About Montessori

Montessori Philosophy
We follow the Montessori philosophy of education. The Montessori philosophy places its emphasis on educating the whole being of the child. Montessori approach refined education as an ‘aid to life’ saying that if we support the natural development of the child at each stage of development then we will optimize development for the whole human being.

“It is as if we have a new child at each new plane who will require a different environment just as the new born baby requires a different environment from the womb in which she has spent the last nine months” Maria Montessori

The Montessori Approach
The Montessori Method is a system of education that emphases on the observation and the needs of children at every stage of their physical and psychological development. Its aim is to help the child with the enormous task of inner structure necessary to develop from childhood to full adulthood.” Dr Maria Montessori, Jr., Education for Human Development

However, this approach attempts to promote children’s potential which will help them to develop into free and functionally independent adults with a clear vision of the world around them and their role in it.

In the education of the child, the adult has crucial role. Supervision is essential to the human development of the child, which must be provided with absolute respect and trust in the child’s human potentialities. Moreover, the primary function of the teacher is not so much to teach as to direct the natural energy of the child.
This method allows the child to learn in total free play using special materials and equipment through a carefully prepared environment. The child is allowed to develop at their own pace, thus gaining independence and self-confidence as their day-to-day skills improves.

“Plants are like children. In the way that Maria Montessori believed children have an innate desire to learn, so plants have an innate desire to grow”.
Maria Montessori (1870 – 1952)

Maria Montessori
The Montessori approach to learning was developed by Dr Maria Montessori (1870-1952) at the beginning of the 20th century in Italy.

Maria Montessori was born in Italy in 1870. She was the first Italian woman to become a doctor, and started her medical practice working with children with severe learning difficulties. Throughout her teaching she carefully observed the children within her care, constantly documenting and analysing her findings, and using these insights to develop didactic learning materials. She soon realised that these materials worked even more effectively with mainstream children, enabling them to achieve more than the traditional classroom methods of the day. Over her years of practise, she continually modified her method and materials and most are still used in Montessori schools today.

The Montessori approach is based on the uniqueness of each child and their enormous capacity to absorb and learn when given the freedom and independence to learn at their own pace. It is a tried and tested approach based on an understanding of the way children learn through the freedom of choice, exploring and doing things for themselves – in a natural and stimulating way in a prepared environment with specially developed materials giving them life-long learning skills. By providing the child with the tools and opportunities to learn their confidence will grow as will their ability to concentrate.

From 1913 onwards, Montessori left the medical profession and devoted herself to the study and promotion of child development and education full-time. She put her energy into the development and refinement of the Montessori learning materials and to the training of the Montessori educational method. She did this for the next 40 years, leaving a legacy from which thousands of children around the world have benefitted.

Montessori’s work lives on today. Her systematic approach proved a major foundation for the development of educational theory and much of the educational best practice employed in mainstream schools today can be attributed to her work, research and method. The Montessori network of schools continues to grow, both internationally and in the UK. The Montessori St. Nicholas Charity continues to promote and uphold the Montessori philosophy across the world.

 

The Directress
A Montessori teacher is called a Directress. Maria Montessori chose this name as it best describes the teacher role within the classroom.

The directress is trained specially to observe, to respond to the needs of each child and to direct the whole group.

She guides and encourages each child on how to use the educational material appropriately to their stage of development.

The children choose their activities and the directress will demonstrate the correct use of the materials. She will then observe and maintain a record of each child’s use of the materials. She refrains from intervening when a child makes mistakes, instead allowing the child to correct their error through further exploration of the special self-correcting materials.