Mumbai, Maharashtra, India | 9th March 2020: Providing an opportunity for individuals to transform young lives by running successful preschools across India and out of the country, Kangaroo Kids International Pre-school Ltd. has highlighted that running a franchise preschool of an established brand has advantages over starting a standalone preschool.
Among the advantages of running a franchise model, individuals get a pre-set researched working model along with a highly differentiated, engaging and age-appropriate curriculum that truly enhances learning for preschoolers, besides trained teachers according to the standards set by the established brand. Although, a franchise fee is compulsory, the model offers a much-better stepping-stone and stronger overall support to the individual starting.
In case of starting a standalone preschool, a lot of work goes into the new business, although the advantage of earning the entire profit remains with the owner.
If you are one of them, who would like to be change agents and nurture young minds and have questions on the points stated above regarding education. Your search for a guide ends here. We decided to put down the most critical points that will help you start & run a successful preschool.
We live in the 21st century with people living in nuclear families and both parents working. Gone are the days when grandparents or uncles and aunties took care of your children while you were away. Children are left at home with nannies that are stuck to their phones at all times. Hence it is all the more important to send your child to a good preschool as brain research proves that 0-6 years is the span when children make most number of synaptic connections. It is this critical period, when stimulating the child’s mind through quality time, engaging play and innovative learning will have long term benefits on the child’s well being. Therefore, parents now prefer sending their children to a preschool, so that they are in a safe environment and are learning while they enjoy play time too.
Passion to make a Difference in Every Child’s Life: The most important aspect to start a preschool should be your desire to make a difference in a child’s life. Every business opportunity you pick will give you the desired return, however picking one where your passion lies is important. It is very important to provide the right learning environment for your children as they are very impressionable at that age. We need to make sure they take home positive experiences and the not so good ones are sorted early. Children are our end users and everything we do should be keeping the child in mind and the impact to their future.
Standalone VS Organised Brand: Gone are the days where mom and pop preschools worked. Today parents look at sending their children to a known preschool. A lot of them now have various schools in different cities. So once you have decided that you are interested in starting a preschool an important decision that needs to be taken is to choose between starting a standalone preschool or a franchise preschool of an established brand.
Starting a standalone preschool is a lot of work as you will be new to the business, however one pro is all that you earn is your profit. In case of a franchise you get a pre-set researched already working model along with a curriculum. Your teachers are trained according to their standards. However you do have to pay a franchise fee. But it’s a much better stepping stone than to start a standalone preschool.
Mass Brand VS Premium Brand: In case you choose to go the franchise route. There are a lot of preschools that offer franchise options. Some of them are mass brands which are standard, while some of them are premium brands that develop their own curriculum and work on making a learner centric model.
It is advisable to pick on the premium brand as it is a unique selling proposition and it also benefits the child. A few of the premium brands are Kangaroo Kids, Maple bear, Safari kids etc.
Location of the Preschool: When you decide to start a preschool, the area you select is of utmost important to make your preschool a run successfully. Parents prefer to send young children around the residence or work place. Hence the location needs to strategically picked. A preschool essentially works best if it’s in a safe residential area. If that is taken care off half your battle is won. Your catchment is about 2-3 Kms of the school.
Strong Word of Mouth: I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to make strong brand ambassadors for your school. The more people talk about you and the preschool positively the better. Parents make rounds to various schools before deciding the one they finally pick. They also speak to a lot of people before they take the final decision. A strong local connect with the community and eminent trustworthy people talking and recommending your school will play a very crucial role in the number of children coming to your school.
Personal Touch: As the owner of the school you need to be involved in everyday affairs. As the personal touch you bring in cannot be replaced and will go a long way. Parents tend to identify and develop trust when they see the owner of the school involved, the other advantage of being involved is that your peers will work exactly according to the way you want them to. There will be no scope of lapse.
Parents feel their children are safe when they see constant faces of the owners around at all times. Our Banjara Hills Preschool in Hyderabad, our Chord Road centre in Bengaluru are fabulous preschools with waitlists as our partners Ms. Chandrika Chalasani and Ms. Uma Raja are highly personally involved at the centre and are there to personally welcome the children day in and day out. One of the other important facts to consider is that teachers will come and go. However you as the owner are here to stay and when parents see on permanent face day in and day out they identify with the person and perceive that you are always available and in it for the larger picture of truly making a difference in their children’s lives.
Infrastructure: Today in metros and tier 2 cities there is space constraint. Hence a preschool should lay emphasis on giving good outdoor facilities as it helps in exposing children to physical activity right from the beginning. However keep in mind that children need to be exposed to outdoor and indoor activities equally. To facilitate the right kind of learning we need to build a preschool with the best facilities. An experiential classroom makes learning faster and long lasting.
Science Embedded Curriculum: A preschool plays a crucial role in a child’s life. It is said that children make the maximum number of synaptic connections from the age of 0-6 years. Hence a good preschool is a stepping stone to the future learning grounds and experiences the child will have and go through in his growing up years. A curriculum that is designed around the learner is crucial too. The curriculum offered by the preschool should be engaging, keep up with changing times and should be such that it boosts learning outcomes for children. This will be one of the reasons why parents will choose you v/s another ‘preschool next door’.
Incorporate Technology in the Curriculum: We know that technology is taking over every sector. Today, toddlers use devices like pros. They know exactly where to go to listen to their favourite nursery rhyme. Hence using technology to teach them concept they learn is school is the next big thing. Brands like Kangaroo Kids are developing apps for learning as an extended learning tool. These apps are a digital extension of their engaging curriculum making learning with tech more meaningful!
Safety: Dealing with young children is tricky. They are inquisitive and want to experience everything. While it is important to provide children with infrastructure that enhances their learning. Providing physical and mental safety comes on top of the list. While designing the infrastructure of the preschool a specialist needs to be hired who would make sure there are no sharp edges, no electric sockets at reachable height and more. To make sure the child’s mental safety is intact the school needs to continuously train teachers on how to deal with them. There should be a good counsellor visiting the school on regular basis.
After school activities and a day-care facility: Providing day-care and after school activities not only adds to your earnings it also attracts outside children and parents to come in to school and experience our teaching methodologies and the working of the school. There by improving Word of mouth. We offer unique after school activities that include coding, learning Spanish, yoga for kids and more. We also have our own Early Childhood Teacher Training program.
While running a preschool brings in a lot of responsibility as you are dealing with young minds and their future depends on the experiences the school will provide. Running a preschool is a lot of hands on work and there cannot be a perfect guide on what should be done. We learn when we dirty our hands on the ground. The points shared above are some of the essential points to keep in mind and help you take your preschool to greater heights.
