The EducationWorld Promising 21st Century India Preschool Awards were introduced last year to felicitate below-the-radar and/or emerging preschools which have introduced contemporary pedagogies and practices in early childhood care and education (ECCE).
To shortlist and select newly-promoted progressive preschools countrywide, we invited nominations from educationists, individuals and schools themselves supported by evidence of best practices in ten categories — special needs education, teacher-parent-student engagement, reading culture, campus design, nature-friendly environment, innovative curriculum, extraordinary leadership, innovative ICT use, health-nutrition-safety and newly emergent preschools.
This year based on public feedback and demand, we also invited nominations from pre-primaries of composite K-12 schools which have integrated and adopted best ECCE practices.
The nominations were duly assessed by a jury comprising eminent educationists Fatema Agarkar, co-founder of KA EduAssociates, Mumbai; Swathi Menon, director, The Educator Development Academy, Mumbai; Dr. Maalathi K.R, founder and CEO, Aurro Educational Services, Chennai and Sumathi Ravichander, a Hyderabad-based K-12 education consultant.
The complete list (in alphabetical order) of preschools conferred the EW Promising 21st Century India Preschool Awards 2018-19 and photo essay are presented in the pages following.
Teacher-parent-student engagement
These awards are for pre-primaries which encourage and facilitate interaction and exchange of ideas between teachers, parents and children to enable holistic development of early learners.
Amarjyoti Saraswati International School
(pre-primary section), Bhavnagar
Apple Global School, Ahmedabad
Atelier International Preschool & Childcare, Pune
Children’s Nook Activity Centre, Gamdevi, Mumbai
GCC Kinderland, Mira Road (East), Thane, Mumbai
Hasti Kindergarten, Dondaicha MS, Nasik
Jumpstart, Pune
Kangaroo Kids, Bhawanipur, Kolkata
Kangaroo Kids Club and Preschool, Trichy
Kayo International, Chennai
Little Millennium, BSK 3rd Stage, Bangalore
Mayurhir’s Achievers Kinderland, Vadodara
Morning Smiles Preschool, Kolkata
Oi Playschool, Basaveshwaranagar, Bangalore
Sun Flower Play School, Mira Road (East), Mumbai
The Geekay World School’s preschool, Vellore
Vibgyor Kids, Kolhapur
Vibgyor Kids, Malad (East), Mumbai
Innovative curriculum
Preschools were judged on their success in creating innovative, child-friendly and age-appropriate curriculums.
Beaumont HFSI Preprimary, Powai, Mumbai
Early Learning Centre, Mangalore
Helen O’Grady International Preschool, Bangalore
Kalorex Preschool, Vasna Road, Vadodara
little ONE The Jaipuria Preschool, Kanpur
London Montessori School, Velachery, Chennai
Lotus Valley International School (pre-primary section), Noida
Little Millennium, Pitampura, Delhi
Legacy Montessori, Bangalore
Maalinyai Preschool, Patna
Maple Bear Canadian Preschool, Whitefield, Bangalore
Neev Early Years, Sadashivnagar, Bangalore
Olivers Preschool, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad
Podar Jumbo Kids Plus, Hadapsar, Pune
Presidency School (pre-primary section), Bangalore South
Productive Minds, The Montessori Preschool, Gurgaon
Ronak Global Academy, Charni Road, Mumbai
RS International School (pre-primary section), Tiruvannamalai
Shri Ram Foundation, Delhi
The Chintels Preschool, Ratanlal Nagar, Kanpur
The Smiling Stars Playschool & Daycare, Noida
Reading culture
Preschools which actively promote reading culture and love of books within young children were awarded in this category.
Aathichudi Internationl Preschool, Ramapuram, Chennai
Garodia’s Academy — A Preschool, Ghatkopar, Mumbai
Insignis Transnational School, Hyderabad
Kalorex Preschool, Parle Point, Surat
Kinder Lounge, KK Nagar, Chennai
Little Aryans Pre-K, Nandivali, Kalyan, Thane
M. Kids by Manchester, Coimbatore
Prestige International School (pre-primary section), Mangalore
Sattva Preschool, RT Nagar, Bangalore
SRM Public School (pre-primary section), Guduvanchery, Chennai
Sunbeam School (pre-primary section), Indiranagar, Varanasi
The Bangalore School, Whitefield, Bangalore
Newly emergent preschools
Low profile or newly promoted pre-primaries which have demonstrated high potential to quickly adopt and integrate 21 century ECCE best practices.
BAPS Sanskar Play Center, Vadodara
Curious School, Bangalore
Dazzling Kids Play School, Bhopal
Edu Lo Sung My Play School, Pune
Indo Scottish Global School (pre-primary section), Kamothe, Navi Mumbai
Little Aryans Pre-K, Kansai Ambernath, Thane
My First Gurukul, Income Tax Society, Ahmedabad
Playshaala, Bangalore
Ruby International Preschool, Bharuch, Gujarat
Rungta Play School, Durg, Chhattisgarh
Sandipani A Play School, Jodhpur
Shine Kids Academy, Chennai
Sportyze Tots, Ghaziabad
Toddler’s Den Early Learning Centre, Mumbai
The Helen O’Grady International Preschool, Kovaipudur, Coimbatore
Touch Sky The International Preschool, Chennai
True Kidz, Heggadadevanakote (Mysore)
Witty World (pre-primary section), Bhilwara
Wisdom Tree Global School Kindergarten, Bhubaneswar
Nature-friendly environment
Pre-primaries providing environment-friendly campuses and promoting classes/activities in outdoor green spaces.
Bamboola, Chennai
Cambridge Montessori, Kandivali (E), Mumbai
Casa- Dei- Bambini Montessori House, Kolkata
Happy Hours School, Sahid Nagar, Bhubaneswar
i2global Microschool, Chennai
Kalorex Preschool, Milapnagar, Jaipur
Kinder Lounge, Valasaravakkam, Chennai
Little Explorers, Aminjikarai, Chennai
little ONE, The Jaipuria Preschool, Ghaziabad,
Maeer’s MIT Vishwashanti Gurukul School (CBSE), Loni, Pune
Perfection International Kids Preschool, Navi Mumbai
Salwan Public School, Montessori Wing, Vadodara
Salwan Public School, Montessori Wing, New Delhi
The Chintels Preschool, Kalyanpur, Kanpur
Tulips — The Preschool, Bachupally, Hyderabad
Vigna The futuristic School, Hyderabad
Youngin International Preschool and Day Care, Nagpur
Campus design
Preschools which have built attractive and conducive campuses to enable children to learn joyfully and give their best.
Buds ‘N’ Blooms, The Kindergarten Section, Doon Public School, Panchkula
G.D. Goenka Public School (pre-primary section), Mahanagar, Lucknow
Global Montessori Plus, Chinchwad, Pune
Little Wonders International, Nasik
Myschool, Lucknow
Neev Early Years, Queens Road, Bangalore
Peevees Public School (pre-primary section), Nilambur
Piccolo Early Learning Centre, New Delhi
Rayz International Preschool, Noida
Sadhbhavana Little Scholars, Kozhikode
Shanthinikethana Global Preschool, Bangalore
The Bangalore School, ECC Branch, Bangalore
Vriksha Montessori International, Salem
Witty World, Mumbai
Extraordinary leadership
Low profile and newly emergent preschools with extraordinary leaders.
Altum First Steps, Belgaum
Cradle 2 Crayons, Dogra Nagar, Jammu
EuroKids, J.P. Nagar 7th Phase, Bangalore
EuroKids, Makarpura,Vadodara
Leap Years Preschool, Bhawanipur, Kolkata
Mount Litera International Preschool, Amritsar
Navy Children School (pre-primary section), Nausenabagh, Visakhapatnam
Petals Preschool, Surya Nagar, Ghaziabad
Stem World School (pre-primary), Kolkata
Sunbeam School (pre-primary section), Lahartara Varanasi
Innovative ICT use
Preschools using digital technologies for child safety, teaching-learning and enabling home-school partnerships.
eSkooling Digi Smart Kindergarten, Nasik
Kinder Lounge, Mogappair, Chennai
Penguin Montessori, Guntakal (AP)
Rangoli Preschool, Mehsana (Gujarat)
Shalom Hills Nursery, Nirvana, Gurgaon
South City International School (pre-primary), Kolkata
Health-nutrition-safety
Preschools with policies and systems for providing safe and healthy learning environments, comprehensive safety procedures and emergency care facilities.
Arise ‘N’ Shine International Preschool, Salem
DCM Presidency School Elementary Campus, Ludhiana
Happy Minds International, Powai, Mumbai
Kalorex Preschool, Bangalore
MD International School (pre-primary section), Bijnor
Pathways Early Years, Greater Kailash, New Delhi
Penguin Montessori, Guntakal
Rangoli Preschool, Mehsana
Rising Kids Preschool, Ahmedabad
Shalom Hills Nursery, Nirvana, Gurgaon
South City International School (pre-primary section), Kolkata
V Kids — A Concept School, Chennai
Special needs education
To encourage preschools offering infrastructure, resources and trained special educators to enable early diagnosis and intervention of children with special needs, the jury has awarded rankings to the Top 8:
1. The Shiishyaa School, Wakad, Pune
2. Kangaroo Kids, Kandivali, Mumbai
3. Alpha Beginnings, KK Nagar East Extension, Trichy
4. Kiddies World, Kidzee Powai, Mumbai
5. Navy Children School (pre-primary section), Visakhapatnam
6. Khaitan Public School (pre-primary), Sahibabad, Ghaziabad
7. Birla Open Minds Preschool, Gachibowli, Hyderabad
8. Little Pearls Nursery School, Nagpur
