This is my very first blog, very exciting and a bit scary for me! I’m very grateful to Tim (Tom & Alfie’s dad) for setting this up.
The intention is to gather our community together on-line to find a way to deal with our premises challenge. Our lease in Southwater runs out in October 2011 and we’ve been told it won’t be renewed. We were offered Easteds Barn as an alternative venue, as its use (and revenues) have steadily declined over the last five years.
Horsham District Council recommended approval but some of the local residents organised an effective campaign, for now.
One argument was in the numbers: 140 community users against 35 children. However, numbers can be presented in different ways: 140 users using 15 hours per week, or 35 children, 10 teachers and 70 parents (totalling 115 people) using 50 hours per week, for instance. Another argument was that we were a business, as if that in itself was a bad thing. In the black & white past business was for making money and government and charities were there to help the poor, things have moved on. My coach puts it thus:
“On a bigger scale where we’ve come from is a place where business focussed on making money (and unfortunately not always in good ways) and taxes and gifts were made to government and charities to do good things to restore the balance. The new wave of social entrepreneurs are finding ways of doing good things in profitable ways. This opens possibilities. And potentially leads to greater overall health.”
I couldn’t agree more.
If you any ideas or suggestions, or would simply like us to know your opinion about our campaign, please feel free to comment here. We’d love to know your views and feelings!
What a great idea!!! Now we need all us parents to get behind Thea and do whatever we can to help if we still want a Montessori Nursery in Southwater for our children to go to!!! Get of Bums and use voices!!!
This is great idea and put into action very efficiently! Well done Tim and Thea!
Thank you Karen, greatly appreciated
and thanks to Claudine as well!
This is a great idea to keep people informed and to let them know what is going on and that something needs to be done to stop the Montessori school leaving Southwater. I for one will do whatever I can to help.
Hi Tamsin,
It takes TEAMWORK to make the DREAM WORK.
Thank you for being part of the team
It’s a cliche I know – but really, the Children are Our Future! There ARE NO other nurseries in Southwater that can provide the flexibility, continuity of care and exciting, stimulating and nurturing environment for our children! The Southwater Montessori is the ONLY nursery open 50 weeks a year, and from 8am to 6pm! Without this provision what would so many parents do? And what about our children? They love coming to “school”! In fact, even on the weekend, my daughter asks why she can’t go to see her friends and teachers! It would be a huge loss to the community if the Montessori were no longer here – it is in everybody’s interests to get involved, support and promote the Montessori for all of our sakes!!!!
Thank you very much Lisa,
I will do all I can to continue our presence, with the care for your children and the employment for our team. This week is the first time that one of our former children (from our very first setting in Pondtail Road) is on a Millais work placement with us. She wants to study paediatric medicine. I feel very proud and happy that she has chosen to come and assist us (in Horsham) this week AND brought two friends along (for our Casa and Southwater settings).
To see what some other ex-Montessori children get up to please go to our main website at http://www.montessori-uk.co.uk. On the home page (parts of which still need updating) you will find a link, in the pink box, to two amazing people who have literally transformed our experience of the world. They talk about their Montessori experience.
Enjoy (and take courage
).
Thea I can only admire your tenacity and your ability to strive forward despite opposition. I think these are fabulous ideas and I certainly pledge my support.
Diane Banks
Thank you very much Diane,
You know about reframing? This is how I like to think of obstacles:
If you encounter one, rejoice!
Only people who are going somewhere have them
I’m sorry I can’t recall who said that.
The other one I like is from Richard Rogers, the famous architect who designed the Centre Pompidou and Terminal 5. He said in an interview for the Times Magazine:
“It would be lovely if everyone liked everything I did. I think if you are not creating some controversy, you are not moving forward.”
Sometimes it takes time for people to really appreciate what is being offered, and what the potential costs to the community are, of the offer no longer being available.
Being a resident in Southwater, Southwater Montessori is the only day care provider which starts from 18 months – this alone has proved beneficial to both my child and me. I know Montessori has instilled a keen interest to learn and excellent concentration, to name but a few reasons to have a Montessori education.
I live directly next door to Easteds Barn. My hubby & I love the idea of little ones voices been heard across the fence and do not see why Easteds Barn cannot be shared by all interested parties. Maybe an extra room is required? Poor scouts too, who are also at a loss with the present situation. Infact, all three of my children have lost out as a result of the present decision and we are Southwater residents who live next door to the barn! Good luck Thea and I support you.
The Montessori nursery (Horsham and Southwater) is the best thing that happened to our little boy. It all started when Théa “rescued” our 9 months old baby after he was booked to start at another Horsham nursery and our hearts told us it was the wrong environment for him. Two weeks before I was due back at work (full-time !!), it was an emotional journey but Théa and her team demonstrated the passion, love and care for the children which, we were looking for. A good, safe, stimulating, friendly and caring place to grow and discover the world. Now just over 3 years old our little boy is a clever, happy, cheeky little person who understand the values, respect and is developing beautiful social skills. He is cared for as an individual considering his own needs rather than just being ‘another toddler at a nursery’. I could not bring myself to go through this again if we were to lose the Montessori Southwater school and their excellent, caring and dedicated teachers (Saima, Dawn, Sonia, Suzanne, Jocelyn and the rest of the team
I cannot thank you enough for giving our little boy such a great start in life and I hope that suitable premises such as Easteds Barn are secured soon for the future of our Village.
Thank you so much for your warm words of appreciation Nadine and Debbie. Together I am sure we can find a way to move forwards. We owe it to the children!
I really need to know why mums need a Montesorri, as such, for a nursery school. There are three reasons, I think, one is that they have to work or two that they want they’re little ones to mix with other or three they need a little time to themselves.
Now I’m a mum, my children grew up in the village and are now 31 and 30. When they were little they went to a children’s get together twice a week. They both went on to get their ‘A’ levels as requested by current society and seem to be able to behave in society.
I did the Dalton Plan at school…………not far fetched from your ideals. It didn’t do me any favours along my way.
Comments please!
Please accept my apologies for my late reply. I’m still learning about blogs and how to reply to them, something new every day.
I would love to learn more about your experiences and welcome a dialogue. There are not so many Dalton Plan schools in the UK, but plenty in the Netherlands, where I grew up. Did you attend a school in England?
As you and I both know, there are a lot of excellent local playgroups, preschools, parent and toddler sessions and other groups that provide a service for parents and children.
Montessori groups do this too. They use a special approach and a specially designed set of materials to help the children learn important concepts in a playful way. They include art activities and outdoor play. The children learn to make their own choices and become more independent and confident as they go along. The adults observe their likes and dislikes and enjoy and celebrate their achievements with them. They show the children new activities when they think they are ready, but they respect their freedom to accept or decline the invitation.
I started my working life as a secondary school teacher and teacher-trainer in the Netherlands and came to Montessori only ‘later in life’ after a few years’ stint in the insurance business. I found that the Montessori approach harmonised beautifully with what I had learnt as a teacher and teacher-trainer. In many respects it was ‘common sense’ to help the children do things for themselves. The Montessori materials offer a set of beautiful tools to do this, as part of a carefully structured curriculum that is not imposed on them but offered to them as an invitation.
For me, it is a joy and a privilege to watch the children grow.