-Paromita Sengupta (Bengaluru)

Bhandary: enthusiastic public response

Preeti Bhandary is co-founder of Learning Edge India Pvt. Ltd, Bengaluru. The company is franchisor of the 130-strong chain of Little Elly preschools in India and two overseas (Kathmandu, Seattle), which provide early childhood care and education (ECCE) to children aged six months-5-years.

Little Elly’s early childhood curriculum — which draws from teaching-learning pedagogies of Dr. Maria Montessori and Rudolf Steiner — focuses on the physical, intellectual, emotional, and social development of preschool children, and is delivered by a team of 600 well-trained teachers worldwide.

Newspeg. Early this year (January), Bhandary promoted two owned preschools in Mumbai and Pune, the first Little Elly preschool in Maharashtra.

History. A science postgraduate of Mumbai University and a Montessori trained teacher, Bhandary acquired eight years of teaching and admin experience managing the Salmiya Playschool in Kuwait, where she moved soon after her marriage with husband Vittal. The couple returned to India in 2002 and established their first preschool in Bengaluru under the name of Little Elly (after Lord Ganesha) in 2004.

Direct talk. “Within six months of the first Little Elly preschool, we promoted two more in the city. A year after their successful operation, we were approached by several aspiring ECCE educators who were aligned with our philosophy and vision, whom we appointed franchisees. Although my husband Vittal has been the main force behind Little Elly’s marketing, our chain of 130 franchised preschools has grown mainly by word of mouth publicity. That’s because our owned schools and carefully selected franchisees have built a strong, trustworthy reputation for the brand. Our reputation grew because we provided an innovative curriculum, high-quality teacher training and templates for parental involvement, safety and hygiene,” says Bhandary, explaining the secret of her success.

In 2010, the founders of Little Elly preschools introduced Elly Childcare for multinational corporates, offering its ECCE curriculum and daycare services within and adjacent to corporate premises. Clients include: ITC, TVS Motors, Wipro, Alstom among others across Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Andhra. Five years on, their first CBSE-affiliated K-12 school under the name and brand of Glentree Academy was established which has since expanded to three campuses in Bengaluru.

Future plans. Encouraged by enthusiastic public response to the Little Elly style of ECCE, Bhandary has drawn up ambitious expansion plans for India and overseas. “We are all set to welcome 50 new franchisees. By partnering with committed educators — mostly women edupreneurs — we intend to provide our well-established model of quality ECCE to communities in some western and southern states. Next year, we plan to promote our first owned Little Elly preschool in Dubai. I believe we have developed an ECCE model that will be accepted everywhere,” says Bhandary.