Friday, October 15, 2010
Montessori St Nicholas, the leading charity for Montessori in the UK is excited to announce two major forthcoming events at the Institute of Education, London.
The Montessori Schools Association National Conference takes place on Saturday 27th November. This is the annual meeting for its 600+ member schools and represents the largest gathering of Montessori practitioners and students in the UK.
Speakers include Penny Holland, Academic leader for early childhood studies at London Metropolitan University and Martin Bradley, Chair of the MSA National Council. This year’s conference focuses on providing “Best practice” for the child and considers the best of current thinking in early childhood.
Montessori Centre International, the charity’s teacher training division hosts its annual Graduation Ceremony on Friday 3rd December. This celebrates the achievements of over 300 Montessori students who have completed rigorous diploma and foundation degree teaching courses. MCI introduced the first ever Montessori foundation degree in 2009 for its existing workforce and newcomers to Montessori.
Sugata Mitra, Professor of Educational Technology at Newcastle University, will be guest speaker at the event. Professor Mitra’s research work with technology and children inspired the Oscar winning film, “Slumdog Millionaire”. His current research on self-organised learning in primary education resonates well with the Montessori approach.
The Ceremony also celebrates the work of the Montessori Evaluation and Accreditation Scheme which was introduced in September 2009. MEAB aims to raise standards within the Montessori schools association and puts “best practice” at the heart of what it does. Almost 100 schools currently have MEAB status. 19 newly accredited schools will receive their MEAB plaques and accreditation certificates at the event.
Philip Bujak, Montessori CEO says, “We must ensure that all schools using the Montessori name in the UK are genuine. Our children deserve the very best in Montessori education and my concern is that some non-accredited schools are not delivering on best practice.
The MEAB scheme aims to rectify this situation and we are actively encouraging all our 600 member schools to undergo accreditation. Awareness for the scheme is growing. More and more parents now look at the MSA schools’ web list to check if a setting is or is not accredited.”
NOTES TO EDITOR:
• Montessori was inspired by Maria Montessori in the 1900s. She was Italy’s first female doctor. It quickly became the world’s largest global education movement.
• Montessori is a child-centered, holistic pedagogy. Based on the belief that a child’s early years – from birth to six – are the period where the greatest academic and social learning potential exists.
• Montessori delivers on the Early Years Foundation Stage at every level and shares all its underlying principles.
• 88% of Montessori schools were graded outstanding or good at the last inspection by OFSTED 2009-2010.
• The majority of the 600+ UK Montessori settings cater for children between the ages of 2 and 5. Some settings have Montessori baby units and others extend practice into the primary years.
• Many adults find the experience of stepping into a Montessori classroom quite breathtaking. It is clean and ordered with an atmosphere of calm and busy concentration.
• The classroom is a “prepared environment” consciously designed to support a child’s developmental needs. Learning materials are freely available and everything reflects a commitment to quality and to the children’s ability to do things for themselves. It is a structured approach to learning with a strong emphasis on self-discipline.
• Montessori children tend to be very socially comfortable and confident because they have been encouraged to problem-solve and think independently - making it attractive to many parents.
• Montessori now funds 5 mainstream primary schools and aims to widen accessibility and grow interest for the approach within the state sector.
For further information, contact: a.gilchrist@montessori.org.uk or tel: 020 7518 9788
www.montessori.org.uk
-
Preferred Partners:
-
-
-
-
-