Our Curriculum

Our Curriculum is a child centred personalised programme based on the Montessori method of teaching.

Our Curriculum is planned weekly, monthly and yearly. We report and discuss with parents the progress of their child on a daily basis and also provide regular written reports and arrange parent-teacher meetings. This is in line with the new AISTEAR programme.

Staff training and curriculum reviews take place regularly to ensure a high standard of care in each school is maintained.

What is the Montessori Method?

The Montessori Method is an approach to education used predominantly in the pre-school field. The method is widely adopted and there are now thousands of schools throughout the world.

The Montessori approach to education requires that children are placed in a well-planned and structured environment which will meet their individual educational and cultural needs. The children are free to follow their own interests within this planned environment, rather than being forced to learn something that is inappropriate to their developmental stage.

The result is that children develop in a natural way and are highly motivated. They develop good discipline and master basic skills, and in many cases earlier than in a more traditional system of education. To bring about these results, the teacher is trained in specific skills, the curriculum is carefully planned to reflect the children’s own culture and educational needs, the support materials for the curriculum are specifically Montessori and the outcomes for the children are unique.

There are three basic elements of the Montessori approach to education:

• The Structured Environment

• The Montessori Curriculum

• The Montessori Teacher

The Structured Environment

This is referred to as the ‘Prepared Environment’ and by this is meant the physical appearance and the arrangement of the learning materials, adherence to certain principles, which focus on meeting the needs of the ‘whole child’. It is the teacher’s role to prepare and maintain this environment.

The Montessori Curriculum

There is a framework which specifies learning outcomes and the knowledge and skills to be learned. It is divided into the Montessori areas of learning:

 Practical Life

 Sensorial

 Mathematics

 Language and Literacy

 Cultural Subjects

 Creative Subjects (Art and Craft, Music and Movement, Drama)

The Montessori Teacher

Initially the Montessori teacher carefully observes the children in her class to ascertain the developmental needs of each individual child. Then comes the task of preparing the environment and the materials in it to meet the various needs of the individual children within the group. As the children begin to make free choices and interact and discover the materials, the teacher facilitates and guides their learning. There are some small group lessons when the teacher introduces new concepts and encourages the children to ask questions, investigate and discover new ideas.

As a result children who experience a Montessori education are highly motivated and learn to be independent, self-confident and self-disciplined. It makes education a source of pleasure for them-something to be sought and enjoyed. Each and all are given the opportunity to develop their own innate abilities to the full potential in an atmosphere where competition is irrelevant and non-existent.