LEARN TO EARN THE GLOBAL WAY

THROUGH preschool children get to experience their first educational environment. The standard of preschool education in India has improved, but there are still a few gaps. To fill the void, Kinderpillar has been introduced in India. Kinderpillar is the first preschool that has judiciously blended international standards with Indian curriculum. Kinderpillar caters to children in the age group of 18 months to 6 years, as these are their best learning years. The brand intends to create a learning environment to promote mental, physical, social and emotional development of a child, in a stress free manner. Ivy League Kids maintains that they are not planning to create academic wizards; rather they are for nurturing independent thinkers and problem solvers with a lifelong passion for learning and playing well.

The brand's USP is its curriculum, as its entire education model is powered by Professor Ellen Booth Church from the US, who has over 30 years of experience in early childhood education. Ellen also extends her expertise to the world of Children's Television. Ellen has consulted for the channels like The Walt Disney Company, Disney Channel, HBO and Cartoon Network on a wide variety of projects. She stresses on the importance of pro-active and interactive learning for kids.

Kinderpillar - Ivy League Kids has been brought to India by highly successful educationalists, the Inter National Institute of Fashion Design (INIFD) with 200 franchise institutes pan-India and the global education specialists Canam Group which has its presence in the UK, Middle East and India.

Globalising education

Ivy League as the name states aims at integrating the best and most advanced educational theories and practices of the United States with the cultural richness and values of India. At Kinderpillar, it's not just 'what' children are taught, but also 'how' they are taught that is fundamental to their development. In this regard, the brand has incorporated the latest American brain-based and research-based teaching-learning techniques into their cutting edge proprietary curriculum developed by Prof Ellen Booth Church. Kinderpillar schools maintain the highest standards of operation and lay emphasis on providing individualised attention to children through their unique curriculum and pedagogy to develop their confidence, language, motor and social skills and implement a high school readiness programme in a loving and secure environment. Unlike other preschools, Kinderpillar is the first ever brand in India to offer designer label uniforms for children. The uniform has been designed by Ashley Rebello.

Says Roopa Grewal, Director, Academics, Kinderpillar: “Our path-breaking brain-based and research-based curriculum, world class infrastructure, engaging teaching methodology through highly trained teachers, who would be updated regularly on the latest developments in early childhood education practices being adopted globally, would ensure the holistic development of a child.”

Children at Kinderpillar-India will learn using the same techniques, toys and teaching aids which are being used by preschool children in the US. The brand will have a special facility of cyber space and will offer tabloids for children to enjoy fun activities through apt software. Parental involvement will be a key mix to their teaching and they aim to keep parents involved and informed about their child's develo-pment and progress as well as conduct regular parenting workshops.

Franchise: Leading the way

The preschool sector in India is expected to become the largest in the world. It will soon be a $1 billion market, rapidly increasing at an approximately 28% CAGR. With a population of nearly 100 million (about 9% of the population of India) in the age group of 2-6 years, only 20% of the preschool education being offered in India comes within the organised sector and a mere 12% of the urban children, between the age of two and four years, are going to preschools. Looking at this huge opportunity in this industry, Kinderpillar - Ivy League Kids stepped into the franchising arena. The brand aspires to satiate the growing need of quality preschools across India.

Offering a robust business model the brand is keen to increase its geographical presence via franchising. Regarding the adoption of the franchise model, Priyanka Khosla, Director Operations, Kinderpillar, says: “We chose the franchising mode as it facilitates local marketing and reduces the span of control. Our goodwill, combined with an attractive return on investment and low break-even point, makes Kinderpillar - Ivy League Kids a first choice for franchisees seeking to enter the recession proof education business.”

Kinderpillar will retain 15 per cent as royalty for ongoing development of the curriculum, improvement of school management and learning processes, brand positioning, conducting workshops, procuring international technologies and teaching aids, and for national level marketing support.

Franchise requisites

To associate with Kinderpillar, a franchisee will require a carpet area of 2,500-5,000 sq.ft at a premium location. Where investment is concerned, the value for money school has successfully managed to balance the costs and investments for a prospective franchisee so as to offer him the most preferred and profitable chain of pan-India preschools.

The school has been designed by a team of American and Indian professionals as per international standards, offering the latest developments in the preschool segment. The franchisee will be offered teaching aids, IT infrastructure, strict safety and hygiene compliance standards and space for extracurricular activities, along with non-toxic furniture. Another benefit of associating with the brand is to have access to their unique concepts within the school, which no other preschool offers. For instance, the school campus will have Kinderpillar city, a gym, an outdoor pool and play-stations, daycare and transportation facilities, a toy library, besides classrooms and the office area.

When asked whether home-based franchisees will get an opportunity to open their preschool, Priyanka says: “We would allow franchisees to open a preschool in a residence, subject to their property meeting our school architectural requirements as well as the franchisee attaining permissions from the local authorities concerned. At Kinderpillar, our schools have been structured to focus on both the larger cities and smaller towns.”

Handholding for growth

After getting linked to Kinderpillar's franchise network, a franchisee will be offered ongoing support and handholding. They have designed turnkey solutions to ensure the preschool operations are built on a strong foundation and there is consistency in the delivery of education and services to both children and the brand's franchisees. The franchisees would be provided regular training sessions to keep them abreast of the latest developments in early childhood education and processes.

Another significant area of interest for franchisees would be teacher training. The paucity of skilled teachers has been a cause of concern for most schools across this sector. But at Kinderpillar, they have developed a training programme to ensure quality education is imparted across their preschools. Elaborating on the training programme, Roopa says: “With the assistance of our overseas associates and our ongoing discussion with some Indian universities of repute, we will offer a certificate programme on early childhood education and professional development courses for preschool teachers.”

The brand will also assist their franchisees with recruitment through an affiliate website teachersrefer.com, which has a database of over 5,00,000 teachers pan-India.

To be a first choice preschool, they have adopted the best practices in the industry. Kinderpillar will have a monitored 24x7x365 helpline for customer support and feedback. They have commenced building strategic alliances with corporate houses for providing onsite childcare facilities. Also, children will have access to soft toys and story books, which have been conceptualised and designed around their mascot NEO.

Opportunities galore

In the first phase, Kinderpillar is mulling expansion in cities like Delhi, Gurgaon, Ahmedabad, Baroda, Indore, Mumbai, Goa, Bengaluru, Lucknow, Kanpur, Jaipur, Chandigarh, Patiala, Ludhiana, Amritsar, Panchkula and Mohali, besides a host of other cities and towns across India. Kinderpillar seeks exponential growth pan-India in the preschool sector and aims to be a first choice school at all locations across India.

The brand is looking forward to open 50 preschools in the first year of operation, with 12 preschools operational through company owned company operated model and the rest through the franchise model. Their aim is to have 300+ Kinderpillar preschools across the country by 2015. In the first year of operations of this preschool project, Kinderpillar and its affiliates are expected to make a combined investment of Rs 25 crore.

Not just the Indian soil, the brand also plans to strengthen its presence in the Middle East and Africa by mid 2013.

For further franchise queries contact:

Chanda Malhotra,

GM Franchise Development

Email: franchise@kinderpillar.com

Phone No: +91 8427949078

Brand’s success mantra

Campus: Stimulating indoor and outdoor envir-onment designed by specialists in kids' spaces

Safety and Hygiene: Top priority for children's safety and hygiene standards

Core Belief: A world class education provided at our value for money prestigious schools that understand the expectations of an Indian parent.

Business Model: Easy to operate, excellent support services and offers franchisees a lucrative return on investment with a low BEP.

Other features: High-tech security, designer uniforms, Kinderpillar city, cyberspace, Traffic Park, toy library, joy ride zone, smart classes & gym.