Congratulations!!!! You have found your passion to work with tiny tots and are ready to take the next step in starting a preschool!
And yes, setting up the preschool is only the next step. The First Step is that you need to be passionate about working with children. It is only if you that the mindset, the patience, the love and the joy in being with children below 8 years of age, that you will enjoy starting a preschool.
Once the passion project has taken shape in your mind, you will need to think about the software and the hardware. The Software in this case is the curriculum, the methodology, the philosophy and other factors that are involved in the teaching learning process at your preschool.
The hardware refers to the physical space, the infrastructure, the interiors and other tangible aspects.
Educate yourself
It is advisable before you start your school that you take a course in Early Childhood Education. The Helen O’Grady International Preschool offers a certificate course in Early Childhood Education which will equip you with competence to plan, run and promote your preschool better.
Choosing your philosophy
Once you are aware of the different philosophers, their philosophies and their influence on the methodologies used in the preschool sector, you will make an informed choice of what methods you wish to follow in your preschool. It is advisable to not really stick to one philosophy or the philosopher but amalgamate the knowledge and the methods from the different philosophies to make the learning more complete. At the Helen O’Grady International Preschool, we amalgamate the philosophies of the Reggio Approach, the Montessori , the Waldrof and the play way as well.
We have found that this helps us to remain true to the child and the learning process rather than being married to a philosophy completely. I n many ways, this helps us to build the skills required for this world while rooting our processes in the philosophies of the great thinkers of yore.
The Helen O’Grady International Preschool is the only Preschool Franchise in India that integrates Sensory Motor Integration as part of the preschool. We know that children adequate and appropriate physical stimulation of the senses is imperative for the overall development of the child.
Choose your space
To set up a preschool, choose a space that has indoor and outdoor possibilities. You could look for a shed and create the internal partitions as per your choice or take a ‘house’ and convert it to a preschool. There are some people who set up a preschool like a mini school. It depends on how much space you have and what your person choices are.
The Helen O’Grady International Preschool believes that a preschool must have a home like feel and prefers its standalone preschools in residential locations, in a four bed roomed house with a large garden space. We encourage franchise partners to look for about 2500 square feet of space inside and about 1000 square feet of space outdoors.
If you decide to join hands with the Helen O’Grady International Preschool franchise in India as a franchisee, we help you evaluate every property based on the parameters that will lay the foundation of success.
Once you have your space, the next aspect to focus upon is the interiors. Here again, if you choose to take a franchise of the Helen O’Grady International Preschool, you will be guided on the interiors, the apt use of spaces and the innovative, creative ways tat you can create activity areas. Unlike most franchisors, the Helen O’Grady International Preschool has a few standard requirements of interiors and encourages each franchise partner to express their own creativity while planning the use of space. In this way, the Helen O’Grady International Preschool stays true to its philosophy of the Reggio Emilia Approach which believes that all of us, especially children, need to be original. The Reggio Approach encourages localness of every preschool experience.
Once the space and the interiors are ready, a franchisor will send over someone to inspect the premises for child safety parameters.
The Franchisee is next guided to apply for and obtain the necessary governmental permissions.
Selection of teachers
Here is another very critical factor that each preschool owner must undertake very carefully. Choose people who will stay with you rather than those who will run away after a year of being with you. Every teacher needs to have a qualification in Early Childhood Care and Education.
Curriculum
The curriculum is developed in such a way that it stays true to the philosophy, integrates various methods in order to achieve the learning outcomes. A good curriculum also ensures that every child- whether fast at picking up concepts or slow, is not left out. Challenges for children who finish their tasks early and space for children who need a little more time are all interwoven as the curriculum translates into the lesson plan. The Helen O’Grady International Preschool ensures a graded, spiral, curriculum that is learning outcome based and which helps the parent track the progress of every child.
Contact
The Helen O’Grady International Preschool is looking for women passionate about educating children in the early years. Connect with us on our website or on face book. Let us start this journey to recreate happy learning spaces for children in the Early Years.
Enroll Today!!
