Your Child's Nursery Admission – The Stress Factor!

Hundreds of schools, thousands of reviews, lakhs of opinions and endless marketing and media promotions on all platforms - All for just ‘One’ choice that ensures, your lovely little baby receives what he most deserves- “the best school for his needs”.

Making the right decision is in your hands. Enabling you to make an informed and well-thought decision is what we’re here for. So, sit back with a pen and paper and draw up a chart to zero in on your choice. Here are a few points we have put together to help you screen your list of schools.

A good start point would be to check out school rankings. There are many websites that conduct a survey of the best schools. The Education World (EW) school ranking is one such example. 

While shortlisting schools keep the following in mind:

• Teaching Philosophy: Read up on Montessori, Waldorf, Reggio styles of teaching. Decide whether you want a school following traditional methods or any of these modern methods. 

• Age Criteria: Most schools allow nursery admissions from age 3 years plus. Some schools are more restrictive. Check whether your child will meet the age criteria of the school.

• Fee Structure: Check whether the fees is within your budget.

• Homework Policy: If you are a busy parent and cannot give enough time for homework completion, it is better to look for schools which are easy on homework. 

• Parent Feedback: Gather as much information and feedback as possible from your parent friends. Try to get contacts of parents whose children are already studying in that school. Speak to them and get their feedback. 

• Visit School: If possible, visit the school once to speak to their admission counsellor. 

• Location: The proximity of the school plays a vital role in deciding the school keeping in mind various factors such as safety, daily travel time, planning for future extra classes/co-curricular activities and extracurricular activities. For working parents proximity becomes more vital since managing time is of the essence.

• Infrastructure: If you wish your child gets an opportunity and exposure to various sports and also believe that an equal priority alongside academics must be given to them, then it would be vital for you to check the corresponding infrastructure available in the school. Swimming pool, tennis court, football or cricket field, gymnastics etc.

• Board Affiliations: It is essential that you spend some time on understanding various options as far as curriculum and board affiliations are concerned. The academics, exposure and priority will vary in each. So whether you wish your child studies under the ICSE board, CBSE board, IB, SSC or CIE are options you need to consider before choosing your school.

• Teacher-Student Ratio: Most schools today have a 35:1 or 40:1 teacher-student ratio. However, there are exceptions to this scenario. Do check about these details if this aspect of your child’s academic experience is vital to you. 

Important Dates

Next, keep an eye on when the admission forms are released. Typically, November is the time nursery admissions begin in most states. Check whether the schools you have shortlisted offer online admission forms or offline forms. Since there is tough competition, apply to at least a few schools other than the ones on your Wishlist. Submit the form on time.

Interview Process

Once you receive a call for the interview, check what documents are required to be taken along. Generally, important documents would be: 

1. Child’s birth certificate.

2. Documents supporting residential proof of the parents (ration card, voter ID, Aadhar card) etc. 

Additionally, Prepare one file with original documents and another with photocopies of all the documents. Keep passport-sized photographs of the parents and child ready.

Facing The Interview(Delhi schools do not have interviews)

• Be confident. 
• Don’t stress your child out to make sure he answers all questions that the panel is asking. 
• Be sure to clarify all your doubts with the school – whether it be regarding homework policy or extracurriculars or whatever else that is important to you.

Last but not least, be happy with what you get. Your child’s persona is more importantly defined by the home environment. So even if you didn’t make it to the best school, stress not! Order in a pizza and celebrate that the admission process is finally over.

Here’s wishing all our readers a happy and stress-free school hunting journey!

Stay Tuned! Stay Relevant!

Image Source: Pixabay