The aim is to ensure that nurseries subscribe to the ethos of Montessori pedagogy and commonly accepted childcare practices and legislation.
Speaking ahead of the national conference of the Montessori Schools Association on Saturday, the association’s chair Martin Bradley told Nursery World that details of the new code were currently being finalised.
MSA members will be required to comply with the new code, which also encourages settings to gain accreditation with the Montessori Evaluation and Accreditation Board (MEAB) to promote a shared minimum standard throughout the UK.
The number of settings to gain the accreditation has now reached 100, with Ladbroke Square Montessori in west London gaining the award earlier this month.
Funding worries
Mr Bradley also said that funding remains a major concern for providers. He said that the association’s own findings backed up the National Day Nurseries Association research, published two weeks’ ago, which found that private and voluntary settings received significantly less nursery education funding per hour, per child than maintained settings.
The interpretation of the Code of Practice for free nursery education continues to vary widely between different local authority areas, he added.
In some areas he claimed that, ‘It’s up to the provider to decide when the free place is available’, and that nurseries were being advised by some local authorities to push parents towards taking their free hours in the afternoons, which generally led parents to takeup more hours outside the free entitlement.
Recognition for Montessori qualifications
With the ongoing recognition of Montessori qualifications still in limbo, the association is also looking at adopting ‘a wider pan-European approach’ to Montessori qualifications.
‘The hard line the CWDC is taking on a single qualification [the new level 3 diploma for the Children and Young People’s Workforce] does not match up with EU legislation,’ he said.
‘People who qualify in Scotland with a Montessori Level 3 under EU legislation have been advised by the European Commission that their qualification has to be recognised throughout Europe. We’ve worked with the Scottish Executive at mapping our awards against their criteria.’
The MSA is also contributing to research by the EU into what constitutes effective provision for childcare and education across Europe, which aims ‘to look for common elements of good practice,’ he said.
