




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
Charlotte 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.
Yanapo Kiswamu, Chef
Yanapo holds a Catering and Food Production Chef Certificate obtained from Amiedu Vocational College in Helsinki, Finland. He joined Living Spring Montessori in 2010.
Nido
Dilinika Bandaranaike, Head Nido
Dilinika 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.
Amy Gills, Nursery Officer
Amy holds a Level 3 in Leadership and Management as well as a Level 3 in Childcare. She joined Living Spring Montessori in 2018.
Frida Becker, Nursery Officer
Frida holds a BSc (1st Class Hons) in Paediatric Nursing from the University of West London. She is hoping to gain nursery experience as well as complete a Montessori Diploma. Frida joined Living Spring Montessori in 2020.
Vasilica Lucaciu, Nursery Assistant
Vasilica holds a Level 2 in Health Profession. Vasilica has begun her Level 3 in Childcare and is eager to complete it. Vasilica joined Living Spring Montessori in 2019.
Infant Community
Dhovi Infante, Head Infant Community
Dhovi 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.
Simona Diguta Turcanu, Nursery Officer
Simona holds a degree in Psychology and a Montessori International Diploma (AMI) from the Montessori Institute in Prague. She joined Living Spring Montessori in 2018.
Adriana Dumitrache, Nursery Officer
Adriana holds a degree in The Pedagogy of Primary and Preschool Education from the University of Bucharest, Romania and a certificate in The Reggio Emilia Educational Approach from the Loris Malaguzzi International Center, Italy. She joined Living Spring Montessori in 2019.
Andreea Enache, Nursery Assistant
Andreea holds a Level 3 in Nanny Training – developing core skills and knowledge. She has extensive experience working with young children and families and is keen to complete her Level 3 in Childcare. She joined Living Spring Montessori in 2019.
Children’s House
Fatima Datoo, Head Children’s House
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.
Eszter Laszlo, Nursery Officer
She holds a CACHE Level 3 Diploma for the Children and Young People’s Workforce (QCF); BA in Economics. She joined Living Spring Montessori in 2012.
Doris Hautin, Nursery Officer
Doris holds a Bachelor in Educational Sciences from the University of Lumiere, France and an International Montessori Teaching Diploma from the Institute in Chennai, India. She joined Living Spring in 2019.
Merchi Puerta Sanchez, Nursery Officer
Merchi holds a Graduate degree in Pedagogy as well as the AMI International Montessori Teaching Diploma. She joined the nursery in 2020.
Celia Romero Carballal, Nursery Assistant
Celia holds a degree in Social Education from the University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain. Celia is excited to begin her Level 3 Childcare course and develop her knowledge. She joined Living Spring Montessori in 2019.
