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| Published: 30 June 2005 : The Independent Montessori to the Rescue: Struggling school tries Montessori teaching Ministers are to back a radical experiment in abandoning traditional teaching methods to improve standards at a struggling state primary school. The scheme will bring in Montessori teachers - trained in a progressive teaching method more in favour in the 1960s and 1970s - to Gorton Mount primary, in one of Manchester's most deprived inner-city areas. It is the first time since the introduction of a universal education system in the UK that the Government has turned to a private teaching methodology to improve standards in a state school. The technique is based on the ideas of the Italian doctor Maria Montessori. Children will learn at their own pace and choose what they do for as long or as short a time as they please. The Montessori Schools Association and the Department for Education and Skills are putting £40,000 each into the experiment. It will be reviewed in April and, if successful, continued at Gorton Mount for eight years. | Published: 7 September, 2005 : BBC : Excerpts Failing school adopts Montessori A struggling Manchester school hopes a radical teaching approach - which allows children to learn at their own pace - will turn its fortunes around. Gorton Mount Primary is the first UK state school to use Montessori methods since the 1930s. Thirty-six languages are spoken by its pupils, of which 37% have special needs and 71% have free school meals. It was placed in special measures until last year and has had seven head teachers in six years. The BBC's recent Born Abroad survey revealed Gorton had the North West's highest percentage of residents born outside the UK, of 24.1%. Head teacher Carol Powell, who took charge two-and-a-half years ago, has been credited with improving discipline and academic achievement. She said it made sense for it to become a Montessori school as its recent improvement had been influenced by the charity's methods. She said: "We want pupils to be Montessori children. This means that they will be rounded citizens for the 21st Century. "They will be high achieving individuals who believe that anything is possible, but also able to work in harmony with others in school and in their wider society." Montessori schools are normally associated with affluent middle-class areas. The Gorton project is the first time its methods will have been tested in an area with classic inner-city problems like social exclusion, unemployment and crime. The project, which initially lasts until April 2006, will only affect about 100 nursery and reception pupils aged three to five. Classrooms have been redesigned along with the teaching methods that will be employed. It has not yet been decided whether to extend the project to older pupils. Philip Bujak, the Montessori chief executive, said the Gorton project showed the charity rejected former Chief Inspector of Schools Chris Woodhead's view that struggling state schools should be "left to die". He added: "Despite huge challenges, this school has made tremendous progress in recent months through the commitment of the head teacher and staff but they and we believe that Montessori methods can make a real and lasting difference to attainment at Gorton Mount and elsewhere." The project is the result of a £80,000 public-private partnership between Manchester City Council, the UK government and the Montessori St Nicholas charity. Four heads of Montessori schools will train the school's staff in the charity's methods. Sarah Rowledge, head of the Absolute Angels Montessori School, in Coggeshall, Essex, will leave her current job for two months to oversee the project. There are about 700 Montessori schools in the UK. Montessori Schools Dr Maria Montessori opened her first school in Rome in 1907 She believed children learnt best in their own way at their own pace Teachers direct children towards "learning opportunities" rather than teach in the traditional sense Children's freedom, dignity and independence are emphasised Pupils follow activities which absorb and interest them in order to develop a joy of learning The Montessori method aims to produce fully rounded and happy children | Anna Bawden Published: Wednesday September 7, 2005 Guardian Unlimited The first state-funded Montessori school today opened its doors to pupils in Manchester. The £90,000 public-private partnership brings together Manchester city council, central government and the London-based Montessori St Nicholas charity in a bid to turn around the performance of Gorton Mount primary school. The 350-pupil school, in one of the poorest parts of the UK, has been plagued by instability, with seven headteachers in six years. Until last year, it was in special measures. The move to turn Gorton Mount into a Montessori school was the brainchild of the current headteacher, Carol Powell. Having introduced a number of Montessori methods since taking over as head in 2003, she decided to adopt the system in full. Funding until April will be shared between the Department for Education and Skills and the Montessori charity. Classrooms have been revamped, new equipment bought and new teaching styles introduced. The Montessori curriculum and teaching methods concentrate on the core areas of literacy, numeracy, cultural citizenship and spiritual education, as well as learning about aspects of practical life, such as how to pack a suitcase. But, crucially, children learn at their own speed and have individual learning programmes. There is considerable emphasis on sensorial learning and practical tests. Until now, Montessori schools have only been available to parents who can afford to send their children. Fees typically range from £400 to £1,000 per term. But this project will allow poorer pupils to benefit from Montessori's teaching methods as well. Initially, just the 100 foundation class pupils at Gorton Mount will be taught using Montessori methods, but if the venture proves successful, Philip Bujak, the chief executive of Montessori St Nicholas, said he would like to roll it out to the rest of the school. "I hope the DfES let us expand it throughout the whole school," he said. Ms Powell said targets for improvement in educational attainment included seeing the proportion of children reading at the correct level for their age rise from 47% to 80%. The school also wants to increase the number of high attaining pupils and raise the proportion of literate and numerate 11 year olds from 30% to 80%. Some 80% of pupils should be able to set up, measure and conclude science experiments. Ms Powell said: "Our partnership will reduce under-achievement and raise attainment for all children. We want them to be Montessori children. This means that they will be rounded citizens for the 21st century. They will be high achieving individuals who believe that anything is possible, but also able to work in harmony with others in school and in their wider society." Staff will be trained in the Montessori methods by four heads of Montessori schools. One of these, Sarah Rowledge, is being seconded from her Absolute Angels Montessori school in Coggeshall, Essex, for two terms to oversee the Gorton Mount project, teach in the school and be involved in staff training. "We have a group of dedicated and skilled teachers, but sadly many of them are lacking basic knowledge about the teaching and learning relationship because they have never been taught it," explained Ms Powell. "Montessori training will expand their individual and collective view of teaching and learning and will make sure that underachievement ceases to be a feature of school life. We also intend to involve parents in monitoring the affects of Montessori methods on their children's learning." Manchester University and the Institute of Education, part of London University, will monitor the impact of the project on teaching and learning. If successful, there may be calls to expand the project to other schools. "I would love to do it for other schools," said Mr Bujak. | Published: 16 March, 2006 : The Independent Montessori: The startling success of progressive teaching methods The introduction of Montessori teaching methods at an inner-city primary school could have serious implications for state-sector learning. Steve McCormack reports In June 2005, The Independent revealed that an inner-city primary school in Manchester was preparing to become the first state school in Britain to formally adopt the progressive Montessori teaching methods. Gorton Mount Primary School introduced Montessori teaching to more than 100 of its youngest pupils last September, and the school, which previously suffered from a history of low achievement, has just attracted glowing praise from a snap Ofsted inspection. Other struggling state primaries, aware of Gorton Mount's striking success, have begun expressing interest in Montessori. The Montessori Schools Association (MSA) is trying to use the momentum to further its campaign for a nationwide introduction throughout the state system of some of the key elements of Montessori teaching. These include allowing children to learn at their own pace, with almost no whole-class teaching, and using furniture, equipment and activities specifically designed for this purpose. Ministers are now being asked to continue the funding that enabled the school to launch the experiment at the beginning of the current academic year. The school and the charity arm of the MSA, which matches every pound contributed by the Government, are using the report's findings to argue for extended state funding. Montessori has, in the past, been the preserve of the private sector, with parents paying fees of between £3,000 and £7,000 for the privilege of their child attending one of the UK's 700 Montessori schools. "We would like every school in the country to have at least one Montessori teacher on board," explains Philip Bujak, the MSA's chief executive. The association's case for wider acceptance can only be assisted by the detailed findings contained in the three-page letter sent to Gorton Mount by Angela Westington, the Ofsted inspector who visited the school to look at behaviour and progress in maths among the Monte- ssori pupils. The letter is littered with positive observations about how the children, many from deprived backgrounds, have responded to the new style of teaching. For Carole Powell, the head teacher, it was a vindication of her decision to take the school down this revolutionary route, but also a confirmation of what she'd observed herself. "I'd seen the children with new confidence and independence in the classroom," she explains. "But I'd also seen them make more tangible progress - in maths, for example." This was borne out by the observation in Westington's letter that most of the 120 nursery- and reception-age children enjoying Montessori teaching at Gorton Mount were also hitting the national average in their maths work. "I had never before had the majority of my reception children working at the national average in maths," explains Powell. This will surely strike a chord at the DfES, where ministers are re-emphasising the importance of children mastering the basics, aware that many leave school at 16 still suffering from a lack of ability to do simple arithmetic. But potentially more explosive for policy-makers, and the wider education community in general, is the repeated implication in Westington's report that the Montessori approach is superior to much of the conventional practice in primary schools. In particular, the report contrasts the deliberately limited educational resources (the equipment and learning activities) and relatively bare surroundings of Gorton Mount's Montessori classrooms, with the more visually stimulating environment that is normal in almost every state primary classroom in the land. The inspector agrees that the new arrangement has "increased the amount of time children spend in purposeful learning", reduced the amount of "aimless wandering", and brought about a "much calmer working environment". This comes as no surprise to Bujak, who says that he constantly has to challenge the perception that Montessori methods mean chaos in the classroom. His case is that conventional classrooms can often cause chaos in young minds. "We come from the point of view that children can get over-stimulated by colour, noise and activity," he argues. The report also comments approvingly on the restricted number and highly focused nature of the tasks available to each child. The inspectors say this decreases the opportunities for incorrect learning and ensures that time is spent more purposefully. This could be read as critical of the "discovery" and "self-direction" elements of learning practised across the state sector. The driving force behind the experiment was Carole Powell, who had already led the school out of the dire straits it was in three years previously, but whose sympathy for the thrust of Montessori methods convinced her that much more could be achieved with a different approach. She felt that Gorton Mount's intake, from an area displaying social fragmentation at its worst - scarred by unemployment, vandalism and drugs - were just the sort of children who'd benefit from the calmer atmosphere Montessori strives to create. "Montessori is good for all children," she explains, "but particularly for those who don't have structure, purpose or a wealth of learning opportunities at home." Since September, Sarah Rowledge, a trained Montessori teacher, has been working full time with the school's nursery and reception teachers to help them implement the approach to education pioneered by Maria Montessori, the Italian doctor who introduced the methods to working-class children in the early 20th century. So the Manchester children have waved goodbye to structured lessons to fit a timetable and enjoyed learning at their own speed, exercising choice over what they do at any one time. This may appear liberal and lazy, but Montessori experts stress that the activities available to each child are deliberately limited to those that he or she has already been introduced to, and that progress is monitored meticulously so teachers can direct pupils on to more advanced activities at the appropriate juncture. Nearly all activities use equipment and materials unique to Montessori, many made of wood and each with its distinct purpose and learning goal. Some of these may be related to life skills, such as pouring water from a jug to a cup, or buttoning up a shirt. Others are conventionally academic, such as understanding fractions or parts of speech. In Montessori, though, it is almost unheard of for a whole class to be engaged in the same activity or a teacher to address all the children at the same time. However, one-to-one and small-group teaching and observation go on almost all the time. Looking back on the past six months, Rowledge recalls a tough first term when the teachers "didn't know what had hit them". But now that the fruits of hard work are shining through, she says that enormous progress has been made. "I have never seen anything like it. The children are all spontaneously holding pencils and writing. This is magnificent." She says that it is particularly remarkable given the emotional instability present in many of the children's lives, which only a few months ago manifested itself in mood swings, erratic behaviour and difficulty in maintaining eye contact with an adult. "Now, whatever hell they are going through at home, they are leaving it at the door as they arrive at school." Among the teaching staff ascending their own learning curves at Gorton Mount is Jeremy Clarke, who entered the experiment with six years' experience of conventional teaching and some nerves about whether it would succeed. All his doubts have now evaporated. "It's been massively beneficial for the children," he says. "Their rate of progress has been particularly impressive in maths and their own social development." More significantly, his conversion to Montessori has made him ask questions about the teaching approach that he and others used before. "It's been a huge eye-opener. It's made me realise how much waste of time there was before. The Montessori equipment is all so simple and focused." Word of this success has got round education circles in Manchester. After Powell invited local head teachers to visit the school, four have decided to send teaching staff for a whole day's extended observation of how Montessori has been introduced. At the same time, a primary school in Essex, with close links to one of the Montessori consultants involved in the Gorton Mount project, has decided to introduce Montessori to its joint Reception/Year 1 class in September. Janet Matthews, head teacher of Stebbing Primary in Great Dunmow, says that what she's heard of the success in Manchester has convinced her that the Montessori approach can be immensely beneficial to young children at her school. Philip Bujak, meanwhile, has received letters from four other state schools asking for more information about how Montessori can be introduced. Gorton Mount's future is partly in the hands of ministers. The school and the MSA have submitted a joint proposal for £35,000 of funding over two years, which would be matched by the MSA. That would enable a Montessori teacher to be employed full time for two years, to help the school entrench the system in the nursery and reception classes and begin to spread the philosophy further up the school. A statement from the DfES said it was aware of the request for more funding, but that no decisions had yet been made. Philip Bujak is adamant. "I think it would be scandalous if we didn't get the money," he says. In June 2005, The Independent revealed that an inner-city primary school in Manchester was preparing to become the first state school in Britain to formally adopt the progressive Montessori teaching methods. Gorton Mount Primary School introduced Montessori teaching to more than 100 of its youngest pupils last September, and the school, which previously suffered from a history of low achievement, has just attracted glowing praise from a snap Ofsted inspection. Other struggling state primaries, aware of Gorton Mount's striking success, have begun expressing interest in Montessori. The Montessori Schools Association (MSA) is trying to use the momentum to further its campaign for a nationwide introduction throughout the state system of some of the key elements of Montessori teaching. These include allowing children to learn at their own pace, with almost no whole-class teaching, and using furniture, equipment and activities specifically designed for this purpose. Ministers are now being asked to continue the funding that enabled the school to launch the experiment at the beginning of the current academic year. The school and the charity arm of the MSA, which matches every pound contributed by the Government, are using the report's findings to argue for extended state funding. Montessori has, in the past, been the preserve of the private sector, with parents paying fees of between £3,000 and £7,000 for the privilege of their child attending one of the UK's 700 Montessori schools. "We would like every school in the country to have at least one Montessori teacher on board," explains Philip Bujak, the MSA's chief executive. The association's case for wider acceptance can only be assisted by the detailed findings contained in the three-page letter sent to Gorton Mount by Angela Westington, the Ofsted inspector who visited the school to look at behaviour and progress in maths among the Monte- ssori pupils. The letter is littered with positive observations about how the children, many from deprived backgrounds, have responded to the new style of teaching. For Carole Powell, the head teacher, it was a vindication of her decision to take the school down this revolutionary route, but also a confirmation of what she'd observed herself. "I'd seen the children with new confidence and independence in the classroom," she explains. "But I'd also seen them make more tangible progress - in maths, for example." This was borne out by the observation in Westington's letter that most of the 120 nursery- and reception-age children enjoying Montessori teaching at Gorton Mount were also hitting the national average in their maths work. "I had never before had the majority of my reception children working at the national average in maths," explains Powell. This will surely strike a chord at the DfES, where ministers are re-emphasising the importance of children mastering the basics, aware that many leave school at 16 still suffering from a lack of ability to do simple arithmetic. But potentially more explosive for policy-makers, and the wider education community in general, is the repeated implication in Westington's report that the Montessori approach is superior to much of the conventional practice in primary schools. In particular, the report contrasts the deliberately limited educational resources (the equipment and learning activities) and relatively bare surroundings of Gorton Mount's Montessori classrooms, with the more visually stimulating environment that is normal in almost every state primary classroom in the land. The inspector agrees that the new arrangement has "increased the amount of time children spend in purposeful learning", reduced the amount of "aimless wandering", and brought about a "much calmer working environment". This comes as no surprise to Bujak, who says that he constantly has to challenge the perception that Montessori methods mean chaos in the classroom. His case is that conventional classrooms can often cause chaos in young minds. "We come from the point of view that children can get over-stimulated by colour, noise and activity," he argues. The report also comments approvingly on the restricted number and highly focused nature of the tasks available to each child. The inspectors say this decreases the opportunities for incorrect learning and ensures that time is spent more purposefully. This could be read as critical of the "discovery" and "self-direction" elements of learning practised across the state sector. The driving force behind the experiment was Carole Powell, who had already led the school out of the dire straits it was in three years previously, but whose sympathy for the thrust of Montessori methods convinced her that much more could be achieved with a different approach. She felt that Gorton Mount's intake, from an area displaying social fragmentation at its worst - scarred by unemployment, vandalism and drugs - were just the sort of children who'd benefit from the calmer atmosphere Montessori strives to create. "Montessori is good for all children," she explains, "but particularly for those who don't have structure, purpose or a wealth of learning opportunities at home." Since September, Sarah Rowledge, a trained Montessori teacher, has been working full time with the school's nursery and reception teachers to help them implement the approach to education pioneered by Maria Montessori, the Italian doctor who introduced the methods to working-class children in the early 20th century. So the Manchester children have waved goodbye to structured lessons to fit a timetable and enjoyed learning at their own speed, exercising choice over what they do at any one time. This may appear liberal and lazy, but Montessori experts stress that the activities available to each child are deliberately limited to those that he or she has already been introduced to, and that progress is monitored meticulously so teachers can direct pupils on to more advanced activities at the appropriate juncture. Nearly all activities use equipment and materials unique to Montessori, many made of wood and each with its distinct purpose and learning goal. Some of these may be related to life skills, such as pouring water from a jug to a cup, or buttoning up a shirt. Others are conventionally academic, such as understanding fractions or parts of speech. In Montessori, though, it is almost unheard of for a whole class to be engaged in the same activity or a teacher to address all the children at the same time. However, one-to-one and small-group teaching and observation go on almost all the time. Looking back on the past six months, Rowledge recalls a tough first term when the teachers "didn't know what had hit them". But now that the fruits of hard work are shining through, she says that enormous progress has been made. "I have never seen anything like it. The children are all spontaneously holding pencils and writing. This is magnificent." She says that it is particularly remarkable given the emotional instability present in many of the children's lives, which only a few months ago manifested itself in mood swings, erratic behaviour and difficulty in maintaining eye contact with an adult. "Now, whatever hell they are going through at home, they are leaving it at the door as they arrive at school." Among the teaching staff ascending their own learning curves at Gorton Mount is Jeremy Clarke, who entered the experiment with six years' experience of conventional teaching and some nerves about whether it would succeed. All his doubts have now evaporated. "It's been massively beneficial for the children," he says. "Their rate of progress has been particularly impressive in maths and their own social development." More significantly, his conversion to Montessori has made him ask questions about the teaching approach that he and others used before. "It's been a huge eye-opener. It's made me realise how much waste of time there was before. The Montessori equipment is all so simple and focused." Word of this success has got round education circles in Manchester. After Powell invited local head teachers to visit the school, four have decided to send teaching staff for a whole day's extended observation of how Montessori has been introduced. At the same time, a primary school in Essex, with close links to one of the Montessori consultants involved in the Gorton Mount project, has decided to introduce Montessori to its joint Reception/Year 1 class in September. Janet Matthews, head teacher of Stebbing Primary in Great Dunmow, says that what she's heard of the success in Manchester has convinced her that the Montessori approach can be immensely beneficial to young children at her school. Philip Bujak, meanwhile, has received letters from four other state schools asking for more information about how Montessori can be introduced. Gorton Mount's future is partly in the hands of ministers. The school and the MSA have submitted a joint proposal for £35,000 of funding over two years, which would be matched by the MSA. That would enable a Montessori teacher to be employed full time for two years, to help the school entrench the system in the nursery and reception classes and begin to spread the philosophy further up the school. A statement from the DfES said it was aware of the request for more funding, but that no decisions had yet been made. Philip Bujak is adamant. "I think it would be scandalous if we didn't get the money," he says. |
| Top marks for pioneering state school A school where children decide what they learn and how they learn it, has earned top marks from a government inspector. Gorton Mount Primary in Manchester became the first state school to use Montessori methods. Dave Guest reports: They don't realise it, but these children are educational pioneers. They are the first in a state school to be taught using Montessori Methods. Normally parents will pay thousands in private schools to have their children educated in this way. Carol Powell, Headteacher, Gorton Mount Primary: "Montessori teaching is a belief that the child is intrinsically motivated to learn and that given the right equipment and the right type of teaching any child can be motivated and can learn at their own pace." The theory may sound crazy - kids choosing how and when they learn - but each task they undertake is carefully thought out, even though they don't realise it. And when a school inspector visited recently she produced a glowing report. The Ofsted report said the Montessori methods had actually increased the amount of purposeful learning and decreased the amount of aimless wandering around the classroom and had created a much calmer atmosphere. The report also said all the children were at or above national standards in Maths Carol Powell: "Which is very good because only a few of our children had worked at national average before and that was very pleasing to hear." Dave Guest, reporter: "So your actual academic standards are higher than they have ever been?" Carol Powell: "Yes, in nursery and reception, absolutely." The news is especially welcome at this inner city primary that has had its share of problems in the past. The new teaching methods have been welcomed by the staff. Jeremy Clarke, Foundation Stage Coordinator: "The rate of attainment has shot up there are no gaps in their learning now, and their independence skills are fabulous. They love coming to school and they love learning." The school is now hoping to find sufficient funding to continue with the Montessori methods, and it hopes to see the practice copied by other state schools. Dave Guest, North West Tonight, Gorton | By Elaine Williams Published: 28 April 2006: The Times Educational Supplement A primary school that was languishing in special measures, with underachieving pupils and demotivated staff, has made a spectacular recovery. The secret lies with an Italian visionary who died 50 years ago. Gorton in Manchester is a long way from Coggeshall in Essex. A universe away. And no one knows that better than Sarah Rowledge, a teacher on a mission. Last autumn she left her school, friends, family and labradoodle in sleepy Coggeshall, with its half-timbered houses, clock house and 4x4 mums, to take up a two-term secondment as Montessori adviser at Gorton Mount primary. Gorton Mount, a state school, has Manchester's third most deprived catchment: local authority housing estates ravaged by drug abuse, third-generation unemployment and high rates of mental and physical ill health. But one thing remains constant in these two far-apart galaxies: children and the way they learn. The Gorton experience has proved to Sarah Rowledge that any child in any circumstance is capable of becoming an independent, self-directed learner when placed in a Montessori environment. After one term of Montessori magic, children at Gorton Mount, a school previously in special measures, characterised by poor behaviour, a demotivated staff and underachievement, were described by Ofsted as "at ease with their learning", showing "very high levels of perseverance and concentration" in a "calm working environment". Ofsted spot-checked maths and personal, social and emotional development in Gorton Mount's foundation stage at the start of Sarah Rowledge's second term. It noted that the majority of the 120 nursery and reception children were hitting the national average in maths - a first for the school. |