Nurture is a project of Nurture Welfare International Society. Nurture programme is being implemented in collaboration with The Global Classroom Pvt Ltd. Nurture provides support to existing schools to set new standards of success in both academic and human terms. Schools get student and teacher friendly study materials, assessments, training, empowerment and supervision of academic goals.

For new schools, Nurture franchise programme provides full turn-key support in setting up of a school along with an outstanding curriculum, study materials, assessments, training, empowerment and supervision of academic goals. For new schools, Nurture thus provides BOTH brand value and academics, beyond other benefits.

Besides academics, nurture provides a vision-led schooling model in which values and lifeskills are given equal, if not more, importance. It is a comprehensive model of 21st century education that focuses on creating critical thinkers, conscious and caring individuals who are also competent in every possible way.

Spirit—to be: to make morals real, keep the spirit attracted to the divine, develop spiritual perception

Heart—to love: to develop caring, consciousness, love and respect for all peoples of the world and diversity, love and respect for all things living and the environment

Mind—to discover: to develop competence, critical thinking and creativity and nurture curiosity

Body—to serve: to learn to take care of self and others and prepare for service to humanity

Nurture is based on the premise of compete with yourself. It is an outcomes-based process of education in which the outcomes at the end of a process of schooling are first defined, then the processes, the methods, the materials, the training, the classroom organization, the time-tabling and other requirements are planned.

The purpose of Nurture education is to covert this tunnel of learning, the present schooling system, into a process of enlightenment of every child, so that once the child emerges from such schooling, he is not only academically best prepared but is also confident to deal with the uncertainties of the future, has leadership and team work skills, as well as spiritual preparation that lends to wisdom in making correct choices for life and career. A child is prepared to dedicate his / her life to service to humanity and not just personal material pursuits.  Material gain is seen as a by-product of his / her good work and not the main objective of one’s efforts.

A variety of influences have shaped Nurture. First in philosophical directions, the inspiration has come from family-run CMS – City Montessori School, Lucknow, India. Dr Sunita Gandhi, the Founder of Nurture, has both learned from CMS’ spiritual and global focus and also contributed to the school’s profiling and development in significant ways. Education was breakfast, lunch and dinner talk from her earliest childhood as her idealistic parents began to put together the rubrics of a school that has grown from 5 children in 1959 to become the world’s largest with a Guinness World Record for 39,741 students in August, 2010.

More significantly, the school’s focus on nurturing peace loving world citizens has earned it the most coveted UNESCO Prize for Peace Education in 2002, world’s first school to receive the prestigious award, the third one to India in the Awards’ history. It has been endorsement of the fact that schools have a role to play in bringing about peace in the world. CMS (LINK) experience has inspired many schools globally.

Secondly, Nurture’s academic programme has been influenced by a new ethic which Dr Gandhi feels needs to define education in the 21st century. The foundation of such a new and comprehensive education is based on the Four Building Blocks of the Global Education Model of Schooling: Universal Values, Global Understanding, Excellence in All Things, and Service to Humanity. These are promoted worldwide by The Council for Global Education, USA.

Thirdly, in seeking evidence for such a new education, and to learn from experience of other countries, Dr Gandhi has travelled to and studied education systems in now 35 countries (she just returned from her 35th country in October, 2010).

Nurture is based on extensive research and implementation in Iceland, India and the UK. The philosophical underpinnings of the Nurture programme come from GEMS – the Global Education Model of Schooling developed in the USA in 1992.

Experimental work began in Prague, the Czech Republic in 1994 and subsequently in 2000 in Iceland. A pilot of the programme was conducted for research purposes in the UK in 2007-08. First pilots in India were started at City Montessori School in Lucknow in February 2004. Subsequently, it was implemented at CMS for the Primary Grades I-V for three years followed by three year implementation at schools across the country.

With such a thorough research, Nurture has fine-tuned an educational methodology of its very own, one based on higher principles that address the spirit, heart, mind and body of every child and based on the premise of compete with yourself. Nurture materials such the MAXIM Classbooks, the SURE SUCCESS SERIES and its GEMS surPASS assessments have been implemented at over 900 schools nationwide.

The programme grew in spurts and stages over the last decade with each piece added as needed and fine-tuned with each new implementation. Significant teacher training was seen as a necessary ingredient for success but which was impossible to provide in piece meal solutions. Working backwards from outcomes, textbooks needed to match assessments of objectives, and training needed to match lessons taught. Training without a mapping to lessons was not seen as productive in the ultimate sense. Also, materials needed for the hands-on and interactive work needed to be provided to ensure proper implementation of objectives, focus on understanding, discovery, inquiry and development of critical thinking. Ultimately, it was realization that process is the most important part of the experience, soft side of the school and the expectations from each child and the teacher are far more important than the methods and the study materials.

Thus, in the fall of 2009, it was decided to put this extensive experience into a programme. Thus, Nurture was born as a full support programme for existing and new schools.

Nurture education is based on the Global Education Model of Schooling of the Council for Global Education, USA.

We are not, at least not formally, though both are education groups. The acronyms for GEMS with headquarters in Dubai stand for Global Education Management Systems. The acronyms for our GEMS stand for Global Education Model of Schooling (of the Council for Global Education, USA). It is a process and a method of engaging in education. Partly to avoid this confusion in countries where GEMS with headquarters in Dubai is also present, we are increasingly using Nurture only.

Nurture International Welfare Society provides direction, training, franchising and service components while the Global Classroom provides printed materials, etc. For the time being, the Global Classroom is dedicated to producing materials inspired by Nurture and Global Education Model of Schooling.

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The Principal and the Management need to have a good rapport and they should both be keen for the implementation of Nurture. If the Management wants the programme but the Principal feels pushed to accept it, for example, it is going to be counter-productive, since creating and sustaining a warm, caring, open, and sharing school spirit is one of the purposes of Nurture. The buy-ins should include the teaching members and the parents as well.

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A commitment of three years. This is because it is important that transformation at the school be seen as a staged process that starts in Year 1 and continues into the future, and an acknowledgement that learning in the new directions is a continuous process of transformation—learning from the child and better implementation each subsequent year.

The qualitative results will be witnessed within a few days and the quantitative results within three months. Children and teachers will become better motivated and more creative. Academic results will improve. There is more buzz and excitement all around and more satisfaction. However, one must see this as only the first few steps in a long journey in which every child excels, is inspired to do his / her best, and an empowering process in which children are also learning important life skills, using and developing critical thinking skills, etc. Teachers are upgraded and learn a wide variety of methods that engage the multiple intelligences of a child, etc.

The three-year plan also brings with it a mindset that says the school community is committed to doing this. When the commitment is strong, it is possible to bring out the best in every one.

SUCCEED and TargetPLUS are additional services which will ensure that your building is better utilized and you are able to provide your students with more options for their upgradation, personality and hobby development, academic improvement, performance in the NTSE and Board examinations, and career foundation.

Nurture offers holistic solution to franchising K-12 schools. No other brand offers as vast a range of services and products as Nurture. Majority of Brands provide mostly initial know-how and brand value but their programmes do not include their own academic programme and pedagogy. Each location thus selects its own books from the market and each Principal does academics their way.

This is not so with Nurture. Nurture not only provides a solid academic programme, it also has an advanced assessment system with on-going diagnosis built in, teacher training and empowerment, supervision, PR support, and more. We are the only brand that also provides its franchisees a margin of error at the beginning by relaxing royalty requirements up to a certain break point at the beginning.

When you are starting a new school, every help matters. Beyond that, with an outstanding curriculum programme with proven track record, you can provide value to your clients year after year.

There are more chances of success of a school that provides a holistic approach. There is also definite advantage in tying up with a brand that boasts of a Guinness World Record and a UNESCO Peace Prize, among others, that has a proven track record.

You will still need someone to show you the way and provide you with top class academics. Beyond starting a school, it matters that you are able to create quality and thereby retain children. Joining hands with a brand that provides BOTH brand value and academic expertise has therefore multiple advantages.

With a brand that has many years of educational experience behind it, you are more likely to succeed from the moment ‘go’. Many new schools suffer low admission rates in the first few years, even after massive local level advertising.

This affects your financial viability. All that you pay for licensing a name, or upfront fees of a franchise, is easily gained in the first year itself with increased number of children. For example, if you get even a mere 200 children more in year 1, at a yearly income of even in the lower middle end at Rs 30,000 per child including all tuition fee, admission fee, lab fees, etc, you end up with 60 lakh in gross income that you would not have had on your own. Chances are with a good brand, you can attract 500-800 children in Year 1 itself, thus covering all your initial investment in a franchise and many of your other expenses in Year 1 itself.

Secondly, when you think of starting your own brand, think of at least 10 years of investment into it. Check out how many brands that offer franchises are less than 10 years old? This means you have to run your own school for 10 years and make it highly successful before you can convince others to part with their funds and trust you to help them. In the same period, imagine tying up with a brand. Both are your schools whether they have ANYNAME or a BRAND name.

In 10 years, you are most likely to succeed with multiple branches of a brand name than on your own whatever name you choose for your school. This is why we see many folks who start a DPS, for example, multiply themselves by opening new DPS’s and not by opening schools in other names, even though they are well-known themselves after running successful DPS’. In one case, for example, after owning six DPS’ in different cities, the entrepreneur started his own school in a different name in a city where he already has two highly successful DPS’, and so where his work is clearly well-known. In its fourth year now, the NEWNAME school still suffers with low admissions. This is despite the fact that the building the NEWNAME school runs in is exactly where the entrepreneur started his first very successful DPS and which he subsequently had to move to a bigger building. The promoter is also extremely well-known with two DPS’ in the city. Branding matters.

Unfortunately though, there are very few places left where DPS’ do not exist and so the chain has reached a saturation point in many places. The entrepreneur has to choose therefore to go with another brand for expansion, or take the longer route to success.

Unfortunately too, for a country as large as India, there are very few brands offering franchise operations in the Whole School segment and can be counted on the finger tips. Others are still corporate owned like Ryans, Millennium, etc. Most of them have existed for 10-20 years or longer and most have signed up 7-20 schools at most with a couple of exceptions. They have not seen the colossal growth as seen by DPS.

Nurture started offering franchises in 2010. In a very short span though, it has attracted HUGE interest with over 20 whole schools signed up. At this rate, it promises to top the DPS rate of introduction, keeping in mind, DPS took XX years to establish YY branches and has been the most long-standing franchisor. Profile is often built by nationwide advertising based on a sponsor’s strengths. A brand that has schools across the country is also likely to attract more instant trust, something hard to build in ANYNAME school.

Branding will help you get the children enrolled. Academics and your overall programme will help you keep the children in your school. While it is not easy to set up a school, it is often even harder to create and maintain quality. Since demand for schools outstrips supply in most cities, “good” schools that are priced reasonably can be added to without any difficulty. Top end schools are also in demand but with correct profiling and additional facilities and programmes that justify the price.

Nurture provides not only branding, know-how and support (help with parent orientation, hire of Principal and teachers, etc.), it is also India’s first brand with a full blown curriculum for PreK-12 schools complete with tested and tried study materials, cutting-edge assessments, reports that are based on the premise of ‘compete with yourself’, training and supervision of teachers, and quality assurance.

Additional services include architectural services, plans, construction, help with financing and project reports to enable financing, etc. and complete turn-key along with the possibility of managing your school for you. You can sit at home, visit and check as you wish, and bask in the knowledge you have been instrumental in creating and running a world class school for the children of the world and reap the financial benefits at the same time.

Step 4: Get full support at whatever level agreed to immediately. Get national level profiling and local marketing support with brochures, designs, etc…Ad for a Principal is immediately placed or one selected with mutual participation. Hire of teachers, etc. Please read the White Paper for more details.