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