Higher Ground Education, a network of schools dedicated to mainstreaming Montessori worldwide, has acquired CozyKin, which provides Montessori-inspired nanny sharing at home.

Founded in 2016, Lake Forest, California-based Higher Ground operates multiple education brands, including Guidepost Montessori, the Academy of Thought and Industry, and the Prepared Montessorian Teacher Training Institute. It is growing across the US, as well as internationally.

Boston-headquartered CozyKin’s nanny sharing platform matches local families with Montessori-trained nannies and offers a range of support services for parents. It has received funding from Bessemer Venture Partners, NextView Ventures, and Primary Venture Partners.

Jeremy Au, co-founder and chief executive of CozyKin, said: “CozyKin was founded three years ago to offer families high-quality, Montessori-informed childcare utilising a sharing economy approach. We have long admired Higher Ground’s global leadership in Montessori education, and we’re delighted by how aligned our teams are in mission and value.”

The platform will be rebranded as Guidepost at Home, and be offered across markets where Higher Ground operates Montessori schools.

Matt Graham, former head of services at CozyKin and new director of operations for Guidepost at Home, said: “Integrating CozyKin with Higher Ground Education is a win-win for everyone. Higher Ground recognises the vast market need for quality early education and understands how CozyKin’s unique model and infrastructure solves it for underserved neighbourhoods and parents.”

Ray Girn, founder and chief executive of Higher Ground Education, said Guidepost at Home will expand the value of Higher Ground’s schools as hubs for home-care services.

“A huge part of what Maria Montessori offers the world is the obliteration of the artificial distinction between education and childcare,” Girn said. “There is just one process of growing up – a process that starts at birth and benefits from learning science throughout. Our goal is to help elevate the profoundly important work done by early educators, and that includes nannies at home. By partnering with CozyKin and utilising its exceptional platform, we can together extend to more families the value of a developmentally serious approach to early childhood education. Guidepost at Home will be a parallel pedagogical path to our Montessori school offerings.”

Au, who becomes executive director for Guidepost at Home, added: “We are excited to leverage our technology, network IP, and operations to further scale across the United States and beyond with Higher Ground’s resources, reach, and school brands. We are only just getting started in advancing our mission to increase access for more families, children, and educators.”