How is a Montessori teacher different from a mainstream teacher or early years worker?
Montessori teachers are seen more as facilitators than teachers, guiding children's learning rather than imposing it. Montessori schools highlight learning through experience and use a specific set of activity or learning materials, providing a foundation of learning for all children. Children are given spontaneous access to the materials, which are displayed on shelves.
Barbara Isaacs is academic director at the Montessori St Nicholas Charity, which represents the Montessori movement in the UK. "Because the children have the freedom to choose from all areas of learning, the teacher has to observe what the children engage with and plan the curriculum around their interests," she says. "They also will see that some areas are not of interest and think about how to develop those areas. It is an anomaly – you are a Montessori teacher but you do not teach."
What children do they work with?
Most work with children aged two-and-a-half to six years old, although there are also schools for older children. Some work on a one-on-one basis with children with special educational needs. Most Montessori schools are fee-paying but there are a small number of state primaries using the Montessori approach in early years, such as Stebbing Primary School in Essex.
What skills does a Montessori teacher need?
"Montessori teaching students need to be good observers and willing to learn from the children," says Isaacs. Montessori teachers need to be able to help children settle into their environment and show them the learning and activity materials and what they do, and then step back. They need to be attuned to children's needs in order to judge when is the right time to intervene.
Isaacs also highlights a need for "reflective practice", looking at what the children did and did not do during the day and, observing this, how their learning can be facilitated in future.
What qualifications do they need?
All Montessori teachers must have the Early Childhood International Diploma in Montessori Pedagogy. This is currently recognised as a Level 4 qualification by the Children's Workforce Development Council, but Montessori schools have been told it will no longer be recognised when the Level 3 diploma for the children and young people's workforce, designed to replace existing early years qualifications, launches next January. Isaacs is fighting to retain recognition for the qualification.
There are full-time, part-time and distance learning options. To access the diploma, students require "some A-levels and three GCSEs", says Isaacs.
But she says most of those on the course are "mature people who retrain, for example mums who want a new profession".
The Montessori St Nicholas charity makes between five and 10 scholarship awards each year towards the costs of training as a Montessori teacher - these can range from £1,000 to £5,000.
Montessori teachers cannot teach in mainstream schools unless they also hold qualified teacher status.
Is the job market expanding or contracting?
There are approximately 800 Montessori schools in the UK, employing around 5,000 people, and more continue to open. "All the people who qualify do get jobs," says Isaacs. Of the schools that belong to the Montessori Schools Association, 88 per cent scored outstanding or good on their most recent Ofsted report.
What further opportunities are there for a Montessori teacher?
"There is a very good progression from a Montessori qualification," says Isaacs. "It is incredible how many people use it as a springboard for all sorts of things – speech therapy, educational psychology – many have a first degree so they have relatively quick access to becoming an early years professional, for example. It is so vocational and so practical that it really enhances skills when people want to specialise."
There is an option to do a postgraduate certificate in education (PGCE) – mainstream teachers can start at Montessori schools then use what they have learned in mainstream teaching, once they have the appropriate qualification.
FIND OUT MORE
- The Montessori St Nicholas charity aims to unify the Montessori movement across the UK. It makes awards and finances initiatives that support the development of Montessori education in the fields of training grants for individuals, equipment and advice, and research and development into the value and effectiveness of Montessori education. www.montessori.org.uk
- The Montessori Schools Association supports Montessori schools, teachers and students in the UK. www.montessori.org.uk/msa
- Montessori International is a quarterly magazine that includes ideas for use in the classroom, child development information and articles on training and recruitment. www.montessori.org.uk/magazine-and-jobs
