The children are offered a wide range of activities to cover all aspects of child development – intellectual, physical and social. Although each activity is a complete piece of work within itself, the activities are interrelated. Much care is taken to provide the children with achievable challenges throughout their time at the school so that their self-esteem is nurtured and they are encouraged to even greater learning and exploration. The activities offered in a Montessori classroom are grouped into the following:


Young children are attracted to activities that they see going on around them and that gives them independence and control of their own life.

The objective of this activity is for the child to develop concentration, independence, co-ordination of movement and mastery of skills needed for everyday life.

As well as helping the child develop his/her physical co-ordination, there is the added advantage that the child learns to focus attention for the entirety of an activity. Completing a task properly helps the child to achieve a sense of fulfilment. Practical Life activities also focus on developing the children’s social skills within a mixed-age setting.

Practical Life activities are divided into the following:
• Exercises for increasing mastery and co-ordination of movement, e.g. pouring, spooning, folding, opening bottles and walking on the line.
• Exercises for the care of the environment, e.g. dusting, sweeping, washing up, cleaning.
• Exercises for the care of the person, e.g. polishing, tying shoes, fastening dressing devices.
• Exercises of grace and courtesy, e.g. greeting people, saying please, excuse me, and thank you, blowing the nose, looking after others, and how to ask for help.


The small child is vividly aware of the world, taking in impressions through all his/her senses. We have special sensorial materials which help to stimulate and train the senses not only visually but also through touch, sound, taste and smell, thereby developing perception. An experience using one sense may often be reinforced by experiences gained through another sense – for example feeling a shape may reinforce a visual impression already gained. Many of the materials reflect qualities of the environment such as colour, size, shape, texture, sound, weight, etc, and therefore benefit the child’s powers of observation, communication and exploration.

The sensorial activities also indirectly prepare the child for later maths and language work as they enable the child to order, classify, and categorise things within their environment.


By introducing a wide range of mathematical principles in an original and exciting way we provide an excellent foundation for numeracy.

The Montessori mathematics materials enable even a very young child to develop a natural appreciation of basic mathematical concepts and to avoid the mental blockages, which so often occur with purely abstract concepts. The specially designed materials enable the child to gain very concrete ideas and sensory experiences of numbers, their quantities and mathematical operations. Gradually the child can move confidently towards the completion of abstract mathematical problems. Many Montessori educated children grow up with a love of numbers and mathematics.


Through the practical life and sensorial materials the Montessori child has a great deal of indirect preparation for language work. Children develop all aspects of language and can become good readers and writers at an early age. Speaking, listening, reading and writing are all closely inter-related. In a Montessori setting, the environment is prepared to make it interesting and exciting for the children so as to encourage them to talk about what they see and do. We start by teaching our children the sounds in words, and this gradually and rapidly progresses to word building, full recognition of words, and eventually total reading. Writing comes as part of the child’s natural desire to express his or her new knowledge and nearly always precedes reading. Within the Montessori environment, we have activities that prepare the child for writing. Reading and writing materials are placed in many areas to encourage children to use them. There are many opportunities for the children to listen to stories, audio tapes and to one another. A quiet area is provided which is always available for looking at books or listening to stories.


Music offers children the ability to enjoy their rhythmic abilities in a multitude of ways. We explore singing, dance, making and using instruments, acting out stories and all the fun of putting on our presentations.


Children have a natural interest in finding out how things work and creating their own models. Within the Montessori environment, children explore and develop their knowledge of peoples of the world, the environment and nature. We encourage the children to collect items of interest to display on the constantly changing nature table. This is an area where children can display their earth treasures and gain an appreciation of the wonder of nature. Montessori extends the child’s knowledge of history, geography, zoology, botany and science. Children gain an awareness of the world around them by exploring countries, customs, foods, climates, language, plants and animals. Extensive work is done to ensure the children explore many cultures from around the world. We have the globe, puzzle maps, flag maps and many other materials available for teaching the names of continents and countries around the world. At an early age children are able to learn about the land and water forms of the world. There is much emphasis on the plant and animal kingdom and children are encouraged to foster a love and appreciation for all living things.


The children have access to a diverse range of materials with which to express themselves. Drawings, painting, crayon work, collage, working with clay, cutting, pasting, designing, modelling and many other activities help them to explore their imaginations and to share their thoughts and feelings with others.

The children study the four basic food groups and learn what their bodies need in order to be healthy. They learn about and cook food from different countries that enable them to further their understanding of different people and cultures.


Regular activity is needed to promote healthy growth in young children. Through practice they develop muscular control, co-ordination and awareness of others and the space they move in. Children also have to think and use their judgement to solve problems when taking part in physical activities. It helps to build self-confidence and develop their imagination. They learn to use small and large equipment safely and with increasing competence with minimal supervision required.


Dr Maria Montessori found the title "teacher" irrelevant in the new prepared environment of the Montessori Classroom. She preferred to call them Directresses, because they direct the activities of the children within the prepared environment. The directress is the "dynamic link" between the child and the carefully prepared environment. She carefully monitors each child’s development. She recognises and interprets each child’s needs and interests based on their stage of self-formation and personalities. She then supplies the child with challenges and obstacles suitable to their abilities. It is in the subsequent independent use of the materials and activities that learning takes place.

All our classrooms are run by qualified Montessori directresses and are supported by other teachers with other teaching qualifications and experience relevant to the age of children within their care.

Other members of staff within the school have relevant experience and qualifications to carry out the jobs they have been employed to do. They have all been carefully selected and police checked to ensure their suitability to work with children.