Q: How to pick an authentic Montessori provider?

A: Simply look out for the Montessori Registered logo.

Choosing the right Montessori environment for your child is important. Each school or centre is run independently and is either a public or faith-based school, a independent private school, or a privately owned centre.

While most Montessori schools, whether public, private or centre-based, aim to offer a quality Montessori program, ‘Montessori’ is not trademarked, so it is possible for any school or centre to include the word ‘Montessori’ in their name.

How to pick an authentic Montessori provider?

An Australian Montessori quality program has been established to identify authentic practices for Montessori programs and to support schools and centres in maintaining these standards.

Simply look out for the Montessori Registered logo to ensure your child will receive high-quality Montessori education.

As a parent, you can be assured that a school or centre that is part of the Montessori Registered programme is committed to providing authentic Montessori programs through supported processes of reflective development.

Montessori Registered is a supportive and positive means of continuous improvement by which schools and centres strive to ensure quality and best practice.

The program has two levels:

Participating – these providers are committed to the Montessori charter and participating in a structured guided program to support the implementation of the Authentic Practice Standards.

Registered – these providers have completed the self-study or had a verification visit that reviews the self-assessment documentation, observes in the classroom, reviews the Montessori resources and meets with and gains feedback from the stakeholder groups through focus groups or surveys and verifies and reports to leadership on their Authentic Practice Standards.