Busy Bees to roll out Montessori approach through new training programme

Starting this month, the first intake of practitioners at Busy Bees' 10 Montessori settings, all based in London, will begin studying for the Montessori Centre International (MCI) Certificate in Integrating Montessori Practice (Foundations Specialism, Philosophy & Principles) course.

Nitin Jain, managing director of Montessori by Busy Bees, told Nursery World, ‘We’re thrilled to be partnering with MCI who will help us deliver exceptional standards of education across our entire Montessori portfolio.

'This partnership demonstrates Busy Bees’ commitment in delivering outstanding Montessori teaching to our children with the very best trained Montessori educators. We’re passionate about the Montessori method of learning and we know how important it is to give our team the tools they need to be the best they can be, that’s why we will continue to invest in our learning environments and the development of our valued educators.’

Maccs Pescatore, chief operating officer of the MCI, said, 'This year has been an extremely challenging one for the nursery sector. The collaboration between Busy Bees and MCI is a sign of commitment from both organisations to support the early years sector and quality early years education.'

All of the Busy Bees Montessori settings follow the EYFS framework, in addition to embracing the Montessori method of learning. But Mr Jain said that it is the group’s aspiration for ‘all 10 centres’ to be accredited by the MCI, and the group ‘hopes to open more Montessori nurseries in the future’.

The training will be rolled out initially online, due to the pandemic, and the course will be facilitated through a model of regular weekly taught and study sessions, to include preparation for assessments, on-going coursework, and blended learning study provision led through MCI.

Mr Jain said, ‘The future model involves Montessori by Busy Bees being recognised through accreditation and awarded by the MCI to achieve a host centre status which enables Montessori by Busy Bees to host a range of workshops or CPD events aligned to Montessori.’

Leonor Stjepic, CEO of The Montessori Group and chair of MCI, said, ‘This public endorsement of quality Montessori by Busy Bees is welcome in a year of bad news. Alongside our co-creation of the International Montessori Institute in partnership with Leeds Beckett University, it highlights the importance of training and that early year’s educators are trained professionals educating children.’

Simon Irons, Global CEO of Busy Bees, said, ‘This is an exciting and positive step for Busy Bees as we continue to expand and develop our educational offering in the UK. Thanks to MCI we will be able to offer the highest standard of training to our Montessori educators, which will mirror the success of our other Montessori nurseries across the globe. We are delighted to be entering the new year working alongside MCI and supporting our mission to give every child the best start in life.’

In 2018, Busy Bees bought the Mace Montessori group and in 2019 acquired KidsUniverse, two Montessori day nurseries in the London borough of Harrow.