A primary school in the fourth poorest area of England will become the first state-funded Montessori school in a unique £100,000 public-private partnership between Manchester City Council, central government and the Montessori St Nicholas charity based in London.
The aim is to raise educational standards at the 350-pupil Gorton Mount Primary School, in inner-city Manchester, where 71% of children have free school meals, 36 languages are spoken and 37% have special educational needs. The school has had seven headteachers in six years and was placed in special measures by the Department for Education and Skills until last year.
The project to turn Gorton Mount into a Montessori primary school has been devised by the current headteacher, Carol Powell, her school governors and the Montessori St Nicholas chief executive Philip Bujak. Funding for the first Phase (till April) will be shared between the DfES and the Montessori charity, which is also providing teachers to train and assist the school staff.
Mr Bujak said: This partnership between the private and public sectors shows that we at Montessori reject former Chief Inspector of Schools Chris Woodheads view that struggling state schools should be left to die. We believe education is too important to be put into separate compartments. Despite huge challenges, this school has made tremendous progress in recent months through the commitment of the headteacher and staff but they and we believe that Montessori methods can make a real and lasting difference to attainment at Gorton Mount and elsewhere.
The principal aims of the Gorton Mount project are to
- raise pupil attainment over three phases Foundation Stage, involving 100 children, and Key Stages 1 and 2 (ages 7 and 11)
- create a Montessori learning environment
- introduce a skills-led Montessori curriculum
- train staff in Montessori teaching methods.
Headteacher Carol Powell said: Our partnership will reduce under-achievement and raise attainment for all children. We want them to be Montessori children. This means that they will be rounded citizens for the 21st century. They will be high achieving individuals who believe that anything is possible, but also able to work in harmony with others in school and in their wider society.
We have a group of dedicated and skilled teachers but sadly many of them are lacking basic knowledge about the teaching and learning relationship because they have never been taught it. Montessori training will expand their individual and collective view of teaching and learning and will make sure that underachievement ceases to be a feature of school life. We also intend to involve parents in monitoring the effects of Montessori methods on their childrens learning.
Ms Powell said raising attainment levels would include
· raising the proportion of children reading at or above their chronological age from 47% to 80% and increase the number of high attaining pupils
· raising the number at age 11 able to read and write independently, and apply mathematical skills to solve problems, from 30% to 80%
· increasing from 10% to 80% the number of children able to set up, measure and conclude science experiments.
Staff training will be provided by four experienced heads of Montessori schools including one, Sarah Rowledge, who will leave her Absolute Angels Montessori School in Coggeshall, Essex, for two terms to oversee the Gorton Mount project, teach in the school and be involved in staff training.
The effects of the project on teaching and learning will be monitored by Manchester University and the London University Institute of Education.
Contacts for further information:
Craid Morrison, 86 PR,
105 Westbourne Grove
London, W2 4UW
T 020 7229 1958
M 07971 102 868
Philip Bujak Chief Executive, Montessori St Nicholas Charity: 07813 901 830
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