This preschool is meant to revolutionize the way kids learn and develop

Preschool is where your child’s foundation begins. This is where your child develops their attitude towards school, where they determine if they are good learners or not, and where they learn if they have what it takes to figure out problems. Preschool teaching expectations are changing. But few things like parents expectations from their child’s school remains the same. Parents will always seek a safe environment where their child can learn, explore & make friends.

Jumpstart Preschool in Pune is an award winning school that fulfills each expectation of parents & fills the gap between knowledge and the way it is imparted. Jumpstart is a Preschool, Learning Center and Activity center and a revolutionizing child development center which has been developed on the premise that each child is unique; each child is a genius and that each child is special.

We got an opportunity to speak to CEO, Mrs. Sneha Tapadia. Few excerpts from the conversation.

Tell us about your journey how did you decide on starting Jumpstart?

I aspired to be a teacher right from my childhood. As all children play, I used to engage in something which is called pretend play where I used to be the teacher making all my friends enacts the role of students. So when I was given an opportunity to start my own business during my management course the obvious choice that came to my mind was that of starting a school. Back then in 2009 I did not have the technical expertise and hence ended up doing various courses to understand preschool education and how it works. This led me to start my own chain of preschools Jumpstart. Jumpstart is like my other baby. Right from conceptualizing the name up to curriculum has been designed by me. I truly believe that quality education is the key to a better future. I believe that quality education for preschool years can make a difference in how our society will turn out to be in future. Investing in first five years will decide how our nation and world’s human potential will be in the coming years. Jumpstart is a revolutionizing child development centre based on the premise that every child is unique, every child is genius and every child is special. I believe that if you’re spreading goodness, that goodness should spread to more number of people. So after starting the first centre, we started the other 2 Jumpstart centers in the next few years. Jumpstart started with a preschool which caters to 2 to 6 years and then went on to start multiple other programs like the learning centre for children from 6 months unto 10 years , parent toddler program for newborn to children up to 2 years and also a day long school called 360 degree program for preschoolers. By adapting the right facilitators, teaching methodologies, state of art infrastructure and modern technology Jumpstart is a conductive learning environment for children, which fills the gap between knowledge and the way it is imparted. Jumpstart is meant to revolutionize the way children learn and develop.

What is unique about Jumpstart?

Jumpstart is unique in various ways. Jumpstart ensures strong healthy school parent partnership by involving parents in various activities. This helps Jumpstart maintain the transparency every parent wishes and aspires for. Jumpstart has been customizing education to preserve the uniqueness of every child. The curriculum at Jumpstart is development focused rather than age focused. Experiential learning forms an important teaching pedagogy at Jumpstart. Children learn by doing and experiencing different situations. The 360 degree program at Jumpstart is a unique daylong program for preschoolers. Usually when typical preschool programs have duration for 3 hours, the Jumpstart 360 degree program runs for 7.5 hours. Jumpstart strives to keep the curiosity of the child intact. Jumpstart strives to give the best par excellence.

Tell us about the team?

I call my team at Jumpstart, “the stalwarts”. They are the pillars of Jumpstart. The state of art infrastructure and the best teaching pedagogies would all be meaningless without the passion and perseverance of my team. The entire team constitutes of more than 100 female members who are playing different roles that of a mother, facilitator, teacher and caregiver along with that of shaping young minds. At Jumpstart, lot of time and resources are invested in up skilling the educators at large. This ensures that they are always guided and motivated to give their best.

My entire team works out of passion and ownership to give the best to children and the testimony to this is all the “wow moments’ created by children at home which are shared by parents. The entire team works for these special moments when parents exuberantly share how proud they are of their little ones. They work to see children develop and create these priceless moments. Drive to excel and bringing the holistic development in children motivates the team.

What are the plans for Jumpstart this year?

Jumpstart would soon start franchising. I believe if you are doing well, this goodness should reach out to more number of people. We aspire to spread this goodness to more number of children by starting more Jumpstart centers across the city of Pune which is easily accessible to parents. The other plan is obviously help employees of different corporate to take care of their children by having an alliance with different corporates.

Any message to the Corporates – on Employer sponsored childcare?

Would you want to share some successes from the existing partnerships? How has childcare helped companies?

When both the parents are working, it becomes absolutely essential to have a right, safe, secured and hygienic place which takes care of the holistic development of the child. Till the age of 5; 90% of the brain gets developed and it become important for the parents to expose the child to the right activities. A conducive environment helps the child to absorb the right attitude and skill sets at an early age. To aide and assist the parents who work with corporates; Jumpstart has tied up with many corporates. Each and every minute of child’s life till age of 8 is crucial as maximum brain development happens then. Jumpstart helps the child develop social and emotional skills of sharing, caring and problem solving. Jumpstart also assists the child to develop physically, cognitively, logical and creatively. Children learn to express themselves with the right role models in front of them. Children experience little things through experiential activities and everyday routines that shape their personalities. Instead of children and parents getting under the mercy of screens, parents find a relief in Jumpstart with children getting independent and happier.