Dr Maria Montessori was one of the most influential pioneers in early childhood education in the 20th century. Her ideas have become known and recogised throughout the world over a period of more than one hundred years and yet still seems fresh, modern and child-centred when encountered for the first time. It is no surprise that they have also been incorporated into good practice in mainstream education. Dr Montessori was born in Italy in 1870. Her original interest was in medicine; she was the first woman to graduate from the University of Rome Medical School and gradually became interested in education through her work as a doctor, treating what are known today as children with ‘special needs’. Because of her medical background she approached education not as an educator or a philosopher but as a scientist. Working with some of the poorest and most disadvantaged children of working parents in Rome she used the classroom as a laboratory for observing them and for developing ideas and materials which would help them to achieve their full potential. There was nothing cold or clinical about her theories: they were tailored to the needs of the growing child but sprang from Montessori’s intense love and respect for all children.