Reports show that one of five patients walking into Bangalore based NIMHANS Hospital for psychiatric and counselling help is a toddler. While, many young parents are fighting to keep their jobs or spending longer and stress-filled hours at work, children are being starved of time, attention and care. "Most families these days consist of a single child with both parents working. Therefore, day care is more a boon as children are taken good care by trained caregivers who will ensure that every child's needs are met efficiently," says Priya Krishnan, Founder and CEO, KLAY. There has been a preschool boom in cities like Bangalore. Today, each layout, especially the residential ones, has at least a dozen preschools.

However, Priya wanted to make a difference in the educational sector and resolve the limitations of existing day care centres in India, to contribute to the greater objective of helping women get back to work. Under Priya's leadership, KLAY Prep Schools have created a niche for itself. Today, whether it is in the established Bangalore or in the emerging Gurgaon, KLAY Prep Schools are the most common neighbours of IT Parks in India. "We focus on the personal, social, emotional, physical and cognitive development of the child. Our curriculum has been designed and developed to churn the imaginative thinking of the child, while focusing on their holistic development at all times," claims Priya.

KLAY has adopted a teaching and learning philosophy that is based on Multiple Intelligence and experiential learning, where the child learns through experiences in and around the learning space. The theory of Multiple Intelligence says that, intelligence can be differentiated by different abilities or ways of learning. "We implement the theory of Multiple Intelligence in our classrooms with the help of different learning centres. Here, we have a

well-structured program that we run for children, where the focus is on the routine," explains Priya. Young children thrive when there is a routine to be followed, as there are no unexpected shocks and surprises. They know what to expect next and this helps children settle down quickly into the preschool environment. KLAY centres are also well equipped with high quality toys and books and play equipment and resources for children, which keeps them engaged and interested.

"Children at KLAY are engaged in various ways and all the objectives listed are meant for teachers and not children, for children it is fun games and play. We cater to children six months onwards and believe that quality interactions can help in developing children in a holistic manner," says Priya. At present, KLAY provides education and care to over 2000 children across 42 centres in India. With this as the tip of the iceberg, Priya has plans to expand to 200 centres across India as well as international markets like Singapore and Dubai.