Our Story
Mount Carmel Kindergarten
Mount Carmel Kindergarten was founded in 1985 by Lucia and Franco Federici. In 1991, the nursery moved from its original location in St Albans City Centre to Sandpit House on Sandpit Lane. In 2000, the school expanded into a second site, Kinder Lodge. Now into its second generation, Mount Carmel is proudly led by their children, Gabriella Spooner (née Federici), Massimo Federici, and Stefano Federici, along with their dedicated staff team.
Gabriella, a mother of three, has worked at Mount Carmel for over 15 years. She started at Mount Carmel as an early years assistant, group leader, before becoming the Nursery Principal in 2015. Gabriella is a qualified SENCO and works with staff, families and external agencies to support the individual needs of every child. She works with families to navigate the challenges of parenting, offering parenting workshops and consultancy throughout the year. Gabriella is passionate about leadership and supporting each practitioner with their professional development.
Massimo has worked in education since 2003, most recently as Director of Learning at St Albans Girls’ School. As our Operations Manager, he oversees the maintenance and enhancement of our beautiful facilities. Drawing on his teaching experience, Massimo also delivers much-loved cooking sessions each week, delighting children with creative and engaging activities.
Stefano is our Business Manager and brings extensive management experience, having previously worked at Di Forti and Marks & Spencer. He is responsible for all administration, including invoicing, Famly management, and funding, ensuring the smooth operation of our nursery.
The name ‘Mount Carmel’ was chosen in honour of Mary, the mother of Jesus, and our Christian values continue to shape our approach, fostering kindness, respect, and tolerance. Families from all faiths, cultures, and backgrounds are warmly welcomed, with many parents discovering us through personal recommendations—some of whom attended Mount Carmel themselves as children!
Lucia and Franco are now enjoying a well-deserved retirement but remain cherished members of the Mount Carmel community. Their legacy of care and commitment lives on through the next generation and the wonderful team who continue to nurture the children in their early years.
Kinder Lodge
Opened in 2000, our own purpose built Norwegian log cabin is divided into four activity rooms and a large all weather garden. Our green belt location also offers access to country walks and woodland activities. We offer an 08.00am to 17:00pm sessions.
100A Sandpit Lane, St Albans, AL4 0BX 01727 860316
Our Approach
We know that happy children are successful learners. At Mount Carmel children learn in small groups with consistent staff who stay with them throughout the day and form close bonds with every child. Feeling safe and secure at nursery is key to learning and is why children attending Mount Carmel settle in record time. Helping parents feel comfortable is also an important aspect of settling children and supported by providing clear and regular feedback of their child progress.
Our balanced curriculum combines both routine and structure with opportunities for choice and exploration. We have developed our own unique “carousel approach” enabling children to rotate between the distinct activity rooms and experience a broad range of learning opportunities every day. Groups spend up to an hour in each room interspersed with time outside in our spacious gardens.
When children have plenty to do and feel secure, they generally behave well unless they are tired or hungry. Positive behaviour is rooted in secure relationships with the staff and peer group. When we observe atypical behaviour, our special needs coordinator, plans and devises strategies and works alongside the staff and parents. This way we achieve the best possible outcomes for every child.
Parents are actively encouraged to be involved in their children’s learning through interaction with their child’s online learning journal, parents’ meetings and daily chats. This supports a continuum of progress through experiences at home as well as nursery.
