Hyderabad primary school has a cafe and a co-working space for parents

Over the past few years, Hyderabad has cemented its position as one of India’s leading technology hubs. Now, a new school in the city is borrowing a page from workplace culture.

At Sagebrook International School in Nanakramguda, the idea is simple: bring the office to school. The institution has launched a parent café and co-working lounge designed for working parents. Though the International Baccalaureate (IB) school opened in April, classes began only in July.

Work and relax

Inside the 1,400 square foot lounge, parents can order sandwiches, salads, wraps and bowls, work from dedicated desks, relax at communal tables, exercise on a stationary cycle or browse books on parenting, child development and education. The school currently offers pre-nursery, kindergarten and primary classes up to Grade II. While the co-working space is free to use, one has to pay for the snacks at the cafe.

Interiors of the lounge
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Special Arrangement

For Prathyusha Devarapalli, a mother of twins Chashvi and Chasan, the space helps to ease her anxiety of leaving younger children at school. “I get a chance to relax and have me-time here,” she says. This homemaker from Kokapet spends a couple of hours everyday either reading a book or talking to other parents. “My children are young, can get cranky at times and it doesn’t make sense for me to come again from home if they need support.”

Finding a quiet corner for two hours at the lounge is easy for Karthik Nallamothu. While his twins Kriansh and Kritika transition from home to pre-nursery routine, the founder of a startup in the city is busy either sending emails or conducting a short office meeting. “Co-working spaces either have a closed desk or cabin which sometimes makes it claustrophobic but the airy space here gives a relaxed feel. Also, the children are brought out to play only at specific times but since this space is secluded from the play area, it does not become chaotic and one can focus on work,” he says.

The school founder Praveen Raju traces the idea back to a visit to a kindergarten in London in 2022. “The space had small cubicles and looked much like a regular co-working facility, though it was chargeable. I later learnt of a school in Singapore offering something similar and thought it was an interesting concept.”

Intergenerational campus

With many IT companies continuing to follow hybrid work models, Praveen, who also founded Suchitra Academy, wondered why schools could not offer a work-friendly environment similar to the work-from-home setup.

“There is also a greater need today for parents to be involved in their children’s education than there was a few years ago. We thought, why not create a space where that collaboration can happen? And since grandparents are increasingly involved in raising children, we wanted to build an intergenerational campus where grandparents, parents and children can all share the same space,” he says.

One can work and exercise simultaneously
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

For Eshita Raju, Praveen’s daughter and co-founder of the school, the lounge is envisioned as both a bonding and learning space.

“Many new parents experience separation anxiety when their children begin school. At the same time, they are juggling multiple responsibilities and spending significant time commuting. This gives them the option of staying close to their children while they work or simply cutting down on travel time,” she says.

The school also plans to use the space for parent education workshops covering topics such as separation anxiety, early childhood development, age-appropriate learning and developmental milestones.

The school intends to establish guidelines to ensure the lounge remains a productive environment rather than a social gathering spot.