curriculum

The school follows the Montessori curriculum and the DfEE’s Early Learning Goals, which closely follows it. This consists of:

Practical life: which helps children deal with the day to day tasks of living in the physical world, such as taking shoes on and off, or zipping up coats. For example we use special dressing frames to show how zips and buttons work, little jugs and tweezers to develop precise actions. It is one of the most immediate effects parents see of a Montessori approach, and the beginning of independence and confidence – as well as much appreciated by parents who have at least a few tasks taken off their hands!

Sensorial: lets the children explore the fundaments of the world around them through all their senses. Children come across all kinds of shapes, sizes, colours and fabrics which they gradually learn to distinguish from one another. This is where we use a lot of the most specialised equipment which helps children make subtle distinctions between objects.

Cultural: This covers geography, biology and other science. You may think that your child would be too young to show an interest in such remote topics, but children are fascinated by them. Children learn about the world through maps and the globe. We celebrate different festivals and cook cultural food or listen to songs from around the world, as well as guests to talk about other countries. We have a sensory garden, tended by children, which helps them explore the natural world, floating sinking, magnifying glasses, magnets.

Mathematics: starts with the concrete and moves to the abstract using equipment which measures quantity, size, shape and fraction, which the children then identify with numbers. The physical and visual equipment we use, give the children experiences they will recall for years to come.

Literacy: our aim is to make children confident readers by the time they leave. letters are learned gradually through a phonetic approach, which is now used by primary schools. Children learn to write, which surprisingly precedes reading; they are introduced to basic grammar, such as the difference between nouns, verbs and adjectives.

Creative: We are all fascinated as parents to see how our children develop their own imagination, so art and craft, music and drama as vital to self expression. We have both teacher- and child-led activities. Art and craft materials are freely available to the children as their inspiration takes them! Children also enjoy playing with all sorts of musical instruments.