Select Committee on Education and Employment Minutes of Evidence


Memorandum from Montessori Education (UK) Ltd (EY68)

  1.1  Montessori Education (ME UK) was formed in 1993 by three of the major providers of Montessori training in Britain, The Maria Montessori Training Organisation (AMI), the Montessori St Nicholas Centre (MSN) and the Wimbledon Montessori College.

  1.2  The first objective of the new organisation was to raise standards in Montessori provision nationally, with the particular aim of setting up a schools accreditation programme and an examination monitoring system, both of which were quickly put in place.

  1.3  Then the question of early education rose to the top of the political agenda, and through its active participation in the national debate ME UK quickly came to be recognised as the national body representing the Montessori viewpoint. This has involved establishing contact and meeting regularly with colleagues from the QCA, the TTA, the DfEE, and the NTO, as well as fellow organisations in the early years and the child care sector. ME UK has responded on behalf of the Montessori community to all the consultation documents and the discussion papers that have been issued in the last few years, and on a number of occasions has been invited to comment on proposals prior to them going out for consultation.

  1.4  One of the earliest projects that ME UK became involved in was participation in the work on Quality in Diversity, a document on the early years curriculum produced by the Early Childhood Education Forum (ECEF) of which ME UK is a member. Finding a Montessori representative for each of the Quality in Diversity working groups brought together a group of Montessorians interested in developing Montessori thinking on various topics.

  1.5  From this original core has grown a whole regional organisation of local groups meeting regularly to build links and share good practice, the Montessori Early Years Forum. The MEYF is coordinated nationally on behalf of ME UK, and produces a termly newsletter to update members on issues affecting Montessorians.

  1.6  It is important that Early Years Development and Childcare Partnerships (EYDCPs) continue to be made aware of what the Montessori approach has to offer in the interests of preserving diversity. Increasingly the focus of the EYDCPs will be on quality, and already Partnerships are beginning to allocate funding to provision going through accreditation processes.

  1.7  The accreditation process, unlike the OFSTED inspection process, is not judgmental, but is designed to recognise and develop good practice and raise standards in a supportive way. It is important that Montessori provision is accredited by a system able to evaluate the unique aspects of the Montessori approach.

MARIA MONTESSORI: THE WOMAN, THE EDUCATOR

  2.1  Maria Montessori was, in many ways, ahead of her time. Born in the town of Chiaravalle, in the province of Ancona, Italy, in 1870, she became the first female physician in Italy upon her graduation from medical school in 1896. In her medical practice, her clinical observations led her to analyse how children learn, how they build themselves from what they find in their immediate environment.

  2.2  In 1906, she accepted the challenge to work with a group of 60 children of working parents in the San Lorenz district of Rome. It was there that she founded the first Casa dei Bambini, or "Children's House". What ultimately became the Montessori method of education developed there, based upon Montessori's scientific observations of these children's almost effortless ability to absorb knowledge from their surroundings, as well as the tireless interest in manipulating materials. Every piece of equipment, every exercise, every method Montessori developed was based on what she observed children to do "naturally" themselves, unassisted by adults.

  2.3  Children teach themselves. This simple but profound truth inspired Montessori life long pursuit of education reform, methodology, psychology, teaching, and teachers' training—all based on her dedication to furthering the self-creating process of the child.

  2.4  Maria Montessori died in Noordwijk, Holland, in 1952, but her work continues. Montessori schools exist around the world, in Russia, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, South Africa, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Mexico, Colombia, India, and many other countries.

THE MONTESSORI APPROACH

  3.1  The Montessori approach offers a broad vision of education as an aid to life. Montessori is designed to help children with their task of inner construction as they grow from childhood to maturity. It succeeds because it draws its principles from the natural development of the child. The inherent flexibility allows the method to adapt to the needs of the individual, regardless of the level of ability, learning style, or social maturity.

  3.2  Montessori classrooms provide a prepared environment where children are free to respond to their natural drive to work and learn. The children's inherent love of learning is encouraged by giving them opportunities to engage in spontaneous, meaningful activities under the guidance of a trained adult. Through their work, the children develop concentration, motivation, persistence and discipline. Within this framework of order, the children progress at their own pace and rhythm, according to their individual capabilities, during the crucial years of development.

  3.3  Montessori classrooms are designed for a three year age mix to allow for both individual and social development. The more experienced children share what they have learned with those new to the group. Each child's unique personality is encouraged; each child is respected as an important member of the community.

  3.4  Discovering the joys of learning, and developing social and intellectual discipline lay the foundation for a happy, productive life. The children develop an appreciation of the world, while becoming responsible human beings and active members of a harmonious society.

  3.5  The transformation of children from birth to adulthood occurs through a series of developmental periods. The focus of Montessori education continually changes in scope and manner to meet the child's changing needs and interests.

    —  The first plane of development occurs from birth to age six. At this age, children are sensorial explorers, studying every aspect of their environment, their language and culture.

    —  From age six to 12, children become conceptual explorers. They develop new powers of abstraction and imagination, and apply their knowledge to further discover and expand their world.

  3.6  The Montessori classroom prepares children for each successive developmental plane. It allows them to take responsibility for their own education, giving them the opportunity to make choices and become unique human beings.

3.7  Infant and Toddler Communities (Two months to Three years)

  For children under the age of three there are two Montessori communities. The Parent-Infant class provides an environment in which parents and their children, ages 2-16 months, interact under the guidance of a trained adult. After they begin to walk, at approximately 16 months, children join the toddler community where basic motor co-ordination, independence and language development are fostered and individual personality is respected. Rather than a classroom, it is a nurturing social community where very young children experience their first contact with other children and learn to participate in a co-operative group.

3.8  Children's House (Three to Six years)

  Children in the primary program possess what Dr Montessori called the absorbent mind, the ability to absorb all aspects of one's culture and environment without effort or fatigue. As an aid to this period of the child's self-construction, individual work is encouraged. The following areas of activity cultivate the children's adaptation and ability to express and think with clarity:

  3.9  Practical Life exercises instil care for self, for others and the environment. Activities include many of the tasks children see as part of their daily routine in their home, such as preparing food and washing dishes along with the exercise of grace and courtesy. Through these tasks, children develop muscular co-ordination, enabling movement and exploration of their surroundings. They learn to work at a task from beginning to end, and develop their powers of control and concentration.

  3.10  Sensorial Materials serve as tools for development. Children build cognitive skills as tools for development. Children build cognitive skills, and learn to order and classify impressions by touching, seeing, smelling, tasting, listening and exploring the physical properties of their environment.

  3.11  Language Development is vital to human development. The Montessori environment is rich in oral language opportunities, allowing the child to experience conversations, stories and poetry. The sandpaper letters help the child to link sound and symbol effortlessly, encouraging the development of written expression and reading skills. To further reading development, children are exposed to the study of grammar.

  3.12  Geography, Biology, Botany, Zoology, Art and Music are presented as extensions of the sensorial and language activities. Children learn about people and cultures in other countries with an attitude of respect and admiration. Through familiarity, children come to feel connected to the global human family. Lessons and experiences with nature inspire a reverence for all life. The comprehensive art and music programs give children every opportunity to enjoy a variety of creative activities, as well as gain knowledge of the great masters.

  3.13  Mathematics activities help children learn and understand the concept of maths by manipulating concrete materials. This work gives children a solid understanding of basic mathematical principles, prepares them for later abstract reasoning, and helps to develop problem-solving capabilities.

  3.14  In a Montessori class:

    —  The day is made up of uninterrupted time blocks.

    —  There is ungraded grouping of the children which creates a small society.

    —  The children are never directly corrected when mistakes occur through their lack of development except, of course, for acts which bring harm in some way to another.

    —  The children work individually most of the time coming together when they wish to, at different periods during a day. (These periods would not be set but arise out of the needs of the children on that particular day.)

    —  The children are given individual instructions rather than group instructions.

    —  They work with materials that are designed from a developmental point of view and which help the child to make successive levels of discovery about his world.

  The Montessori approach is about all round development.

  3.15  Finally there are very few rules within a Montessori Children's House. These have evolved through the need to safeguard and protect the group as a whole in order to protect each individual within it. Therefore, the rules are those that coincide with the general conduct of the children where conduct would harm or hurt the rest in some way.

  3.16  So, in brief some of the elements that make up a Montessori class are:

    —  The directress/director and his/her knowledge of the child's natural development.

    —  The freedom of the children to develop naturally.

    —  A belief that each child has strong inner drives that aid development.

    —  That a three hour work cycle be provided to promote development and concentration.

    —  That the age group is mixed.

    —  That the directress/director has integrity and intuition and ability to make the best use of herself in her attempts at serving the children.

    —  That the environment is prepared to satisfy the child's tendencies, sensitive periods and to aid the absorbent mind through its richness.

    —  That the environment is well laid out, inviting and always in good order and complete.

THE MONTESSORI TEACHER AS A GUIDE

  4.1  The Montessori teacher is a child advocate in the deepest sense and has cultivated respect for the child's total being. As both the psychological and educational director of the classroom, the Montessori teacher responds to the essential needs of the children through careful observation first. The child may repeat a certain activity, reinforcing knowledge of a material. The teacher knows when to intervene so that concentration and involvement which is second-nature to the child's work is encouraged and not interrupted. The emphasis is on "work cycle"; the child is his own timekeeper. The trained teacher allows for a natural pace which facilitates unconscious absorption and better retention. Support is given during low productive phases of work which then builds to peak involvement as the day progresses. Teacher-scheduled time is carefully judged to allow for both individualised instructions and group activity.

  4.2  The Teacher helps in the following ways:

    (a)  by allowing the child to develop "freely" or "unhindered" in accordance with his natural pattern of growth.

    (b)  by respecting the child as another human being and not as a lesser being. Some of the ways in which we show this are:

    —  not dwelling on what he cannot do but on what he can do

    —  helping him to help himself to the fullest possible extent

    —  preserving his dignity

    —  speaking to him courteously and not as if he can only understand words of one or two syllables or talking to others about him and thinking that because you are talking in a different tone or spelling out words he won't understand or be hurt by this

    —  having an expectation of him which is based upon a knowledge of his inherent thirst to make sense of his world

    —  by understanding that the child is not "merely" a child but someone who holds the key to the growth of the whole human race

    —  by treating the children with the same courtesy we would wish to have extended to ourselves.

    (c)  that adults provide the means to further the tremendous potential that lies within each individual. We can do this in the following ways:

    —  by allowing the child the freedom to choose his activities and follow his own inner needs

    —  by providing a non competitive atmosphere for each child who is working at his own pace

    —  by helping him to further his own knowledge and carry out his own desires without impinging upon those of others

    —  by helping him to respond as an individual with responsibility towards the group

    —  by providing opportunities in which he can join with others towards some common task.

  The teacher's expectations are:

    —  that the children are well integrated and well adapted socially. Not that they read and write at an early age. However, by providing a stimulating and challenging environment the child is engaged in many spontaneous learning situations.

    —  that the teacher will involve herself in a side by side learning situation with the child. That she is knowledgeable, inspiring and interested in all aspects of life.

THE PREPARED ENVIRONMENT

  5.1  In addition to being a child-centred community, the Montessori pre-school is also a "prepared environment". The prepared environment is Maria Montessori's concept that the environment can be designed to facilitate maximum independent learning and exploration by the child.

  5.2  The Montessori classroom is a "living room" for children. All of the furniture is child-sized and all of the materials are scaled to fit the physical dimensions of a young child's body. The space is usually divided into five distinct areas: practical life, sensorial, mathematics, language and cultural (which encompasses art, music, science, geography, history, zoology and biology). Although these areas represent the parts of the curriculum, it is important to remember that no subject is taught in isolation. The Montessori curriculum is interdisciplinary and interactive.

  5.3  In the prepared environment there is a variety of activity as well as a great deal of movement. A three-year-old, for example, may be learning how to do up a zip while a four-year-old nearby is composing words and sentences with letters known as the moveable alphabet. Meanwhile, a five-year-old may be performing multiplication using a specially designed set of beads. Although much of the work at this stage of development is done individually, often children enjoy working at an activity with friends. Sometimes the entire class is involved in a group activity, such as storytelling, singing or movement.

  5.4  Maria Montessori wrote that the adult works to perfect the environment while the child works to perfect herself. The Montessori prepared environment respects and protects the child's rhythm of life. It is a calm, ordered space constructed to meet her needs and match her scale of activity. Here, the child experiences a blend of freedom and discipline in a place especially designed for her development.

The Montessori Materials

  5.6  All of the materials for each area are arranged invitingly on low, open shelves. The children have access to the materials. They may choose what they like throughout the entire open work time—usually about three hours—and they may work for as long as the material holds their interest. When they are finished with each material they return it to the shelf from which it came.

  5.7  The materials themselves invite activity. There are bright arrays of solid geometric forms, knobbed puzzle maps, coloured beads, drawing insets, which are a few of the host of materials waiting ready on the shelf for the child to use.

  5.8  Each material in a Montessori classroom isolates one quality. In this way, the concept that the child is to discover is isolated. For example the material known as the pink tower is made up from 10 pink cubes of varying sizes. The child constructs a tower with the largest cube on the bottom and the smallest on top. This material isolates the concept of size. The cubes are all the same colour and texture; the only difference is their size. Other materials isolate different concepts; colour tablets for colour, geometry materials for form, and so on.

  5.9  Moreover, the materials are self-correcting. When a piece does not fit or is left over, the child easily perceives the error. There is no need for adult "correction". The child is able to solve problems by himself, building independence, analytical thinking, and the satisfaction that comes from true accomplishment.

  5.10  As the child's exploration continues, the materials interrelate and build upon each other. For example, various relationships can be explored between the pink tower and other materials, which are based on a recognition of similar geometric concepts embodied within them. Equally, a child working with these 10 cubes which vary in size precisely becomes familiar with sequence, the concept of 10 in sequence and many other useful ideas which lay a good foundation for mathematics.

Practical Life, The Skills of Daily Living

  5.11  As every parent knows, the pre-school child wants to be with adults, to take part in the activities of daily adult life. The Montessori practical life materials allow him to do just that. When a child enters the pre-school, the practical life area provides the link between the home and the school. In the classroom, with child-sized tools that really work, the young child is able to perform the same activities he has seen adults do: sweeping, taking care of plants, washing, etc. The pace is unhurried, and an adult is nearby to help if needed but not to interfere.

  5.12  The child of this age is, of course, more interested in the activity than in the end result. The motions practised help him to gain gross motor control and hand-eye co-ordination, which will enable him to perform successively more precise tasks.

  In the Montessori classroom, there are four distinct groups of practical life exercises:

    —  Care of the Person (buttoning, zipping, brushing, tying, etc)

    —  Care of Environment (sweeping, cleaning, gardening, etc)

    —  Development of Social Relations (greeting, apologising, thanking, etc)

    —  Movement (balancing, moving, etc)

  5.13  It is often difficult for adults to appreciate the sense of accomplishment and pride that children take in mastering practical life skills. To the adult, care of the house and body are necessary chores. The young child, however, is attracted to these activities for very different reasons. They are meaningful, creative, filled with intricate movements and achievements that hold the child's attention. They are easily understood from start to finish, they have visible, easily imitated movements; they appeal to the child's will; they lead to greater physical skill, perfection of movement, and concentration.

  5.14  The young child is attracted to the practical life exercises because these activities allow her to function independently in the adult world. After learning how to zip up her coat, tie her shoes, and wash her hands, she spontaneously repeats the activities, working on mastery, free from unnecessary adult intervention. These exercises correspond to the child's "window of opportunity" for the development of refinement of movement and co-ordination as well as her growing sense of independence. "I can do it by myself" is the motto of the young child, and Montessori encourages and fosters this independence.

Sensorial: Exploring the World

  5.15  The world is colour, size, dimension, shape, form, sound, touch, taste, and smell. Children live in a world of senses. In order to continue their creative task of development, children need to classify and express the impressions they have already received. Through sight, touch, sound, taste, and smell, the sensorial Montessori materials enable them to clarify, classify, and comprehend their world.

  5.16  The concepts of long and short, for example, are perceived in the red rods of varying lengths. Likewise, rough and smooth are experienced by touching rough sandpaper and smooth paper. Later these lessons are repeated with the sandpaper globe, helping the child to distinguish between land (rough) and water (smooth). The child gains tools and knowledge to complete and understand his sensory exploration of the world: Leaf and flower shapes, geometric polygons and solids, three-dimensional land and water forms, cut-out maps of the continents and countries of the world and a painted globe.

  5.17  Besides enabling a child to clarify and internalise such concepts as size, shape, colour, taste, and sound, the sensorial materials also provide a basis for the development of other skills, such as music, mathematics and language. Tracing a sandpaper letter "m" with his finger, a child not only sounds out the symbol but also feels it! Later the muscles of his hand will remember the tracing motion as he writes the letter.

  5.18  Montessori materials, by appealing directly to the young child's active sensory antennae, make learning a natural result of the child's desire to explore.

Mathematics: From Concrete to Abstract

  5.19  Pre-school-aged children have naturally mathematical minds. They have the capacity to reason, to calculate and to estimate. They are intensely conscious of quantity, counting pebbles on the beach or cookies for dessert. The concrete Montessori mathematical materials allow these sensorial explorers to begin their mathematical journey from the concrete to the abstract through manipulation, experimentation, and invention.

  5.20  Rods, spindles, cards, beads, cubes, and counters are some of the concrete tools used to symbolise mathematical abstractions. The child does not merely learn to count; she understands the concept of "how many" because she holds the amount in her hands. Likewise, she is able to perform the operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division using concrete materials. She is also presented with the possibilities of fact memorisation at a young age when combinations of number offer a real fascination and can be absorbed easily.

  5.21  Like all Montessori materials, the mathematics materials build on each other in increasing complexity so that a child using them will experience the thrill of discovery for herself as part of a natural progression.

Language: From Spoken to Written

  5.22  The joy of learning language is evident to all parents; there is always jubilation over the first word, the funny sentence, the poetic expressions of children, who are so inventive and free with word structure.

  5.23  The Montessori pre-school classroom emphasises spoken language as the foundation for all linguistic expression. Throughout the entire Montessori environment, the child hears and uses precise vocabulary for all the activities, learning the names of textures, geometric shapes, composers, plants, mathematical operations, and so on. In addition, certain materials in the language area are particularly supportive of spoken language.

  5.24  The materials for written language first introduce the child to the marvellous letters and digraphs that make up the sounds of the English language, which make it possible for us to express ourselves in writing. Later, the child may begin composing words, sentences, and whole stories using the moveable alphabet.

  5.25  At this developmental stage, the child is fascinated with the relationships among letters that form words, the order of words in a sentence, and even grammatical analyses of the parts of a sentence. Writing and eventually reading are often acquired spontaneously, sometimes accompanied by explosions of activity and joyous exclamations: "I can write!" "I can read!"

  5.26  Language work can extend explorations in science and social studies, led by the child's curiosity. Classified pictures allow the child to experience new vocabulary related to plants and animals: fish, amphibian, reptile, bird, mammal and so on. The child can also learn to name the parts of animals or of the leaf and flower shapes experienced in the sensorial area.

  5.27  Maps, flags, and models of land and water forms lead the children to explore the world's continents and oceans, people and customs, leading to an appreciation of the human family with its rich variety. They discover that through reading and writing, they can explore any time or any place.

Art and Music: Integrated into the Prepared Environment

  5.28  The arts are not treated as speciality subjects in Montessori. Instead, art and music activities are viewed as forms of self-expression, and, as such, they complement and enhance the children's ongoing explorations, including the enrichment of vocabulary. The materials for art and music are integrated into the prepared environment as part of the day-to-day activities of the children.

  5.29  Various media, such as crayons, chalk, pencils, paint, clay, textiles and papers are available, as are opportunities for singing, dancing, playing instruments and moving to rhythms, even song-writing. Art and music are explored sensorially through paintings and prints hung at child height and music listening activities which encompass listening to live instruments. Even the physical arrangement of the prepared environment is designed with an eye to colour, proportion and overall beauty.

  5.30  Music and art are also explored culturally as they connect to historical periods and geographical places. Drawing a flag or dancing a folk dance can be part of an exploration of a country. There may be art folders containing pictures of works classified by period, style or theme. Likewise the children may listen to works that demonstrate different styles of composing.

  5.31  Art and music are all around us. Montessori education permits a child to view the arts as natural parts of the physical world.

Expanding the Boundaries of the Classroom: Working Outdoors

  5.32  In the Montessori tradition, there is little separation between the indoors and the outdoors. Sometimes nature is a part of the indoor environment through plant care, flower arranging, and care of one or more classroom animals. Other times the children go out to explore and discover among the plants, animals, and open sky.

  5.33  Outdoors, children are able to garden, collect and identify leaves, label trees, study cloud formations, even find geometric shapes in shadows. The natural environment becomes an extension of the Montessori classroom, and the children delight in making connections between the two. One Montessori pre-schooler was once heard to remark that an open gate formed a perfect right-angle!

  5.34  Finally, in keeping with the pre-school child's stage of development, going outside provides occasions for new levels of responsibility and independence.

CONCLUSIONS AND GENERAL CONCERNS

  We are concerned that despite our proven record in the UK, and worldwide, over at least the last 60 years Montessori qualifications, teachers and courses are not being given the recognition they so richly deserve. Montessori schools are held in high esteem all over the world and cater for all classes and backgrounds of children. Montessori schools make up 6 per cent of the total early years provision. Contrary to general perception many schools run on a shoestring budget in order to keep prices at an affordable amount for parents. Our concerns for Montessori education in the UK are outlined below.

QUALIFICATIONS

  1.1  The Montessori qualification is recognised world-wide as a good quality Early Years Diploma. It is undertaken at graduate level in many countries. Yet in this country there is difficulty in getting it accepted onto the QCA framework as their criteria would currently open up the qualification to a lessening of standards. Equally, other routes seem to be difficult.

  1.2  Montessori teachers, therefore, find it difficult to find a clear fast track route through to Qualified Teacher Status.

  1.3  In spite of schools being recognised as producing good quality education (OFSTED, Parents and the fact that we easily encompass the Early Leading Goals), Montessori teachers are not generally recognised as having any status.

FUNDING

  2.1  Currently there is little or no funding for students to study for a Montessori Diploma. Students fund themselves.

  2.2  As a result of this Montessori Courses are extremely intensive. Courses would prefer to run over a longer period of time.

QUALITY OF TEACHING

  3.1  Montessori schools have consistently achieved very good Ofsted results. In the last report issued by Ofsted, High Scope was mentioned as beginning to achieve the standards reached in Montessori schools.

  3.2  Montessori Education (UK) has established an accreditation scheme for Montessori Schools and a pilot accreditation scheme for courses.

FOUNDATION STAGE

  4.1  Montessori teachers are trained to teach up to the age of six years and traditionally all schools have been able to retain their five-six year old children. The influx of children into the maintained at four has not been beneficial for the children or the schools.

44.2  All Montessori schools that do not offer Primary (Elementary) level Montessori are now finding that Social Services will not allow them to keep children who have turned five. This, in spite of the high level of attainment reached by such children educationally and the desire of their parents to leave their children to the end of the foundation stage.


 
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