Our Ethos & Values
Our Ethos & Values: Montessori Meets Forest & Coastal School on Mersea Island
At The Mulberry Bush Mersea, we believe that childhood is a time for wonder, exploration, and joyful discovery. Situated on beautiful Mersea Island, we offer a unique and inspiring early years experience for children aged from 9 months to 5 years. Our approach thoughtfully weaves together the principles of the Montessori philosophy with the adventurous, hands-on learning of Forest and Coastal School.
We provide a nurturing, stimulating, and safe space – both within our carefully prepared indoor environment and outdoors amidst the rich natural landscapes of our island. Our mission is to foster each child's holistic development, igniting their innate curiosity, building resilience and confidence, and nurturing a deep connection with the world around them.
We understand the demands on modern families, which is why we offer flexible care options, open 7:00 am - 6:00 pm, 50 weeks a year.
Emma Paramor
Nursery Manager
Our Vision
We aim to provide each child with a positive, fun, fulfilling experience within a safe, secure, enabling environment... where they feel supported, valued, respected, listened to and cared for.
Our Core Values: Guiding Our Practice
Our values are the heart of everything we do, shaping our interactions, our environments, and our curriculum:
- Safe & Nurturing Environments - Creating secure, welcoming, and respectful spaces – both our ordered Montessori classroom and our dynamic Forest/Coastal School settings – where children feel safe to explore and learn.
- Child-Centred Discovery - Recognising each child as unique; following their individual interests, needs, and developmental pace through observation and responsive planning within both philosophies.
- Purposeful Play & Exploration - Supporting holistic development through engaging, hands-on experiences – from focused, self-chosen Montessori 'work' to adventurous, collaborative play and learning in nature.
- Building Confidence, Resilience & Wellbeing - Empowering children to try new challenges, manage risks appropriately, develop self-belief, understand their emotions, and build strong social skills.
- Deep Connection with Nature - Fostering respect, understanding, and joy in exploring and learning from Mersea's unique woodland and coastal environments, promoting environmental stewardship.
- Independence & Curiosity - Cultivating children's natural desire to learn, fostering their independence through practical life skills (Montessori) and self-led exploration (Forest/Coastal School), encouraging questioning and critical thinking.
- Strong Partnership with Parents - Working collaboratively with families as the child's first and most important educators, fostering open communication and mutual trust.
- Inclusive Community - Celebrating diversity and ensuring every child and family feels welcomed, valued, and included.
Our Unique Approach: Montessori Meets Forest & Coastal School
At The Mulberry Bush Mersea, we believe in providing an early years education that is both deeply nurturing and wonderfully adventurous. We achieve this through a unique educational philosophy that thoughtfully blends the proven principles of the Montessori approach with the enriching, hands-on experiences of the Forest and Coastal School ethos.
This powerful combination allows us to cater to the whole child, fostering academic foundations, practical skills, creativity, emotional intelligence, and a profound connection to the natural world. Our approach ensures children develop independence, resilience, and a lifelong love of learning, all within the framework of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS).
The Montessori Influence: Nurturing Independence and Focus
Our indoor environment is guided by the core principles of the Montessori philosophy, creating a calm, ordered, and stimulating space designed to empower your child's natural desire to learn.
Prepared Environment
Our classroom is carefully organised with child-sized furniture, accessible low shelves, and defined areas for different types of learning (Practical Life, Sensorial, Language, Mathematics, Culture). Everything has its place, creating a sense of calm and order. Your child can freely choose activities, access materials independently, and return them when finished, fostering responsibility and respect.
Child-Led Discovery & Freedom within Limits
Children are encouraged to choose their own activities ('work') based on their interests and developmental readiness, guided by the practitioner. Freedom is given within clear boundaries of respect for others and the materials. A child might choose to spend a long time deeply engrossed in completing a puzzle, practice pouring water without interruption, or explore number rods at their own pace.
Hands-On, Auto-Didactic Materials
We use specific Montessori materials that are designed to be self-correcting and engaging. Children learn abstract concepts through concrete manipulation. Using the Pink Tower to understand size, Sandpaper Letters to feel letter shapes, or Knobbed Cylinders to refine visual discrimination. The materials themselves guide the child.
Practical Life Activities
Activities that mirror everyday tasks, helping children develop coordination, control of movement, concentration, and independence. Pouring drinks, preparing snacks, washing hands, polishing shoes, dressing themselves, caring for plants builds essential self-care skills, fine motor control, confidence, and a sense of contribution.
Sensorial Exploration
Materials designed to isolate and refine the senses (sight, sound, touch, taste, smell), helping children classify and understand the world around them. Grading colour tablets, matching sound cylinders, feeling different fabric textures, exploring geometric solids develops sensory perception, lays foundations for mathematics and language, and enhances observation skills.
Grace, Courtesy & Peace Education
Fostering respectful social interactions, empathy, and an understanding of community. Learning how to greet others politely, take turns, resolve conflicts peacefully, and care for classmates and the environment develops crucial social and emotional skills, promoting a harmonious and caring classroom community.
The Forest & Coastal School Spirit: Embracing Adventure and Nature Outdoors
Complementing our Montessori focus, our Forest and Coastal School sessions immerse children in the dynamic learning environment of Mersea Island's unique natural landscapes – its woodlands and its shoreline.
Regular Sessions in Nature
Consistent, frequent time spent learning and playing outdoors in natural settings, whatever the weather (within safety limits). Planned sessions exploring local woods or the beach become a core part of our weekly rhythm, allowing children to experience seasonal changes firsthand. This builds resilience, physical stamina, and a deep, intuitive connection with the natural world.
Learner-Led Exploration & Play
Children's interests and discoveries guide the direction of the session. Adults facilitate rather than solely direct the learning. A child's fascination with a particular shell might lead to a group investigation of shoreline creatures, or finding an interesting log could spark a collaborative den-building project. This fosters curiosity, creativity, intrinsic motivation, and allows learning to be deeply relevant and engaging.
Holistic Development
Outdoor experiences naturally support all areas of learning – physical, social, emotional, cognitive, and linguistic. Climbing a tree develops gross motor skills and risk assessment; discussing a minibeast discovery uses language and observation; working together to build a shelter involves collaboration and problem-solving. This promotes well-rounded development in a real-world context.
Supported Risk-Taking
Providing opportunities for children to encounter and manage appropriate physical and emotional challenges in a safe, supervised environment. Learning to use real tools (like peelers, hammers, or saws) under close 1:1 supervision, navigating uneven terrain or slippery rocks, climbing trees to a safe height, paddling in the sea, deciding how close to build a sandcastle to the incoming tide. This builds confidence, resilience, self-esteem, physical competence, problem-solving skills, and the ability to assess risk and safety.
Qualified Practitioners
Our outdoor sessions are facilitated by staff trained in Forest School principles and skilled in managing groups safely outdoors, understanding child development, and facilitating nature-based learning. Leaders skilfully observe children, introduce new skills or concepts appropriately, manage safety dynamically, and model respect for nature. This ensures safe, high-quality learning experiences outdoors.
Environmental Stewardship & Nature Connection
Cultivating a sense of care, respect, and responsibility for the natural environment. Learning to 'leave no trace', identifying local flora and fauna, understanding ecosystems (like rock pools or woodland floor), participating in beach cleans, discussing conservation. This fosters lifelong respect for nature and an understanding of environmental issues.
Bringing It All Together: A Holistic Education
Our blended approach creates a powerful synergy. The fine motor skills and concentration developed through Montessori work directly support the ability to handle tools or engage in detailed observation during Forest School. Equally, the problem-solving, creativity, and resilience fostered outdoors enrich children's confidence and approach to learning back in the classroom.
By embracing both the focused calm of Montessori and the adventurous spirit of Forest and Coastal School, The Mulberry Bush Mersea provides a truly holistic foundation, nurturing children who are:
- Independent and Confident
- Curious and Creative Thinkers
- Resilient and Resourceful Problem-Solvers
- Socially Aware and Emotionally Intelligent
- Physically Competent and Active
- Deeply Connected to their Community and the Natural World
- Well-prepared and enthusiastic for their next stage of learning
Our Leadership Team
Meet the dedicated professionals who care for your children. Our experienced team brings passion, expertise, and warmth to create a nurturing environment for early years development.
Get In Touch
The Mulberry Bush Mersea Nursery
12 Melrose Road, West Mersea, Colchester, Essex CO5 8JB
01206 383898
info@mulberrybushmersea.co.uk
www.mulberrybushmersea.co.uk
Photo Gallery
Opening Hours
Monday - Friday
7:00 AM - 6:00 PM
(Open 50 weeks per year, closed for 5 days at Christmas and 5 bank holidays)
Saturday & Sunday