How will my child benefit if they stay in a Montessori school after the age of four or five?

The benefits can be summed up as:

Education based on making the most of your child’s individual capabilities;

The ability to embrace challenges with curiosity and enthusiasm;

Your child will develop the capacity to manage their learning by formulating their own weekly work plan and complete this, following their unique pattern and rhythm of work;

A curriculum which fully meets the requirements of the National Curriculum and which goes well beyond this in many subjects;

Opportunities to apply and develop mathematical and literacy skills in the context of projects which your child selects and researches in science, culture (history and geography), the arts, information technology and other areas;

An education which maximises the use of the classroom environment as well as drawing on outings and learning in the community;

Continuity and development of learning experiences and approaches, following on from the nursery classes;

No need to get used to different routines, different adults and different environments;

Being part of a small team of children working together and sharing ideas;

No attempt to work to an externally determined curriculum which is not based on your child’s needs;

No testing. Continuous observations to evaluate your child’s progress, seeking further challenges to encourage new skills and knowledge;

The knowledge that children educated in Montessori schools achieve at least as well and often better than children in other schools by the ages of 7 and 11, not only academically, but also socially.

Maria Montessori described the child over the age of three as having a growing ability to organise information, experiences and ideas.