NEW HORIZONS - Key Persons
This year we are delighted to welcome Ciara to the New Horizons team. Ciara's role is to provide additional support to all the children in New Horizons throughout the year. We know she will be another great asset to the school this year. Ciara is a qualified Montessori Teacher having completed a Level 6 Certificate in "Montessori Teaching" with Portobello Institute. She is a parent of 2 young children and brings a range of additional skills to this role.
Job Titles:
- Manager & Montessori Teacher
Eileen has had a pivotal role in New Horizons since we first opened our doors in 2002 and she has been the Manager/Teacher of New Horizons since 2009. Eileen qualified as a Montessori teacher in 2003 with Distinction. She has a number of other professional qualifications and has completed a variety of highly relevant training programmes, all of which extremely valuable to the children in our school (see below for more details). With over a decade of experience, Eileen has ensured an exceptional ‘quality of care' for each child who passes through our school.
Eileen is responsible for:
Managing the team, communicating plans and ensuring ongoing training needs are met.
Planning for the class both long and short term.
Planning for each child and ensuring each child follows their own individual plan.
Liaising with Educational Psychologists, Speech Therapists and any other relevant professionals.
Reviewing child progress in consultation with Linda.
Eileen has attended numerous training programmes and has a wide range of professional qualifications. These include:
Diploma in Modern Montessori Teaching - Level 6 - with Distinction
Early Childhood Care and Education - Level 6 Advanced Certificate - with Distinction
Certificate in Special Needs - with Distinction
Dyslexia: Identification and Effective Interventions - Institute of Child Education & Psychology
ADHD: Effective Management and Teaching Strategies - ICEP
Teaching Gifted and Talented Students - ICEP
Managing Challenging Behaviour - National Children's Nurseries Association
Most recently Eileen achieved Honours in the ‘Leadership for INClusion in the Early Years' programme (LINC). This qualification, which has twice been the recipient of awards for excellence in education, is a Level 6 Special Purpose Award (Higher Education), to enable early years educators to perform the role of Inclusion Coordinator.
Fiona is another experienced member of New Horizons having joined us in 2016. She settled in very quickly to become another key member of our team. As a parent of a child who previously attended New Horizons, Fiona had a unique understanding of the culture within New Horizons, our Montessori programme and the difference it can make to the children in our school. Fiona supports Eileen in delivering our Montessori Curriculum to our children each day.
Fiona is a fully qualified Montessori Teacher having completed a Level 6 in "Early Childhood Care and Education with Montessori" with Distinction in the College of Progressive Education. She has also completed the Special Needs Assistant Level 5 Programme.
Job Titles:
- Owner
- Senior Manager
- Owner / Teacher )
Linda set up New Horizons after qualifying as a Montessori Teacher in 2002 with First Class Distinction. This represented a change of career for her and the teaching practice proved to her that this is where her true strengths lay. The passion to work with young children has been a lifelong ambition of Linda and the opening of New Horizons was the culmination of this dream. During 2009/10 Linda completed the Post Graduate Programme in Primary School Education with honours and is currently teaching in a Primary School.
In November 2022 Linda completed a Masters in Education Research in Practice with First Class Honours. Her research project on how to enhance literacy skills of children using differentiated station teaching has already had a significant impact on the literacy skills of the children involved.
The experience gained in her teaching role continues to be a huge asset to New Horizons as it allows her to review long and short-term plans. In addition to this, individualised plans are discussed in depth with Eileen, reviewing each child's progress and discussing appropriate courses of action. Linda is ultimately responsible for ensuring that exceptional standards of quality, education, and care continue to be met on a daily basis.