Inspections and Accreditations
As you may already know, we have recently had a number of planned, and one unexpected inspection.
All of these were positive, and we want to tell you more about what this means for the school.
Why accreditation matters?
Accreditation allows us to legally operate as a school. We are currently accredited by the British Council through NABSS and this accreditation has been homologised by the Generalitat d’Catalunya. You can tell if a school has this because they will display their codigo de centro on their website. Ours is https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vxDovMyXLTWbjKGqPrpE0UHd8WyOpUVZ/view?usp=share_link08078211 and can be found in the footer of the website. This means any educational certification your child receives is valid and transferable in Europe.
NEASC
Our most recent inspection was with NEASC. Our visitor (or inspector) came to the school to see the classes in action, meet with students, staff and families. He was very positive about our school, emphasising that we were a wonderful example of true Montessori education, with a strong curriculum and students with an excellent level of English.
He also said that we had some wonderfully polite and enthusiastic students and great parents! Thank you to all those who participated in the meeting.
This initial visit was to assess whether we met the Foundation Standards that allow us to enter into the ACE pathway. The good news is that they were so happy with what they saw that we have been accepted and can quickly move onto the next stage.
The next step is a more complete school inspection in November along with a half-day training session for staff in order to begin our self-review process. This internal reflection takes approximately 1 year to complete before the school is considered fully accredited by NEASC.
PGCM (Programa de Garantía y Calidad Montessori)
At the end of February, we welcomed a visitor from Asociación Montessori España as part of the PGCM (Programa de Garantía y Calidad Montessori), which we are undertaking alongside our NEASC accreditation process.
The purpose of this visit was to accredit our 0–3 environments (Nido and Infant Community) according to AMI standards. Our inspector spent three full days at the school, carefully observing the environments in action and ensuring that our spaces, staff, curriculum, and overall school practices meet the high standards expected of authentic Montessori education.
At the end of the visit, the inspector met with us to share her impressions and congratulate the team on the strength of the programme we are offering. Coming from someone who has travelled extensively around the world visiting and evaluating many Montessori schools, this recognition is something we are truly proud of. We are delighted to share that we have now received the official reports, and all three environments have been approved within the PGCM framework.
Why so many accreditations?
We want parents to feel confident in our school as a long term choice for their children. Many parents talk to us about exams and qualifications, which are important as children get older. However, good exam results are only part of the picture in a good school.
A school serves as a micro-community where students grow, not just intellectually but emotionally and socially. We can’t grade these ever more important aspects of school life in an exam. Accreditors look at all these areas of the school. For this reason, we hope that we can avoid putting the added pressure of external exams on our young student body, and find other ways to demonstrate what a great school we are!
And the last inspection?
We are aware that some of you raised questions at the recent parent reps meeting regarding the welfare of our guinea pigs and other school animals. We welcome this kind of engagement and take animal welfare very seriously.
Shortly after that meeting, we received an unexpected visit from the local animal protection services. We are delighted to share that following their inspection, they confirmed that our animals are very well looked after and in excellent health. The Ajuntament's official report noted that our animals are cared for to a high standard, with proper protocols and policies in place, as well as full records of all veterinary appointments and procedures carried out. We hope this gives you reassurance, and as always, we remain committed to maintaining the highest standards of care for all members of our school community — the two-legged and four-legged ones alike!
