Our London Training Centre

Louise is an AMI Trainer with many years of experience working with children in Montessori environments, latterly running the Maria Montessori Institute’s exemplar School in Notting Hill. She directs the Institute’s 3-6 courses and is Head of Training overseeing all of the Institute’s training offers from 0 -18 – including workshops, certificates, diplomas and degree programmes. She also mentors the Maria Montessori school’s teachers. She is an AMI Trainer of Trainers, having mentored many Trainers in Training from start to finish in the UK and China. She is an AMI examiner and lectures both in the UK and internationally. She has been involved in AMI’s work in China since 2007 and has been instrumental in supporting and co-ordinating the growth of an AMI Faculty in China including both international and local AMI Trainers.

Louise also holds an MSc in Educational Neuroscience and is currently preparing her doctoral thesis in Educational Neuroscience for final submission. She is a key member of the AMI Global Research Group and is committed to promoting research-based education.

Louise is a leading figure in the Montessori world and is beloved by her former students around the world. She has driven forward ongoing professional development opportunities for Montessorians in the UK and around the world including making the ground-breaking Post Diploma MMI Observation Course available to communities outside of the UK as well as recently trailblazing our new Montessori and Learning Difference course, which takes a neurodevelopmental approach, based the neuroscience of development and learning.

Alison Awes has been the Director of 6-12 Training at the Montessori Center of Minnesota since 2010, serves as an adjunct faculty member for Saint Catherine University, St. Paul, and is the Director of 6-12 Training for the Maria Montessori Institute, London. She holds Association Montessori Internationale (AMI) Diplomas for Primary (ages three to six) and Elementary (ages six to twelve) levels, a B.A. in art history from Smith College, an M.A. in Latin-American studies from Tulane University, and an M.Ed. in Montessori education from Loyola University Maryland. She has taught in Montessori classrooms for ages six to nine and ages nine to twelve. Alison is an AMI examiner and consultant, and has served on the boards of private and charter (public) Montessori schools. A former board member of the AMI Elementary Alumni Association, she served as a pedagogical advisor for six years and now works on the AMI Scientific Pedagogy Group.

As an international lecturer and keynote speaker, Alison has given numerous workshops and short courses on a wide variety of topics, including dyslexia, art and the work of the hand, the psychological and physical prepared environment, and moral development in the digital age. She has worked on the faculty at international AMI teacher training centers, including those in Australia, India, South Africa, and Thailand, and has also directed courses in England and Switzerland. She has worked to advance the philosophy, spirit, and practice of Montessori through regularly mentoring teachers in Montessori classrooms worldwide. An advocate for children with reading challenges, she also holds Level I Orton Gillingham training. Alison attended Montessori school until the age of twelve.

Heidi is the founder of two small Montessori Bilingual Preschools and the 2Voices Montessori Study Room for adult education in Amsterdam. Her specialty is helping parents in the application of Montessori principles and bilingualism in the home environment. Heidi has spoken extensively around the Netherlands and internationally on Montessori-related topics for the birth to three years age group. Heidi holds a Masters Degree in Education and is an AMI Trainer, examiner and consultant at the 0-3 level.

Sara is qualified as an AMI Assistants to Infancy trainer and is also an AMI examiner at this level. She conducts teacher training internationally and is currently the Director of Training in Dallas, Tokyo, Sydney and China. Sara holds AMI diplomas at both Assistants to Infancy and Children’s House levels. She has a Masters in Education from Loyola College in Maryland and is an AMI/USA consultant. Sara has worked extensively in a variety of Montessori settings: long-day care, pre-school and Montessori in the home. She has enjoyed working in Nido and Infant Communities as well as parent-infant classes. Sara lives in Sydney, Australia with her husband and three children.