MSA Joins Forces with Montessori Europe for a Successful Conference

The city of Oxford buzzed with talk of Montessori at the weekend as over 400 Montessorians from 22 countries converged on the Town Hall for the annual Montessori Europe Congress and MSA National Conference which were being held together for the first time.

Gudela Meisterjahn-Knebel, President of Montessori Europe and Andrew Parmley, Chair of the Trustees of Montessori St Nicholas Charity welcomed delegates to a city that has a worldwide reputation for education an ideal location for a conference on the theme Observation and Education Montessoris Approach. Oxford is also twinned with Bonn, the seat of Montessori Europe, and the Mayor of Oxford revealed that Montessori was close to her heart as her mother was a Montessori teacher.

After a choral performance by pupils at several Montessori schools, there was a tribute to mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of Margaret Homfray who founded the St Nicholas Training College along with Phoebe Child. Teachers and parents all over the world now benefit from the work of The Girls who translated Maria Montessoris work and made it accessible to everyone.

The MSAs National Conference was held on Saturday 11th with Martin Bradley, National Chairman, reporting on the successes of the MSA over the past year and looking forward to the future. With the introduction of the MEAB Accreditation scheme, the production of the EYFS in Montessori Settings resource launched at a highly successful conference in April and the new DVD explaining Montessori, the year has indeed been very busy for all concerned and the MSAs influence both nationally and locally has increased. Martin then presented the Montessorian of the Year Award to Wendy Compson of Cherry Trees Montessori in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk.

The high calibre speakers included Sally Goddard-Blythe, Christine Pascal, Catherine McTamaney, Lynne Lawrence and Sue Palmer. Everyone agreed that their talks on the theme Observation and Education Montessoris Approach were incredibly inspiring and, along with the various workshops on offer, gave attendees plenty of new ideas to take back to their own settings.

A report and photographs will appear in the next edition of Montessori International.