Eucalyptus Montessori Early Learning Centre planned for Kambah

Montessori education is set to grow in the ACT with a new early learning centre slated for Canberra’s south.

Plans for the proposed Eucalyptus Montessori Early Learning Centre have been lodged with the ACT Planning and Land Authority.

The facility will be on Summerland Circuit in Kambah and will offer up to 84 places for infants and children, from three months to six years old.

The large, semi-circular centre will include five playrooms, plus extra space for a kitchen and staff facilities at a cost of $3.12 million, if approved.

The area will also include a large playground, an amphitheatre, an orchid and a vegetable garden.

The land is the former site of the Taylor Primary Preschool and is north of the Village Creek Centre. The block is zoned for a community facility under the Territory Plan.

The new school will join the existing Canberra Montessori School in Holder, as well as the school’s Red Hill campus (Red Gum) and Yarralumla Primary School’s Montessori program.

The Montessori approach to education allows students to learn at their own pace, canvassing individual interests. Schools are characterised by multi-age classrooms.

Montessori Australia Foundation president Christine Harrison said construction of the early learning centre was due to begin at the end of May, while the school was scheduled to open in early 2017.

“The centre will reflect the highest standards in early childhood programming and employ Montessori-trained dedicated and experienced staff committed to providing stimulating learning environments that are geared towards the child, enabling them to proceed at their own pace in a non-competitive environment,” she said.

Ms Harrison said the building had been designed by Collard Clarke Jackson Architects, the same firm behind Canberra Montessori School.

The varying colours of eucalyptus tree bark has inspired the planned colour scheme, with wood to feature heavily throughout the design.

“The design draws on the natural concepts of beauty, harmony, simplicity and order,” Ms Harrison said.

“The centre has been carefully planned to take advantage of the self-motivation and unique learning abilities of all children.

“It will provide children with the freedom to follow their natural tendencies towards independence, exploration, co-operation, order, repetition, imagination and communication, These are the fundamental principles of an authentic Montessori environment.”

Ms Harrison said Canberra offered land at an affordable price, allowing high-quality learning spaces to be created inside and outside the building.

She said the new centre would not replace the ACT’s existing Montessori early learning programs and hoped it would act as a feeder for the Holder school.

Inquiries: christine@montessori.org.au