Barbara Isaacs

Montessori Global Ambassador

Originally a refugee from communist Czechoslovakia, Barbara trained as a Montessori teacher and was the proprietor of Seedlings Montessori Nursery in Oxfordshire from 1991 to 2007.

Having trained Montessori teachers at Montessori St. Nicholas, London Montessori Centre and Montessori Centre International, Barbara contributed to all course developments at MCI since its inception in 1998 to present day. She is one of the founding members of the Montessori Accreditation and Evaluation Board (now Montessori Accreditation International) and was instrumental in establishing several social impact programmes – the thriving Montessori St Nicholas (MSN) partnership with the Museum of Childhood and the establishment of the Primary School Initiative that brings Montessori education to foundation units in primary schools.

Barbara has written many articles and two books, Understanding the Montessori Approach and Bringing the Montessori Approach to your Early Years Practice, in which she endeavours to make Montessori pedagogy accessible to new generations of early years educators and parents. She is passionate about high-quality teacher training for early years practitioners and campaigns for nursery education that promotes exploration, investigation, critical and creative thinking through play-based activities whilst nurturing the spirit of each child.

In her current role as Montessori Global Ambassador, she continues to champion the Montessori approach, particularly with disadvantaged communities and with politicians to demonstrate relevance of Montessori education in the 21st Century.