation on Their Route Through Life
Most of the students who are referred to Ruskin Mill College or Glasshouse College are not ready to make a meaningful choice regarding vocational training. The three year Orientation Course is designed to help students to become aware of their own abilities and gain a positive attitude. Each student has an Individual Learning Plan (ILP) tailored to meet their individual needs and interests. The list of course elements is included in the next section.

During the first two years of the Orientation Course students take part in the Foundation Programme. During this time students are helped to identify a vocational route that is appropriate for them in view of their interests and abilities. Course elements that lead to accredited vocational training can be built into a student's ILP during their second year, while during the third year vocational training will be the basis around which the whole ILP is constructed. In instances where it is felt to be in the student's interest, a fourth year at both colleges can be arranged. When the student is ready to begin to integrate into mainstream further education some of the course elements or the main vocational training itself will be offered at a local sector college.

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