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School celebrates dramatic change in teaching method
Last updated at 12:22pm on 07.01.07
Success: The removal of bright notice boards and a change in teaching method has worked for pupils at Stebbing Primary School
A second state primary school is adopting the Montessori teaching method in which children are encouraged to choose what they learn - with dramatic results on behaviour.
Teachers at the Stebbing Primary School, near Great Dunmow in Essex, removed brightly coloured wall displays and brought in natural wood furniture and equipment for the pupils as part of the reforms.
Already staff say children behave far more calmly in their new environment and can work effectively for three hours without a break.
The collaboration followed a successful project to introduce the Montessori method at a particularly tough primary in Manchester, which was backed by £40,000 of Government money.
It came as a major report to ministers last week recommended radical changes to state school teaching, with a far greater focus on individual pupils designing their own education.
Stebbing Primary's headteacher Janet Matthews said the school would evaluate the success of the move after a year.
"But what is overwhelmingly coming across is the calmness of the school," she said.
"Children are working for sustained periods of time on the activities they are choosing, and the maths and literacy levels seem pretty good.
"The classroom was a typical reception classroom, very bright displays, brightly coloured doors and floors.
"Over the summer holidays we calmed everything down, the displays were brought down."
With £20,000 from the Montessori St Nicholas Charity the 90-pupil school has invested in new equipment made from natural materials for the children and training for staff.
Montessori schools allow children to learn at their own pace and follow their own choice of activities to develop their enthusiasm for learning.
In 2005, the Department for Education decided to pump £40,000 into Gorton Mount Primary School in inner-city Manchester to adopt the Montessori method.
At the time, unlike Stebbing Primary, Gorton Mount had been in severe difficulties, with many pupils from poor backgrounds and the school judged to be failing by Ofsted.
Inspectors subsequently found the impact of the switch to the Montessori method had been "wholly positive" for Gorton Mount.
Inspectors praised the calm atmosphere at Gorton Mount and the high concentration levels even among very young children.
A spokeswoman for the Department for Education and Skills said ministers were "committed to widening diversity in education provision in the interests of raising standards and offering parents a choice of schools for their child".
She added: "The conditions attached to maintained schools apply to Montessori, such as providing the national curriculum and participating in national curriculum tests and assessment, as well as staff holding qualified teacher status."
The Stebbing Primary project emerged as the Montessori movement celebrated its 100th anniversary.
On January 6, 1907, Maria Montessori opened the first Casa dei Bambini (children's house) in Italy. Now there are more than 22,000 Montessori schools around the world.
Last week, a major report to ministers called for radical reforms to state school teaching, so leaning can be "personalised" for each child.
The report from Ofsted's chief inspector Christine Gilbert said youngsters must be encouraged to design their own education and schools should act on the feedback pupils give about their teachers.
Reader views (4)
Here's a sample of the latest views published. You can click view all to read all views that readers have sent in.
I'm a home schooling parent in the US with eight children. I'm glad to hear about this method of teaching since I can observe just how different people are in their learning methods and how valuable it is to let children develop their own educational strengths in their own time. As a 46 year old, I recognize that my appreciation for history didn't kick in until my late 30s! May this method grow and prosper.
- David Wyatt, United States
I first became aware of the Montessori Educational system when my niece and nephew attended one in their local area.
I liked the idea of allowing children to set their own pace, as I personally feel that the regular state system only added to my difficulties with regards to math. I've always found it a difficult subject and because I could not keep up with the other children I felt stupid and a nuisance to the teachers. One teacher even asked me how I thought I'd cope in the 'real world' if I couldn't do math properly. That by the way was in front of a classroom of children. So I never bothered asking for help after that.
I know my daughter has a similar personality to me so I want to make sure that she doesn't feel pressured to perform at the same level as her peers, just to the best of her ability!
I hope that a Montessori State Primary school opens in or nearby Horsham as I would like to continue with this education after nursery.
- Ruth Jenkins, Horsham, UK
After years in secondary school teaching and teacher-training, Montessori embodied a lot of the ideas I had been exploring to improve my professional practice. As Chris Cooke put it: plain simple common sense. We all know there is not enough of that around. Neither are there enough Montessori schools in the UK, just yet.
I set up my first school in Horsham 10 years ago. At the end of October my team and I had the privilege of opening a brand new school in the nearby village of Southwater. To celebrate the Montessori Centenary and to honour the memory of a famous former Montessori primary school child we have now named our new school 'Anne Frank Montessori'. For me personally it is a delight to spread this approach. We currently work with children from 6 months (on a childminding basis) to adults aged 50+ (teacher training started in September). We mainly focus on ages 2 to 5, but we can provide for children up to 8 and we are determined to register an independent Montessori Primary School as soon as we can and no later than this year.
Children are like seeds, they already contain all they need to know to grow into a beautiful, strong and healthy adult, provided the conditions are right. Montessori provides an ideal environment for growth and development. On to the next 100 years!
- Theodora Bredie, Horsham, UK, though originally from Groningen, the Netherlands
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