Happy to answer your questions!

We welcome children aged 18 months to 6 years across all our programs.

Our morning program starts at 9:30 am and wraps up at 12:30 pm. Our Immersive Kindergarten program starts at 9:30 AM and wraps up at 3:30 PM. Our Whole Day Kindergarten program starts at 9:30 AM and wraps up at 5:30 PM. Our closing time is 5:30 pm for our after-school program. We offer flexible programs to choose from.

We aim to maintain a teacher-to-student ratio of 1:3

If you happen to be running late, kindly notify the centre. Unlike other schools, we do not charge a late fee because we understand life happens. However, we encourage parents to be on time and not to make this a practice because their children eagerly wait for them, especially when their friends have already left for the day.

Yes. However, you must inform the centre beforehand with a photo/ID and the name and details of the person picking up the child from your place. If we are unfamiliar with the person, we will not allow the child to be handed over.  We maintain this procedure in the interest of the children's safety.

We have implemented a three-tiered system for Health and Safety.

Spatial Care

• Regular cleaning of surfaces and materials every single day.
• Washrooms sanitized and cleaned daily.
• Deep cleaning once a week.
• Hand-sanitizing and washing will be encouraged multiple times a day.

Rules for Staff

• All staff and facilitators are vaccinated.
• Frequent hand-washing and sanitising protocols will be followed.

Community Responsibility

• If your child shows the slightest sign of being under the weather, be it a runny nose or a tummy upset, we request they stay at home, and you notify us. The same rule applies to all members of staff.
• No parents or caregivers beyond reception.

We administer first aid at the centre in case of minor bruises while playing and inform the parents so they do not worry. Suppose the child needs to be attended to by a medical practitioner, in that case, we immediately inform the parents and get their permission to rush them to the nearest hospital or wait for the parent as instructed by the parent.

If your child exhibits any signs of illness, such as a runny nose or an upset stomach, we ask that you inform us and that your child remain home. This policy also applies to all staff members.

Currently, we don’t provide meals for our morning program. during our extended learning program or after-school program, we offer milk and fruit if the parent gives us the go-ahead. Children who eat lunch at our centre will need to carry their lunch.

Typically, the settling period is about 2 weeks (of course, each child has different needs). So, we would request either one of the parents or a trusted caregiver to be around at the centre to help the child trust the place and us. We will guide the person on how to help the child wean off and settle in. During the first week, we will get to know each other, develop a routine, and build trust before diving into exploring and learning.

• We have provided a few suggestions for assisting your child during the settling period –
• Watch your WhatsApp for live updates on our first few days after settling in. We understand it is difficult for parents to leave a part of their heart and go to work. Hence, we do everything possible to assure you they are doing well.
• You will receive a daily report of the Extended Learning Program on WhatsApp regarding your child’s day at Tinker Lab and pictures. The aim is not just to keep you updated but also to use that as a conversation starter when you get home to discuss how the day was and share about your day. This greatly helps in breaking the ice when we get single-word responses from our children when we ask, “How was your day at school?”

Yes, we welcome all children, including those with special needs. We strive to create an inclusive environment and would love to discuss any specific requirements to ensure we can support your child’s needs best. Please feel free to reach out so we can talk about how we can assist and adapt our approach for your child.

Our teachers come from a therapy background, so we can work with kids with diverse learning needs. We also work with external therapists and form a partnership with the family and external therapists, making regular calls and meetings to work as a team towards making the child life ready.

We welcome children aged 18 months to 6 years across our morning and after-school programs.

Admissions are open year-round, subject to availability. We recommend early applications to secure your preferred program and schedule.

No formal testing is required. We conduct a friendly interaction to understand your child’s needs and ensure a smooth transition.

You'll need your child’s birth certificate, recent passport-sized photographs, and a completed enrollment form.

Our child-centred curriculum aligns with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, emphasizing play-based learning, creativity, and emotional intelligence.

We focus on cognitive, emotional, social, and physical growth, integrating the WHO’s ten core life skills into daily activities to nurture well-rounded individuals.

Yes, our approach reflects NEP 2020’s emphasis on experiential learning, foundational literacy and numeracy, and holistic development.

Play is central to our methodology. Through structured and unstructured play, children explore concepts, develop problem-solving skills, and build social connections.

We aim to maintain a teacher-to-student ratio of 1:3

We offer flexible programs:

• Nursery / Preschool - 9:30 AM - 12:30 PM
• Immersive Kindergarten - 9:30 AM - 3:30 PM
• Whole Day Kindergarten / Nursery - 9:30 AM - 5:30 PM
• After-School - 2:30 PM - 5:30 PM

Yes, we offer nutritious, healthy lunch and snacks as part of our daily routine.

Each meal is thoughtfully planned to support children’s wellbeing, energy, and growth throughout the day.

Yes, rest periods are incorporated into the Whole Day Kindergarten / Nursery program to ensure children have time to relax and recharge.

Yes—and we’ve seen this year after year. Our alumni consistently transition into top schools in Gurgaon (including IB, ICSE, and CBSE) and are recognised not just for their academic readiness, but for being emotionally grounded, empathetic, and confident learners. School readiness at Tinker Lab means your child can self-regulate, collaborate, and adapt—all essential in today’s changing world.

Absolutely. But more importantly, they’ll understand them and not rote learn them as isolated drills. Children explore sounds, quantities, and patterns through stories, play scenarios, and real-world engagement. For instance, they might count seed pods in the garden or sort objects by colour while role-playing as shopkeepers. Whether it’s recognising the ‘M’ on a milk carton during snack time or counting leaves on a nature walk, children engage with language and numeracy in ways that are meaningful to them.

Children at Tinker Lab are not trained to sit still—they choose to sit with purpose. When children are respected and engaged, they learn to manage themselves. Whether they’re listening during story time, waiting for a turn at the art station, or resolving a peer conflict, they’re practicing impulse control and attention in real situations. What you see as “discipline” develops naturally in our environment. Our alumni are often praised for their patience, attention spans, and ability to work well in groups—skills they built through intrinsic motivation, not forced compliance.

That’s exactly why we make their learning visible. Every week, you’ll receive updates that go beyond activity lists—they narrate your child’s thinking, social growth, problem-solving moments, and emerging skills. You’ll see how a disagreement over blocks became a lesson in empathy or how a fascination with insects turned into a conversation on habitats and early science vocabulary.

Yes—and this is where our alumni outcomes reassure many parents. Our graduates transition smoothly into all major school boards—not because they’ve been trained to memorize, but because they understand foundational concepts, can think critically, and adapt with ease. We don’t prepare children to perform—we prepare them to learn.

Not when FLN is approached the way it’s meant to be. At Tinker Lab, we cover foundational literacy and numeracy through rich, play-based experiences: story-building, sound play, measurement in cooking, mark-making in art, quantity games in the garden. These early experiences create deep neural connections that support long-term academic learning far more effectively driven by your child’s curiosity—not pushed before readiness through worksheets. This approach is strongly supported by both NEP 2020 and international early learning research.

We are inspired by them—but not limited by them. We are not dogmatic. What we follow instead is your child. Through careful observation, we see what each child needs to thrive—be it structure, open-ended play, quiet reflection, or sensory exploration. That’s why we call ourselves a lab school; we reflect, adapt, and individualise. It’s not method-first—it’s child-first.

Not at all. Discipline at Tinker Lab comes from within. Children co-create classroom rules, practice conflict resolution, and hold themselves and peers accountable—because they are trusted and heard. What looks like freedom is actually responsibility in action, and our alumni are often described by teachers as “mature beyond their years.”

They are already learning. Play is how the brain wires itself in early childhood. It’s not downtime—it’s development time. When children pour water, build forts, or negotiate turns, they are learning physics, patience, and social intelligence. Our weekly updates and our documentation approach of childrens learning through Learning Stories show exactly how every moment of play builds real skills across all domains—cognitive, social, emotional, and physical.

Quite the opposite. They transition smoothly—not just because they know how to write or count, but because they understand how to adapt. Because we help children become adaptable, emotionally secure, and resilient thinkers. While formal schools may differ in structure, children who have built strong self-regulation, empathy, and problem-solving skills adjust more easily—not less. Many of our alumni are recognized in their new schools for their maturity and confidence. That’s true readiness—not memorisation.

Our facility is equipped with CCTV surveillance, secure entry points, and child-proofed areas. Staff are trained in first aid and emergency protocols.

We maintain high standards of safety, hygiene, and child protection. Our team is trained in emergency response, and we have regular sanitisation routines, CCTV-monitored spaces, and secure entry protocols.

Yes. However, you must inform the centre beforehand with a photo/ID and the name and details of the person picking up the child from your place. If we are unfamiliar with the person, we will not allow the child to be handed over.  We maintain this procedure in the interest of the children's safety.

If your child exhibits any signs of illness, such as a runny nose or an upset stomach, we ask that you inform us and that your child remain home. This policy also applies to all staff members.

We strive to be inclusive and accommodate children with diverse needs. Please feel free to reach out so we can talk about how we can assist and adapt our approach for your child.

We have implemented a three-tiered system for Health and Safety.

Spatial Care

• Regular cleaning of surfaces and materials every single day.
• Washrooms sanitized and cleaned daily.
• Deep cleaning once a week.
• Hand-sanitizing and washing will be encouraged multiple times a day.

Rules for Staff

• All staff and facilitators are vaccinated.
• Frequent hand-washing and sanitising protocols will be followed.

Community Responsibility

• If your child shows the slightest sign of being under the weather, be it a runny nose or a tummy upset, we request they stay at home, and you notify us. The same rule applies to all members of staff.
• No parents or caregivers beyond reception.

We administer first aid at the centre in case of minor bruises while playing and inform the parents so they do not worry. Suppose the child needs to be attended to by a medical practitioner. In that case, we immediately inform the parents and get their permission to rush them to the nearest hospital or wait for the parent as instructed by the parent.

Typically, the settling period is about 2 weeks (of course, each child has different needs). So, we would request either one of the parents or a trusted caregiver to be around at the centre to help the child trust the place and us. We will guide the person on how to help the child wean off and settle in. During the first week, we will get to know each other, develop a routine, and build trust before diving into exploring and learning.

We have provided a few suggestions for assisting your child during the settling period –

• Watch your WhatsApp for live updates on our first few days after settling in. We understand it is difficult for parents to leave a part of their heart and go to work. Hence, we do everything possible to assure you they are doing well.
• You will receive a daily report of the Extended Learning Program on WhatsApp regarding your child’s day at Tinker Lab and pictures. The aim is not just to keep you updated but also to use that as a conversation starter when you get home to discuss how the day was and share about your day. This greatly helps in breaking the ice when we get single-word responses from our children when we ask, “How was your day at school?”

Our teachers come from a therapy background, so we can work with kids with diverse learning needs. We also work with external therapists and form a partnership with the family and external therapists, making regular calls and meetings to work as a team towards making the child life ready.

At Tinker Lab, we believe meaningful communication with families is essential to supporting each child’s journey. Beyond regular updates and parent-teacher meetings, we share Learning Stories—thoughtful narratives that capture key moments in a child’s day. These stories offer more than progress reports; they reveal how children are growing socially, emotionally, cognitively, and physically. Through daily reflections, WOW moments, and personalised observations, families gain a deeper, real-time understanding of their child’s experiences at school.

Our educators bring a strong academic foundation in early childhood development, with advanced degrees in fields such as Psychology and Neuroscience. This expertise enables them to understand how children learn and grow, and to thoughtfully design environments and experiences that support holistic development. Equally important, our team is deeply reflective, continuously engaging in professional development and research-informed practice to stay aligned with global standards in early education.

Yes, we host events and workshops where parents can engage with their child’s learning experiences and the Tinker Lab community.

Yes, our After-School Program runs from 12:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. It offers a balanced mix of play, creativity, and learning in a safe, nurturing environment—ideal for working parents.