Nursery World - Early years foundation stage: Montessori guides users to EYFS practice

The Early Years Foundation Stage was endorsed by Montessori leaders at the launch of the organisation's guidance booklets for practitioners last week.

At a joint conference held by Montessori Schools Association and theDepartment for Children, Schools and Families, keynote speaker RuthPimentel, the national director for early years at National Strategies,emphasised parallels between the EYFS and Montessori practice. She saidthey both put 'the individual child at the centre of practice frombirth'.

The Joint Government and Montessori Conference on the Future, held atthe Institute of Education, attracted more than 200 delegates. Theguidance booklets were financed by the DCSF.

Barbara Isaacs, principal of the Montessori Centre Internationaltraining college, told the conference, 'I believe that (Maria)Montessori could have written the principles (of the EYFS) herself, in adifferent language'.

Ms Isaacs urged delegates to work in partnership. She said, 'It'sparamount that we use the EYFS document as a means of communication.Leave the Montessori jargon in your Montessori classrooms when you'rewith colleagues in other settings. It's about the importance of having ashared language. The guide has been made so it is accessible foreveryone, including Ofsted and local authorities.'

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