The Montessori approach is guided by understanding how children change. We respect how they all follow a similar sequence of development, but that each child reaches maturity in his or her own time. We don’t push, we don’t hold back.

Montessori recognised that young children need to work with their hands and experience the world through their senses, all Montessori activities are hands-on and many are sensory - giving a rich selection of touching, feeling, seeing, smelling, hearing etc.

Montessori education aims to satisfy the needs of the growing child at each point in their life: their physical, sensory, emotional, social, intellectual and spiritual needs. Instead of expecting the child to reach adult- imposed targets, he or she is free to learn by following their own curiosity. We observe how they work, what interests them and which activities they have mastered. Then we help them select the next step activity. We never impose time limits or interrupt a busy child. The child is free to choose what they do, where they do it and to repeat as many times as they need to. In this way the child feels in control of their learning and can choose their own challenges without the risk of failure.

The mixed-age class works beautifully because it mimics a real family. Older children help younger children, and younger children love to copy and learn from more experienced children. We promote respect for every- one in our school. Everyone contributes to our mini-society and everyone cares for one another.