Plantpots Jesmond

About us

Plantpots Jesmond draws on the success of our Great Park playgroup and preschool to provide the Jesmond

community with a unique Montessori nursery in a new facility in the grounds of The Northumberland Club.

Open all year round from Monday to Friday, 7.30am-6pm, with flexible start and finish times for your children,

Plantpots Jesmond is a home away from home, providing opportunities for all children in our care to gain a

valuable education through enhanced wellbeing and experiences.

The Plantpots Jesmond building is a fantastic facility with its own garden and a range of natural equipment

and resources for children to access at all times. We have our own pet rabbits, Ace and Deuce, which the

children are responsible for helping to look after and our own fruit and vegetable patch.

We are also incredibly lucky to have a woodland area for our forest school which the children visit daily. It

is a fantastic learning environment where the children learn about the natural world, how to handle risks and

most importantly to use their own initiative to solve problems and co-operate with others.

Led by a Montessori trained teacher, children at Plantpots Jesmond are also allocated a keyworker when they

start nursery who will ensure their learning is tailored towards their individual interests and stage of

development.

Our Vision

At Plantpots we are committed to the enrichment of each child as an individual and believe that everyone has the right to the best possible opportunities to grow and fulfil their journey.

In line with this aim, we:

· Recognise the uniqueness and potential of every individual

· Provide a calm, safe, nurturing and stimulating environment where children and staff feel happy and welcomed

· Follow the Maria Montessori ethos with a strong emphasis on learning through play to develop independence

· Operate a culture of respect, treating others how we would like to be treated ourselves

· Seek to develop children’s social, moral, spiritual and cultural understanding of the world.

Our Montessori approach

Plantpots Jesmond follows the Montessori ethos and curriculum,

with a strong emphasise on learning through play, both indoors and

outdoors. We encourage children to develop their independence skills,

allowing them to make their own choices about where they choose to

play, what activities they'd like to do and to self-serve their own lunch,

for example.

Here's what a Montessori approach looks like and its benefits:

1. Respect

We operate a culture of respect in how we speak to the

children, how we expect them to treat others and the

environment in which they play and learn.

2. Encouragement of co-operative play

Children guide the activities that they wish to explore

throughout the day. This encourages children to share

and work together.

3. Learning is child-centred

The classroom and curriculum is designed around the

children's particular needs and abilities so that they can

learn at their own pace.

4. Children learn self discipline

As the children choose the activities they'd like to work

on, this environment naturally teaches self discipline.

It also encourages a 'help me to do it by myself approach'. Children gain independence from the realisation that they can do things successfully by themselves.

5. The classroom environment teaches order

All objects and activities have a precise location where they are kept. The children learn to return

these items to their 'home' thus creating an orderly environment where they can unleash their

creativity and focus on their learning. It also allows them to know what to expect, enabling them to

feel more secure, calmer and grow in confidence.

6. Teachers facilitate learning through a 'guiding' role

Teachers take the lead from the children about which direction they want their learning to take. They are there to ensure the ground rules are followed and encourage children to complete tasks at their own pace.

7. The Montessori method ensures an individual learning approach for each child

We achieve this through observation, allowing us to understand their different needs and interests

and to adapt our environment as they change.

8. Motivation

Children learn to take pride in their own accomplishments rather than only doing something to

seek an adult's praise or rewards. This helps them to seek out challenges more often and attempt

tasks because they feel good.

9. The curriculum is focused on hands-on learning