Guides & reads
Practical guides for choosing a preschool and understanding the early years — no brochure voice.
Featured guide
What NEP 2020 and the 2022 NCF for the Foundational Stage actually say about ages 3 to 8: the 5+3+3+4 structure, Balvatika, Class 1 at 6+, home language, no tests, and what it changes when you choose a preschool for 2026-27.
Read the guide 4 min read
Guide
Take these 15 questions on your visit: safety, staffing, the daily routine and money, with the answers that should reassure you and the ones that tell you to keep looking. Pairs with our 13-point visit checklist.
4 min read · Updated 5 Oct 2026
Guide
India's official floor is one adult per 20 children aged 3 to 6. Why we suggest parents look for about 1:10 (and 1:5 or 1:6 for two-year-olds), what the research says, and how to count the real ratio on your visit.
4 min read · Updated 5 Oct 2026
Guide
What Montessori, playway, Reggio Emilia, Waldorf and academic preschools actually look like in India, how each sits with the NCF for the Foundational Stage, and two questions that expose a signboard-only method.
4 min read · Updated 5 Oct 2026
Read
Play-based is on every brochure now. What it means under India's NCF for the Foundational Stage, what research does and doesn't show about guided play and early worksheets, and how to spot the real thing on a visit.
4 min read · Updated 5 Oct 2026
List
Field-tested techniques for preschool teachers, from sung transitions to calm-down corners, matched to what India's NCF for the Foundational Stage says about discipline, positive language and a balanced daily routine.
4 min read · Updated 5 Oct 2026
Guide
A cost framework for would-be owners: one-time and running costs, the space and staffing the national ECCE standards imply, the GST point most budgets miss, a revenue check using real city fee bands, and why break-even takes patience.
5 min read · Updated 6 Oct 2026
Read
Chain or neighbourhood school? What a franchise brand does and doesn't guarantee, where independents win, how fees really compare in your city, and the questions that reveal who actually runs the centre.
4 min read · Updated 6 Oct 2026
Guide
Entry ages by class, state cut-off dates, when forms open this season, the documents to keep ready and the red flags to walk away from. Updated for the 2026-27 admission season.
5 min read · Updated 5 Oct 2026
Guide
Seven steps to a shortlist, then the 13 checks to make on a visit: distance, the real annual fee, method, ratios, safety and how teachers speak to children, with 2026-27 fee bands by city.
7 min read · Updated 6 Oct 2026
City picks