ORIGINS
In the beginning
"The goal of education is to cultivate the child's natural desire to learn."
Montessori Education for Autism (MEfA Montessori) was constituted in February 2009 and was accorded charitable status by the UK Charity Commission later that year. Our three founding trustees met in a coffee shop and agreed the draft constitution and set out the aims and objectives for our charity. We began with some Montessori Baby Classes and Montessori Therapy Classes and we soon progressed to Montessori Toddler and Preschool classes.
A major landmark for our charity was establishing our flagship Montessori After-school Nurture Group. We called the class 'The Montessori Moles' as we were meeting under ground level in the basement of a local community centre, and as we know, children with special needs are often hidden inside themselves. Soon children and their families from schools all over London, and further afield, were travelling to meet, play, socialise and learn with us each Tuesday afternoon.
In 2010 we moved to our own premises (Montessori House) and held the inaugural MEfA Montessori post graduate SEN CPD training course 'A Blueprint for Observation'. To date, we have run 20 Cohorts of this training and students have travelled from all over the world to study with us. International students with visas are offered six month internships and return to their home countries with skills, knowledge and understanding about all aspects of Montessori education, child development and special educational needs.
Our first Conference for Parents and Professionals took place in 2011, and in the same year Wendy was invited to present her research at EECERA - the European Early Childhood Research Association in Geneva, Switzerland.
2012 saw three of our eight trustees travel to Chennai, India to speak at the Learn: Out of Education and into Employment conference and in the same year we finally secured the rent on the whole of our building, with a front and back garden.
Everything has galloped along apace each year with many international conferences, invitations, publications and training courses.
Our regular, main school classes for children aged 2-9 years offer opportunities for all children to learn in a warm and nurturing environment. We are so proud to be a fully inclusive school, warmly welcoming families from all backgrounds, and children who learn in many different ways.
We also now run the MEfA Montessori Waldon Therapy Training and this has been attended by international students, including those from the largest special school in Europe.
In 2017 we opened our second Montessori After-School Group - 'Montessori Enrichment' - on Thursdays for children who had moved onto 'big' school but also wanted to maintain their Montessori links with us.
Finally, in 2019, in our 10th Anniversary Year, our dreams came true when the yard immediately behind Montessori House became available, and we opened the MEfA Montessori Forest School and Well-being Area.
Now in 2020 our lovely school is currently closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We plan to reopen for the new school year in September 2020.
A major landmark for our charity was establishing our flagship Montessori After-school Nurture Group. We called the class 'The Montessori Moles' as we were meeting under ground level in the basement of a local community centre, and as we know, children with special needs are often hidden inside themselves. Soon children and their families from schools all over London, and further afield, were travelling to meet, play, socialise and learn with us each Tuesday afternoon.
In 2010 we moved to our own premises (Montessori House) and held the inaugural MEfA Montessori post graduate SEN CPD training course 'A Blueprint for Observation'. To date, we have run 20 Cohorts of this training and students have travelled from all over the world to study with us. International students with visas are offered six month internships and return to their home countries with skills, knowledge and understanding about all aspects of Montessori education, child development and special educational needs.
Our first Conference for Parents and Professionals took place in 2011, and in the same year Wendy was invited to present her research at EECERA - the European Early Childhood Research Association in Geneva, Switzerland.
2012 saw three of our eight trustees travel to Chennai, India to speak at the Learn: Out of Education and into Employment conference and in the same year we finally secured the rent on the whole of our building, with a front and back garden.
Everything has galloped along apace each year with many international conferences, invitations, publications and training courses.
Our regular, main school classes for children aged 2-9 years offer opportunities for all children to learn in a warm and nurturing environment. We are so proud to be a fully inclusive school, warmly welcoming families from all backgrounds, and children who learn in many different ways.
We also now run the MEfA Montessori Waldon Therapy Training and this has been attended by international students, including those from the largest special school in Europe.
In 2017 we opened our second Montessori After-School Group - 'Montessori Enrichment' - on Thursdays for children who had moved onto 'big' school but also wanted to maintain their Montessori links with us.
Finally, in 2019, in our 10th Anniversary Year, our dreams came true when the yard immediately behind Montessori House became available, and we opened the MEfA Montessori Forest School and Well-being Area.
Now in 2020 our lovely school is currently closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We plan to reopen for the new school year in September 2020.
ESTABLISHED
Our Work
MEfA Montessori offers an education that is child-centred with child-driven educational practices that allow children to discover the breadth and depth of their own knowledge. This gives them the freedom to become the competent, happy, successful people they dream they can be. Our goals are to:
- Assist in the natural development of a child's personality based on his/her unique interests and needs
- Respond appropriately to a child's needs to be loved, valued, respected and accepted
- Maintain a secure, reassuring, nurturing and predictable environment
