"Also, the children can have the same teacher for multiple years so there's no interruption of learning."
He said the Montessori classroom would include students from year zero to eight and if interest grew, a second classroom would potentially be introduced and junior and senior students divided.
Mr Hett had been visiting other primary schools with Montessori classrooms in the lower North Island last month, speaking to principles, including Clifford Wicks from Otari School about their implementation of Montessori learning.
The Montessori philosophy, which is taught to nine per cent of New Zealand's preschool population, derived from founder Dr Maria Montessori, who began the first Montessori children's home in the slums of Rome.
As part of the Montessori movement, Dr Montessori stressed the importance of an education surrounding the interests of the child, with a strong focus on self-discovery.
Mr Hett said while the classroom would embody Montessori principles, it would still run according to the New Zealand curriculum, using the same assessment tools as any other Ministry of Education approved school.
"Teachers and children are still expected to meet those learning goals."
The idea for a Montessori classroom at Kapiti School emerged four months ago, when Mr Hett was approached by a local parenting group who wanted to set up a Montessori class on the coast.
"Being a community school, when we were approached by the group we wanted to cater to the community's needs.
We understood that with Montessori preschools already on the coast, there was no educational pathway in the Montessori approach for the students afterwards."
Liz Williamson was among the parents pushing for the classroom and said Kapiti School was a natural fit for the initiative.
"The conversation about a Montessori classroom has been going on in the parenting community since earlier this year," she said.
"Montessori is a really broad, integrated approach to learning and teaching and children have a greater capacity to follow their individual interests, with more flexibility around that."
She said in the junior classrooms, there was usually a teacher aid and extended periods of unbroken activity time to help with the development of children's concentration.
"At a primary level, they generally have three hours of undisrupted time, say between 9am and 12pm, with no morning tea break so they can stay engaged in their task as long as they like. Then when they're ready for morning tea, they go and do that."
The mother of two said Montessori education focused on a holistic way of learning.
The school was now preparing to advertise for a teacher and would choose someone trained or training in Montessori education, or who wanted to train on the job.
With the New Zealand Montessori Association recommending a maximum of 28 children per classroom, there were still spaces available.
"Every parent wants their child to be able to leave the school gate and be a confident and connected citizen, who is responsible and can add value to society.
Those kinds of Montessori values fit nicely with what we're trying to achieve at Kapiti Primary."
?The next parent consultation meeting is on Wednesday, June 15, from 7pm.
