News
03 February 2010
THE first free state Montessori School is being planned for the East End of London, the organisation's chief executive has said.
Philip Bujak said they have approached more than one authority and have others to see.
They are not currently saying in which district the school will be either built or created by transforming an existing building but the target date for it being finished is 2012 or 2013.
"They are all based around the East End, our target area to fund a school is in a very deprived area."
Mr Bujak said the school would also create jobs as they train their own staff, a teacher training wing and an early year's research department.
"The concept is the charity will build or create the school, and gift it to the local authority, so it will be within their control.
"In return we would require the ability to run it as a Montessori school.
"We would not be a private school, it would be state funded.
"It would have the same resources every other primary school would have.
"Over time we will benchmark and measure how well the school does."
Mr Bujak said they believed that money should be spent on children aged zero to six.
He said that the East End location was the choice of their trustees.
He added: "It would be the first school like this. The charity does own private schools where the method is practiced."
Under the method, which was started in Italy and pioneered by Dr Maria Montessori, children learn at their own pace
The Montessori St Nicholas Charity wants to replicate the success of Gordon Mount in Manchester, the first state primary school working with the Montessori method.
It was at the time in special measures but five years later it is flourishing.
At present there are almost 700 Montessori primary schools and nurseries across the UK and as many as 300 new Montessori teachers train every year at MCI in London.
The Montessori St Nicholas Charity also want every state primary school across the country to have a Montessori trained specialist on staff within the next 10 years, and they want to see 10 other state primary schools converting to the Montessori method over the next 5 years.
They also want individuals and parents to open their own Montessori school, and to support better parenting skills, especially amongst teenage mums using the Montessori approach.