Our Alternative Learning Community was founded by families seeking a more meaningful education for their children, drawing on backgrounds in coaching, Waldorf and traditional education, and human rights. Over time, more educators and families joined, bringing expertise in Forest School, handwork, permaculture, and wood carving.
Together, we grew into a vibrant community that has adapted with resilience through the pandemic and beyond. Trust remains at the heart of our journey. With a clear educational ethos and a stunning natural setting, we look forward to welcoming your family into our project.
.jpg)
_edited.jpg)
What we do
River Flower is an alternative education project located in central Portugal, offering holistic education for children aged 6 to 10 through homeschooling. Our bilingual curriculum is inspired by the Waldorf and Montessori approaches. Much of the learning takes place through storytelling or in nature. Our educators work closely with families to support each child according to their individual needs and developmental stages.
.jpg)
.jpg)
Immersion in nature is fundamental to our approach, and we are fortunate to be located in such a beautiful environment. We also value the importance of physical education, offering weekly access to a sports field where we practice tennis, soccer, basketball, and world dance.
As well as expertise in the core curriculum areas, our staff team have a rich background in music, drama, art, permaculture, dance, literacy, and human rights. We enjoy following the rhythm of the school year through celebrating festivals such as the Winter Spiral, Martinmas, Grain Day (Dia da Espiga), Carnival, among others, combining international and Portuguese traditions.
Meet our educators
Naomi Foxcroft
Geography, Maths, History & Natural Sciences
Naomi holds a first-class degree with Qualified Teacher Status from Lancaster University, UK. She has taught in primary schools throughout the UK and is also a literacy trainer with expertise in phonics and storytelling. As well as teaching, she has co-founded charities and non-for profit organisations that support street children and trained more than 200,000 teachers in Sub-Saharan Africa.
She has a strong interest in alternative education and holds a Montessori Teaching diploma as well as certificates in Waldorf education, including puppetry, painting and human development. As a mother of three girls, her passion is to find ways to achieve joyful and purposeful learning experiences for children to enable them to feel confident and free in adulthood.
​
Drama
John Winter
John studied education at Durham and Penn State after a Gap Year in Kenya. After returning to the UK, he was a buyer for a leisure company and then did a post grad at the LSE in Personnel Management. He worked in the City, then delivered a 35 ft sloop to the West Indies before setting off for post-Independent Zimbabwe in 1982. After trading, teaching and bringing up a family in Africa, he ran a hotel in Central Edinburgh before working in a Prep School outside Cambridge. He came, looking for new adventures, to Portugal in 2017.
John has found the Waldorf approach to education refreshing and exciting as well as being a great vehicle to build confidence in young people. He studied in the United States and UK always trying to see life from as many angles as possible. He has a passion for choral music, trains, education and Africa.
Rafa Calheiros
Portuguese, Dance & Natural Sciences
Rafa has been working with children since she was herself a kid! Starting as a basketball coach for an under-10s group, it gave Rafa the will to pursue a busy and colourful professional life.
​
While working on diverse after school playgroups and activity camps, Rafa graduated in Art Studies in Coimbra University. Her heart took her to live on a farm, that generated an interest in a more sustainable life, close to the community, guiding Rafa to complete an Education and Local Development Master's Degree in ESEC.
This course lead to the creation of Ideia Glocal Associação para o Desenvolvimento Local, a non-profit organisation that has been promoting sustainable and ecological actions in her community. In a parallel life, Rafa is a traditional dance teacher and a staunch volunteer in diverse events and dance festivals. In her short spare time, sewing, cuddling with cats, farming and cooking vegetarian meals keep Rafa's life always fulfilled.
Portuguese, Maths & Form Drawing
Inês Amado Antunes
Inês is a qualified Educational Technician and studied Economics at the University of Coimbra. Over the past few years, she has deepened her interest in various educational approaches, such as Montessori and Waldorf, always focusing on children’s personal development and the importance of connecting with nature.
She works with children and young people of different ages and has experience teaching Portuguese as a foreign language, supporting the integration of the international community in Espinhal.
​
She is involved in several educational and cultural projects in the parish, where she enjoys building connections, encouraging creativity, and contributing to the community’s well-being.
Anna Kershaw
English Language & Maths
Anna recently moved to Portugal with her husband and two German Shepherd dogs. She has grown-up sons and two granddaughters. With over 20 years of teaching experience in schools across the UK, Anna has also written stories and play-scripts, which she continues to work on in her spare time.
She speaks English and Welsh and is currently learning Portuguese, Hebrew, and Dutch. In addition to her teaching, she plays guitar and is learning the ukulele. Anna is proud to be part of the learning community and looks forward to progressing with the students throughout the year.