Introduced in 2018, the EducationWorld Grand Jury India Preschool Rankings felicitate pre-primaries that have introduced contemporary pedagogies and practices in early childhood care and education (ECCE).
To shortlist and select progressive preschools countrywide, we invited nominations from educationists, individuals and schools themselves, supported by evidence of best practices in 12 categories — teacher-parent-student engagement, campus design, nature-friendly environment, innovative pedagogy, outstanding leadership, health-nutrition-safety, future-ready preschools, design thinking, best technology integration, social and emotional learning, learning assessment, and most respected early childhood education brands.
Moreover, 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, founder of Agarkar Centre for Excellence, Mumbai; Kausar Sayeed, founder Learn2Lead Services & member, National Core Committee, Early Childhood Association of India; Dr. Maalathi K.R, founder and CEO, Aurro Educational Services, Chennai and Sumathi Ravichandran, Coimbatore-based educationist and management consultant to schools.
The Top 10 EW Grand Jury India Preschool Rankings 2024-25 are presented in the pages following.
India’s Most Respected Early Childhood Education Brand
Institutions which have made exceptional contribution to expansion and upgradation of early childhood care and education.
“We are deeply honoured that a distinguished EW Grand Jury has ranked FirstCry Intellitots India’s #1 Most Respected Early Childhood Education Brand. It reflects the trust and confidence parents and teachers have reposed in us. Our preschools are grounded in a child-first philosophy, with every aspect of our curriculum, pedagogy, and infrastructure carefully crafted by in-house educators with decades of expertise in early childhood education. Our Intelli-C curriculum is built on globally accepted best practices and focuses on developing essential 21st-century skills through innovative pedagogy, child-centric classrooms and interactive play units designed to encourage exploration, creativity, and development. This award is a big motivation for us to raise the bar for early childhood education in India by continuing to innovate, nurture, and empower the next generation” — Meghashri Halder (centre), Head of Academics, FirstCry Intellitots (350 preschools countrywide; 40,000 children and 1,700 teachers)
Teacher-Parent-Student Engagement
Preschools which encourage and facilitate interaction and exchange of ideas between teachers, parents and children to enable holistic development of students.
“This award is special as we celebrate 40 years of Children’s Nook. It endorses our belief that strong partnerships between teachers, parents, and children are the foundation of impactful early childhood education. In our parent-teacher meetings, we go beyond the routine Coffee Mornings to initiate free, frank and constructive dialogue with parents. Moreover in our Circle Time sessions, our teachers together with parents actively engage with children to enrich their learning experiences. This continuous exchange strengthens parent-teacher-student bonds and ensures that every child learns in school and at home. The entire Children’s Nook team is thrilled that our innovations in early years education have been appreciated by the EW Grand Jury. It will inspire us to continue nurturing meaningful connections and shaping young minds with care and dedication.” — Vijaya Shekhawat, Head of Preschools, Children’s Nook, Mumbai (100 children and 12 teachers)
Future-Ready Preschools
Pre-primaries that have demonstrated high potential to quickly adopt, upgrade and integrate 21st-century ECCE best practices.
“We are delighted that we are ranked India’s #1 Future Ready Preschool. This award will encourage our teachers to go the extra mile to prepare children for the future with confidence. The award is well-deserved because our curriculum focuses on developing skills such as critical thinking, communication, collaboration, creativity, and age-appropriate digital literacy from early years. Our well-trained teachers also introduce a new foreign language word weekly through interactive games and conduct sessions on developing the emotional intelligence and social skills of our little ones. This future-ready curriculum delivered through play and hands-on activities equips youngest children with the skills to succeed in formal school and beyond. We express our deep gratitude to our dedicated teachers and parents for their unwavering trust which inspires us to set new benchmarks in early childhood education” — Meghna Sharma, Director, Doon Toddlers, Amritsar
Campus Design Excellence
Preschools that have built attractive and conducive campuses to enable children to learn joyfully and give their best.
“It’s a proud moment for Kai to be adjudged India’s #1 preschool for Campus Design Excellence. Right from the start, our objective has been to redefine early childhood education by ensuring that every child under our care experiences enriched learning opportunities in spaces that inspire curiosity, nurture creativity, and foster holistic growth. Our campus, which spans two acres, features over 20 learning environments and offers twice the indoor and outdoor spaces globally recommended for preschools. All campus design features are backed by neuroscience research to accelerate our children’s early development. Our Kai campus is designed to encourage social interaction, independent discovery and problem-solving at every turn” — Saad Sait, Co-Founder & Executive Director, Kai Early Years, Whitefield, Bangalore (177 children and 23 teachers)
Innovative Pedagogy
Preschools are judged on their success in creating innovative, child-friendly and age-appropriate digital curriculums and pedagogies.
“We are delighted to be ranked #1 countrywide for Innovative Pedagogy by the distinguished EW Grand Jury. Right from the beginning, we adopted the Reggio Emilia early childhood education philosophy emphasising sensory learning through taste, smell, touch, sound, and sight, in spacious classrooms and Nature discovery and exploration outdoors. Our 12,000 sq. ft. campus hosts flowering plants, vertical gardens and sports areas, and children are encouraged to engage with Nature through activities such as tree planting, composting, and sustainable practices. This way, our children are introduced in early age to subjects ranging from science to geography, through hands-on experiences and activities. Moreover, our teachers teach children the UN Sustainable Development Goals using art, story-telling and presentations to discuss global issues such as food security, endangered species, and ocean pollution” — Usha Iyer, founder-director, The Bangalore School, Dodsworth Layout (200 children and 28 teachers)
Best Technology Integration
Preschools which have succesfully integrated new-age technologies usage with students and teachers encouraged to apply digital technology skills to enrich teaching-learning.
“We are privileged to be ranked India’s #1 preschool for Technology Integration. At Satellite School, we have enthusiastically embraced technology to enhance teaching-learning, empower educators and to improve communication with parents. Our educators use a variety of apps to create engaging, informative and age-appropriate videos for our pre-primary children, track schoolwork, and provide online resources to parents. Our Connecting Millions app updates parents in real-time about schoolwork and events. Integrating technology thoughtfully and responsibly has enabled us to provide a richer learning experience for our children, empower our educators and build strong parent-school connections” — Bhavna Shah, Principal, Satellite School for Children, Ahmedabad
Health, Nutrition and Safety
Preschools which promote policies and systems to enable provision of safe and healthy learning environments and emergency care facilities.
“We are thrilled to receive this award because SSVM Kids accords highest priority to providing our children a safe, nurturing, and healthy environment to learn joyfully. Our classrooms, play areas and washrooms adhere to the highest safety standards; the campus is under 24×7 CCTV camera surveillance and all school buses are equipped with a GPS tracking facility. Our school campus hosts a special infirmary which conducts periodic health check-ups; all our staff are trained in CPR and teaching good hygiene practices is integrated into the curriculum. Moreover, we have instructed all parents not to pack junk or sugary food into their children’s snack boxes. These measures are proof of our commitment to maintaining highest health, safety, and care standards to ensure that our little ones learn and grow physically and emotionally in a secure and supportive environment” — Dr. Manimekalai Mohan, founder, SSVM Group of Institutions and SSVM Kids Casa-Saibaba Colony, Coimbatore (68 children and 15 teachers)
Outstanding Leadership
For early childhood education leaders of preschools who have displayed outstanding leadership in upgrading and improving their institutions.
“I am humbled by this recognition that acknowledges the collective efforts of our teachers, children and parents. I describe myself as a Servant Leader who believes in empowering people and boosting their self-belief to achieve their goals. This award endorses my belief that foundational years are the most critical in the learning journey of a child. Therefore, great attention and efforts have been made to design our pre-primary curriculum which focuses on experiential learning, storytelling pedagogies, language and social skills development, and building strong parent-school partnerships. Our children seamlessly progress to primary school and are fully prepared to begin formal learning” — Dr. Sachin Vats, Founder-Director, Gurukul The School, Ghaziabad (Pre-primary section: 300 children and 30 teachers)
Nature-Friendly Preschools
Preschools which have environment-friendly campuses and promote classes / activities in open, outdoor green spaces.
“We are thrilled that an EW Grand Jury of eminent educators has adjudged us India’s #1 Nature-Friendly Preschool. This award underscores our commitment to provide our little ones a nature-friendly campus, curriculum and pedagogy. Our green campus features an eco-conscious design, gardens, rainwater harvesting systems, solar-powered energy solutions, and eco-friendly construction materials. Children are encouraged to participate in activities such as gardening, birdwatching, and exploration to develop love of Nature and ecological sensitivity. Environmental consciousness is interwoven into our curriculum and pedagogy, with themes such as biodiversity, conservation, renewable energy, and pollution explained through storytelling, experiments, and experiential activities” — Parmindr B. Chopra, Principal, DPS Castle of Dreams, Indore (300 students, 30 teachers)
Design Thinking Leaders
Preschools demonstrating extraordinary capability to break away from rote learning, and adopt pedagogies that encourage development of children’s creative thinking, collaborative and problem-solving skills.
“We are humbled and grateful for this recognition which acknowledges our sustained effort to embed ‘Design Thinking’ in our curriculum and pedagogy. Over the past several years, we have carefully designed our curriculum into a blend of Montessori and international best ECCE practices to develop every child’s cognitive capabilities. Teachers use play and hands-on activities to develop children’s exploration, experimentation, risk-taking, creativity, critical and analytical thinking and problem-solving capabilities. We believe this enquiry and application-based design thinking approach enables children to view all problems from a solutions perspective and sets a strong foundation for the development of higher order thinking skills for success in school, higher education and ultimately the workplace” — Priti Sait, Founder & Managing Trustee, Legacy School, Bengaluru and Head of Legacy Early Years (126 children and 12 teachers)
Social & Emotional Learning
Preschools which prioritise social-emotional learning by incorporating activities that promote self awareness, empathy, emotional regulation and socialisation skills.
“We are delighted to receive this prestigious recognition from an eminent EW Grand Jury. It reaffirms our unwavering belief in the importance of social and emotional learning as the cornerstone of early childhood education. At Swarnim, SEL is integrated into the curriculum, ensuring children develop skills to navigate relationships, manage emotions, and build self-awareness. Our children practice mindfulness exercises, and participate in empathy-building programs such as story-telling sessions and kindness projects. Teachers facilitate role-playing exercises to enable children to learn peaceful ways to resolve conflicts and develop negotiation skills, while celebration of cultural festivals teach children to respect and appreciate diverse cultures. Our India #1 rank validates and underscores the importance we accord to developing the emotional and social skills of youngest children” — Rumjhumi Biswas, Principal, Swarnim International School, Kolkata (Pre-primary section: 199 students and 10 teachers)
Learning Assessment Leaders
Preschools which provide non-stressful, holistic learning assessments to evaluate children’s progress and support their overall growth and development.
“At Chintels, our prime objective is to provide a non-stressful, joyful learning environment that encourages and enables children to grow at their own pace. This learning assessment practices award recognises our efforts in this direction. Our assessment system primarily relies on child observation with teachers trained to observe and record children’s learning through play activities such as puzzles, art projects, etc, and milestone their development in areas such as creativity, motor skills, and cognitive abilities. Subsequently, children’s learning and development is documented and used to realign and customise pedagogies. Simultaneously, teachers connect with parents to learn about children’s home behaviour and conduct. A holistically balanced progress card presenting Developmental Milestones is shared with parents to enable them to collaborate with teachers to realise their child’s full potential” — Dr. Kavisha Khurana Vij, Director, Chintels Group of Schools, Kanpur
