Excellent rating for Jescott Montessori Preschool again

Well done to Jescott Montessori School in Magill South for receiving an Excellent rating for the second time from the Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA).

Positive psychology practices for children and staff, scholarships for families experiencing great difficulty, and mentoring for other childhood educators are examples of how the preschool goes above and beyond.

The service also has a big focus on the health and wellbeing of its educators. It operates at above required educator-to-child ratios, has flexible rosters and provides extensive professional development opportunities.

Jessica Matheson, Director of Jescott Montessori Preschool, said she felt “extremely honoured” to receive this rating for another three years after first attaining it in 2016.

“We don’t do the work for accolades, but it’s such an amazing validation of the effort we’ve made and the environment we’ve created,” she said.

“What means the most to us is providing a home away from home for children.”

Jessica credits the owner, Barbara Langford, for the vision and excellence of the centre. However, she admits she’s a little biased, as Barbara is also her mum.

“She doesn’t treat it as a business,” said Jessica. “She treats it as her mission in life!”

The process of applying for the rating has been beneficial in itself and the rating had opened a lot of doors for the service.

“We know that people seek us out because of it,” she said. “It’s a really valuable opportunity.”

The Excellent rating is the highest an education and care service can achieve under the National Quality Framework. 

Services that receive an Exceeding rating in all seven areas of the National Quality Standard can apply for the overall Excellent rating.

Only nine services in SA have achieved this prestigious rating, out of more than 1100.