Our Mission
Gecko Garden is a school and community of teachers, children and families who collaborate to create an experience of life and education which values wonder, creativity, curiosity, respect, and ethical and environmentally sound practices equally with academics.
Our Vision
To foster curiosity, adventure and wonder in the children, teachers and families.
To provide a Waldorf/Steiner education to the children.
To nurture a supportive community of international families and teachers who work together to create a home away from home.
Our Story
Our story began in 2001, when the “Little Gecko” and “Garden” playgroups united to create the first not-for-profit, parent-run preschool in Phnom Penh. In 2014, Gecko Garden School was established from this original daycare concept. While parent involvement was still encouraged, the management and teaching staff—now with more than a decade of experience and various qualifications in early childhood development—brought the school into its next chapter.
In 2018, the school deepened its commitment to providing the most valuable, progressive, and socially appropriate education in the world by becoming the first school in Cambodia to adopt many facets of Waldorf/Steiner education.
To accommodate the growing demand for an extension beyond preschool, Gecko Garden School created a new campus near its original location, in 2023. With three large and airy classrooms, a beautiful productive garden, and a custom-built playground, we provide a nurturing environment for children up to 7 years of age.
Though the organizational structure of our school has evolved over the years, our Vision and Mission remain unchanged. Gecko Garden School—and its loyal, caring, and kind group of Cambodian and international teachers—has shaped thousands of young lives since its inception, maintaining an ethos that values play-based learning, multicultural diversity, and family involvement.
About
Waldorf/Steiner
Education
Founded by Rudolf Steiner in Stuttgart Germany in 1919, Waldorf/Steiner education has spread worldwide in its more than 100 years, with more than 1,200 independent schools and thousands of preschools and kindergartens worldwide. The Waldorf/Steiner curriculum is deeply rooted in Steiner’s theories of child development, with Waldorf teachers seeking to support each individual child at each stage of their childhood.
Waldorf Schools, including Gecko Garden, are rooted deeply in a commitment to social renewal and transformation, envisioning and striving to create each day a world that is just and beautiful for our own and future generations.
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Recognized Environmental Priorities
In 2019 GGS was recognized by Plastic Free Sea as the most plastic-free school in Cambodia. We believe a healthy relationship with the natural world is essential to our future. We teach children from the earliest years how to make creative use of natural resources to solve problems, helping establish the foundation for a generation of adults who can live full lives without reliance on plastics and dangerous materials.
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Friends of Waldorf/Steiner Cambodia
GGS is a founding member of Friends of Waldorf/Steiner Cambodia, a group dedicated to bringing the impulse of Waldorf education to the children and families of Cambodia. The group advocates love of nature, culture, and each other, and personal freedom for all.
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Supporters of the Alliance for Childhood
The Alliance for Childhood is an international network of people and organisations, acting nationally and locally. The aim of the Alliance is to raise awareness in society of the importance of a good and healthy childhood, promoting the development of human beings able to build a society based on a culture of peace, environmental sustainability and respect for all differences.