About us
Our history, facilities
and the team
History
Living Spring Montessori is a small private nursery offering a high standard of care and education in line with Montessori practice and philosophy.
Being a small family-run nursery has enabled us to develop and maintain a caring family style relationship and to be responsive to the needs of the children, our staff and the families who attend our nursery.
We aim to promote the well-being of the children in our care and to nurture intelligence, curiosity, and imagination while supporting and developing each child’s unique talents. Our ultimate mission is to prepare the children in our care for life.
Sade Biobaku-Odusanya founded Living Spring Montessori in September 2004. As a working parent, she was unable to find a good Montessori nursery with opening hours to meet the needs of her family and those of other working families in the neighbourhood at the time. Sade and her husband Idong have two sons who both attended Living Spring Montessori.
The Building
We operate from a purpose built premises known as St Michael’s Church Annex.
Our building formerly a church hall has undergone extensive renovations and restoration to create separate stunning spaces for the children. Our classrooms are beautiful and everything is planned carefully with the needs of the children in mind.
The happy atmosphere we have created has taken several years of commitment and total dedication. Visitors are often very surprised when they come inside our building to see how spacious, beautiful and clean everything in our environment is. They comment on the positive ambience and high standards they feel and see immediately they walk into the building. Our rooms are carefully prepared to stimulate children’s independence and intellectual development. Our commitment is to continue to offer authentic Montessori education and high quality of care to the children and their families in our carefully prepared environment.
Facilities
Our outdoor spaces have also been created with the children in mind.
Recycled rubber flooring in the baby and toddler garden provides a safe outdoor space for the children to explore and play. The older children benefit from a covered outdoor space fitted with a purpose built sand pit. The children have ample space for exploration and several physical activities and planting.
Safety and security
All the classrooms and office have an entry telephone system with cameras. This enables us to provide secure, controlled access to the building and access into the building which is by a coded door entry system.
For more information see our policy (Download link)
Staff
All our staff are highly motivated, caring and dedicated.
They work in close partnership with parents and other professionals for the benefit of the children in the nursery. They are all carefully selected and vetted to ensure they are suitable to work with or around children. All the teachers have relevant Early Years qualification and experience. References are taken up on all staff before they are employed. The teaching staff team provide the expertise needed to plan and co-ordinate activities, and they monitor the development of the children based on detailed observations. The structure of the day is organised to provide a balance between care routines; structured leaning, free play individually and groups activities. Parents are well informed about the development of their children and classes meet weekly to discuss children’s progress. A monthly staff meeting takes place to share good practice and to reflect on different aspects of our work. The monthly meetings are usually held on the last Friday of the month.
Continuous professional development
All our staff are encouraged to take responsibility for their continuous development. We require our staff to develop necessary skills and knowledge not only to perform well in their future role but also to prepare them for future opportunities and any changes required in order to support effective teaching.
We believe in an ongoing commitment to life-long learning.
The team
Sade Biobaku-Odusanya
Head
She founded Living Spring Montessori in 2004. She holds a Montessori International Diploma (AMI) from the Maria Montessori Institute (MMI) in London, BSc (Hons) Animal Biochemistry and Post Graduate Diploma in Human Resources Strategies. She has a BA (1st Class Hons) in Working in Integrated Services for Children and Young People.
Idong Okono
Operations & Finance Director
He worked extensively in the NHS and Pharmaceutical Industry before joining Living Spring. He holds a BSc (Hons) Biological Sciences and a Diploma in Nursing.
Charlotte Graham
Deputy Manager & SENCO
Holds a Montessori International Diploma (AMI) from the Maria Montessori Institute (MMI) in London and BA (Hons) in Early Years Education and Childhood Studies from the University of Northumbria. She joined Living Spring Montessori in 2012.
Lucimar Vieira
Domestic Assistant
The heart and soul of the nursery, Lucimar joined Living Spring Montessori in 2004.
Elena Ciuperca
Domestic Assistant
Elena helps to clean the school in the evenings. She joined Living Spring Montessori in 2017.
Yanapo Kiswamu
Chef
Yanopo holds a Catering and Food Production Chef Certificate obtained from Amiedu Vocational College in Helsinki, Finland. He joined Living Spring Montessori in 2010.
Elizabeth Sather
Nursery Officer
Holds the Montessori International Diploma (AMI) from Montessori Institute of Northwest Oregon USA; Master of Education; and B.A (Hons) English Literature. She joined Living Spring Montessori in 2004.
Nido
Dilinika Bandaranaike
Head, Nido
Holds a Montessori International Diploma (AMI), BEd (Hons) Education and a Post Graduate Certificate in Special Needs from Nottingham University. She joined Living Spring Montessori in 2008.
Sevim Topal
Nursery Officer
Holds a Level 3 Diploma for Children and Young People’s Workforce from the Paddington Development Trust and has completed a Level 4 Certificate in Early Years Advance Practice. She joined Living Spring Montessori in August 2017.
Dhovi Infante
Nursery Officer
Holds a Montessori Assistant Certificate from the North American Montessori Council (0-3)(NAMC), BTEC Level 3 in Health and Social Care and is currently studying towards a CACHE Level 3 Diploma for the Children and Young People’s Workforce (QCF). She joined Living Spring Montessori in 2010.
Kinga Szanto
Nursery Assistant
Kinga holds an M.Ed in Curriculum and Instruction from Columbia International University as well as an ESOL Teaching Certificate. She joined Living Spring Montessori in May 2017.
Elisabet Santana Moreno
Nursery Assistant
Holds a Level 2 in Child Care Introduction. She joined Living Spring Montessori in September 2017.
Susana Lopes-Ferreira
Floating Nursery Officer
Holds a Level 3 Diploma in Childcare. She joined Living Spring Montessori in 2011.
Infant Community
Bridget Yap
Head, Infant Community
Holds a BA (Hons) in Education Studies from the University of Hertfordshire. She joined Living Spring Montessori in 2014.
Kiu Ying Chan (Michelle)
Nursery Officer
Holds the Montessori International Diploma (AMI) from the Maria Montessori Institute (MMI) in London; a Diploma in Special Education Needs and BA (Hons) Political Science. She joined Living Spring Montessori from 2005 to 2009 and returned to Hong Kong. She rejoined Living Spring Montessori in 2014.
Larissa Charles
Nursery Officer
Holds a Montessori International Diploma (MCI) from the Montessori Centre International London; Bachelors of Early Childhood from the University of Southern Queensland Australia. She joined Living Spring Montessori in 2012.
Carla Fernandez Almirante
Nursery Assistant
Carla holds a BA in Economics and is working towards a CACHE Level 3 in Teaching and Learning in Schools. She joined Living Spring Montessori in 2016.
Andrea Kovacs-Craciun
Nursery Assistant
Andrea holds an HND Diploma in Health and Social Care Level 4 and Level 5 from Ethames Graduated School in London. She is working towards a BSc (Hons) in Health and Social Care at the University of Sunderland London. She joined Living Spring Montessori in 2017.
Nehaya Bazeh
Nursery Assistant
Nehaya holds a Supporting Teaching and Learning Level 2 and is working towards her level 3. She joined Living Spring Montessori in 2017.
Marcela Birzan
Nursery Assistant
Marcela holds a Montessori International Diploma from the Montessori Centre International (MCI) in London. Marcela completed her teaching placement with us in the Summer of 2017 and rejoined Living Spring Montessori as a member of staff in January 2018.
Children’s House
Sophie Philip
Head, Children’s House
Holds a BA in Early Childhood Studies from the University of Roehampton and an International Montessori Teaching Diploma from the Maria Montessori Institute (MMI) in London. She rejoined Living Spring in June 2017
Fatima Datoo
Nursery Officer
Holds a Montessori International Diploma (AMI) from the Maria Montessori Institute (MMI) in London; BA (Hons) in Early Years Education and Childhood Studies from the University of East London; MA in Early Childhood Studies from the University of East London. She joined Living Spring Montessori in 2014.
Andrea Lopez De Pablo
Nursery Officer
Holds an International Montessori Teaching Diploma (AMI) from the Maria Montessori Institute (MMI) in London; Early Years Educator Level 3 and a BA (Hons) in Asia Pacific Studies from the University of Central Lancashire. She joined Living Spring Montessori in August 2017.
Eszter Laszlo
Senior Nursery Assistant
She holds a CACHE Level 3 Diploma for the Children and Young People’s Workforce (QCF); Montessori International Certificate (AMI); BA in Economics. She joined Living Spring Montessori in 2012.
