Our Curriculum
Our Teaching Methods
Here at Faith Montessori Nursery in London, we operate a combined approach, utilsing both the Montessori teaching methods and the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS).
There are four guiding principles that shape practice at Faith Montessori Nursery:
- Every child is a unique child, who is constantly learning and can be resilient, capable, confident and self-assured
- Children learn to be strong and independent through positive relationships
- Children learn and develop well in enabling environments, in which their experiences respond to their individual needs and there is a strong partnership between practitioners, parents and/or carers
- Children develop and learn in different ways and at different rates. The framework covers the education and care of all children in early years provision, including children with special educational needs and disabilities.
EYFS: Early Years Foundation Stage
The Early Years Foundation Stage, a framework set out by the Department of Education, which recognises the overall nature of development and learning of children from birth to 5 years old.
There is an emphasis on children learning through interaction with people and exploring the world around them. EYFS identifies the individuality, efforts and achievements of children and recognises that learning and development take place during each different activity, encouraging them to be lifelong learners and allowing them to develop to their full potential.
The EYFS is categorized into the 17 early learning goals (ELGs) which are part of the EYFS Profile. At Faith Montessori Nursery we ensure that the children reach their potential using the national standard for the level of learning and development expected at the end of EYFS for each ELG.
We use the EYFS to make accurate judgements for each child’s attainment. We use the EYFS Profile outcomes to plan and to make our provision more effective by evaluating children’s learning and development.
Montessori Method
Montessori is a holistic approach to education that encourages children to learn through their own actions, at their own pace.
The Government’s Early Years Foundation Stage has acknowledged that Montessori’s approach is at the core of its view on the way children learn.
Fundamental to the approach is the belief that a child’s early years – from birth to six – are the period when they have the greatest capacity to learn.
What makes the approach different, and what makes it work so well, is that it is based on a deep understanding of the way children learn – through choosing, trying and doing themselves.
It allows children to discover things individually using all five senses and through understanding, rather than being told. From understanding comes confidence and a joy in learning.
The learning materials are all carefully designed to help children understand where they may have gone wrong and to enable them to work out ways of correcting themselves without being “told” how to do so.
