About Stone Bay Montessori and Beach School
“The education of even a small child, therefore, does not aim at preparing them for school, but for life.”
- Maria Montessori
Based in Broadstairs, Stone Bay Montessori and Beach School was opened by Owner Debbie Goldberg and Manager Emma Cuttill in September 2021. Debbie has previously owned a fully established nursery school in Barnes, London, since the year 2000, however her grandchildren brought us to Thanet as she wanted to be able to offer them an extraordinary nursery school which follows the Montessori Ethos.
Our Aim
“Help me to help myself”
Stone Bay Montessori and Beach School aims to provide a happy and secure environment with all teaching based on Montessori principles. We offer your child the opportunity of natural self-development by virtue of our specially trained staff, whose expertise lie in creating a carefully prepared environment, guiding, nurturing, and facilitating holistic education. Our aim is to always involve the child as a ‘whole person’ encouraging children to achieve their full potential, intellectually, physically, socially, emotionally, and spiritually. Respect for the child is paramount and we firmly believe in the Montessori maxim, ‘Help me to help myself’.
What Else Makes Us Special?
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A Small, Intimate Setting with a Personal Approach
Children benefit from being part of a small nurturing community. As a stand alone, independent nursery school, we can fully invest our time and efforts in making Stone Bay Montessori and Beach School a truly magnificent place for the children, parents, and teacher alike. We enjoy getting to know our families and truly care about each and every child and their experience with us.
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Highly Trained Staff
Our staff training standards are well above the national requirements, with most teachers holding diplomas in Montessori Pedagogy (equivalent Level 4), and various approved Level 6 Early Years teaching qualifications. What’s more, we have excellent staff retention, so your children benefit from continuity of care with great teachers who are passionate about teaching.
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High Staff-Child Ratios
Children benefit from having specialist extracurricular teachers present in addition to the required ratios. We also have apprentices assigned to our nursery each year, who also aren’t counted in the ratios or given key children.
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Vertical (Mixed Age) Grouping
We teach all children aged 2 to 5 in the same environment rather than segregating children by age. This has various benefits for younger and older children, including:
- Cultivating a Sense of Community, Responsibility, and Mutual Respect
- Fostering a Cooperative Atmosphere Where Each Child’s Unique Strengths and Needs and Recognised and Valued
- Supporting Individual Learning Trajectories, Rather Than Confining Children to Their Age Groups
- Encouraging Children to Build Strong Bonds and Learn from and Support Each Other
- Teaching Peer-to-Peer Interactions
- Boosting Social and Academic Skills
- Providing Speech and Language Benefits
- Teaching Older Children to be Good Role Models for Younger Children
- Offering Older Children the Opportunity to Become Mentors
- Strengthening Older Children’s Sense of Self-Worth
- Helping Older Children Learn Sensitivity to Others, and Recognise When Others Need Help
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Free Flow Environment
We believe our free flow environment empowers children to make independent choices about whether they learn better outdoors or inside. Our garden is open to children in all weathers and whether inside or outside, we bring the Montessori method to all learning and play.
Excellent Communication
As a parent, you’ll always be kept in the loop. This includes:
Daily Handovers
We provide daily handovers, specific to your child and their day at the point of collection. You'll always get to speak with staff who have worked directly with your child that day to discuss their progress and activities.
My Montessori Child
Log in to your ‘My Montessori Child’ account to keep track of our teachers’ complete learning and development observations about your child. You can see what your child has been doing, complete with activity descriptions and photographs, and find all your child’s accomplishments and achievements in one place. We get excellent feedback from parents for this resource.
Parent Consultations
Whether face-to-face or over the phone, consultations with parents/guardians are always available on request. Rather than squeezing everything into a 10-minute slot on parents’ evening, we have a complete discussion about your child’s learning and development, social interactions, and any questions you might want to ask us.
Parent Involvement
Parents are regularly encouraged to contribute to our topic work, whether sharing their expertise on a topic or joining us and working with children for a morning. We value parental involvement and open communication as a way of giving children the best start on their educational journey.
Montessori Through and Through
Unlike many nursery schools that use the Montessori name and cherry-pick limited amounts of genuine apparatus, Stone Bay Montessori and Beach School offers a traditional Montessori education with the Ethos embedded in everything we do. As we progress throughout the year, we cover the full Montessori apparatus, providing children with a clear line of progression from one activity to the next. Led by several qualified Montessori Directress', our whole team have a wealth of knowledge in this area.