The Meadows Montessori School is an independently-run Montessori nursery school for two-and-a-half- to five-year-old children. Located in a spacious community centre, with the use of the main hall, a smaller classroom and a secure outside play area, the school is registered for 40 children. It is fully equipped and furnished and staffed by qualified Montessori nursery teachers and assistants.

The Principal, Mrs Sarah Herbert, has been running Meadows since September 1993, and her aim is to provide a relaxed, happy and rich environment which will stimulate each child’s natural love of learning and discovery, and allow all children to develop at their own pace to their own social, academic and personal potential.

Meadows’ teachers tailor tuition and care to each child individually and guide them through all areas of their development and learning, with patience, humour and a real love of being with young children. We follow the Montessori curriculum, which is comprehensive and broad-based, and work within the six areas of learning of the Government’s Foundation Stage curriculum.

The school runs Monday to Friday during school term-times, and each daily session
(9.00 am – 12.00 noon incorporates freely-chosen individual activities and tuition, with access to all the Montessori materials, and group times for general knowledge topics and projects, as well as music, art and craft, PE, cooking and drama. Children may stay for one or two optional longer days a week when they are ready (9.00 am – 3.00 pm). The emphasis is on a warm welcome to all children, a wide variety of activities, a positive approach and good communication with parents.

Meadows is registered with the London Borough of Hounslow and inspected regularly by Ofsted. In its last full report (July 2004), Ofsted commented: “Meadows Montessori School provides very good, high quality nursery education. Children make very good progress towards the early learning goals in the six learning areas. They are confident, curious, enthusiastic learners who enjoy a wide range of activities. Very good quality of teaching and a rich environment ensure children are able to make very good progress.”

Children aged between three and four benefit from the Department of Education and Skills funding for nursery education, currently set at £425.15 per term for five sessions a week, which is deducted from each term’s fees.