List of Preschools & Play Schools in Kolkata

Age is a major criteria while seeking admissions for a day school/formal school, however in order to prepare young children to get acclimatised to this routine sending them to a preschool few years prior is always a wise decision. While there is no designated chronological age but a young child starts showing signs of motor development, curiosity, physical independence and need for social interaction which need the right amount of importance which preschools can provide diligently and professionally.

From Waldorf to Reggio Emilia to Montessori there are several early years curriculum that different schools adopt, however it is imperative for a parent to understand his/her child’s learning style and the understand the curriculum with that lens. As parents it is a good idea to observe the child in different situations and based on the reactions obtained and the manner in which the child responds to stimulus, understand and make a choice on which is the best suited curriculum for their child.

Every city boasts of an eclectic mix of pre schools & Early learning centres catering to various needs of parents with different budgets. However, Preschools are more about the locality or community that one lives in since pre-schoolers cant be expected to travel more than 15-20 minutes to attend school. A better way is to look the Best pre school in your locality. However, we would recommend that instead of “Best” one looks at the “Right” pre school for their child by listing down the specific needs.

Settling :

Settling is a very important phase of taking admission and enrolling for preschool. All schools have a settling schedule which differs from one another in many aspects. Parents must look out for schools that suit the settling period to your need whether its a half day preschooling or daycare also. This phase helps the child to settle with the help of school staff and parents both. Activities here are carefully designed to engage the child helping in weaning off separation anxiety.

Preschool readiness :

It is important to comprehend the preschool readiness of the child and parents must make important notes about their child's development. While taking admissions it is important to explicitly explain the school staff on child's progress related to toilet training, sleep schedule, language development, eating habits etc

Budget :

Most preschools in the recent years have been bringing with them some new age early childhood practices and teaching aids. These are advanced and very affective in early brain development. These new age advancements also require specialised training for staff. Also to ensure that safety is not compromised at any given point, use of technology is a recent intervention. All these practices often lead the fees to be on the higher side and while there are still some playschools that are reasonably priced, they might not be able to offer so much. Parents need to take a conscious call on what is their priority and what is the amount that they are willing to spend.

Location :

Location is a very important factor in considering a playschool. Young children cannot comprehend the concept of a clock and time but their body clocks start giving them a sense of time of the day it is. They get used to it and express reactions accordingly. The playschool should be close enough to the house or workplace of the parents to ensure there is no delay in picking up the child resulting any discomfort or anxiety for the child.

Testimonials :

All playschools for obvious reasons will talk well about their institution in terms of facilities, staff, care etc. It is important that parents do their own research about the school to get a second view as well. This research could be talking to parents who gave enrolled their children their or even different admission portals who are non biased in giving information and their counsellors are happily available to attend to all queries.

• Visitors to pre-school should have guided access assisted by staff always preferably post school hours so that safety for children is maintained at all times.
• Ensure that the entire staff directly or indirectly connected to the pre-school have a background verification done so that we are sure about all adults interacting with the children.
• Make sure there are no sharp edges or furniture with sharp edges that might hurt children
• It is important that all door ends are padded and have door stoppers to prevent children's fingers from getting jammed in doors
• There should be no broken toys or equipment.
• There must not be any loose electrical wires or circuits
• All the electrical sockets and plugs at child’s level are disabled.
• No usage of LPG cooking or LPG lighting within the pre-school premise.
• The cleaning liquids such as phenol and other toilet cleaning liquids are kept away out of children's reach.
• There are fire extinguishers and emergency medical kit and all staff are trained on it.
• If the school is providing transport, ensure the vehicle is child safe, GPS enabled and a lady staff is mandatorily present from the first pick up to the last drop of the child.
• Every pre-school should mandatory have CCTV in all areas except toilets and with good recording back up capacity.
• No child should be left alone in a room or unassisted.