Our Program and Approach
At our centre childhood is celebrated. When they play and explore, children's imagination and curiosity is sparked - they enjoy learning, and are inspired to continue learning more.
At KU Grandstand, we believe that unconditional regard for children, expressed in respectful interactions, is paramount. We believe this approach nurtures strong and trusting relationships, which are essential in supporting meaningful learning.
Our focus is to provide an educational environment and play-based learning in order to promote the best interests of children and support the rights of all children. With relationships as our foundation, children are provided with the best possible environment to learn about themselves, others and the world around them.
We believe play provides the ideal context for children to develop and grow, explore new activities and materials, practice and refine new skills and transfer learning to new situations. Through play, children are able to test and develop skills and dispositions in a safe and supportive environment, becoming resilient, fair-minded and joyful members of society.
We Focus On
In addition to the high quality well-rounded programs we offer, all KU centres are also encouraged to develop an area of focus.
At KU Grandstand we focus on sustainability. We are located in an urban area, and as such the natural environment can sometimes be overlooked. We strive to teach preschoolers that sustainable practices can be achieved anywhere and in any space.
We incorporate this into our program through activities such as our worm farm, our water conservation system, learning about recycling, growing herbs and garden produce. We follow the ‘reduce, reuse and recycle’ adage.
We feel that the children benefit from this focus because it empowers them to make healthy choices and equips them with the skills necessary to positively influence the world around them.
Our Quality
Our centre has been independently assessed by the NSW Department of Education under the National Quality Standards, and are proud to be rated as Exceeding the National Quality Standard.
However what matters most is what our families think...
“The teachers at KU Grandstand are all wonderful. We are very happy to have our son here. Our son has become a lot more confident, independent and social thanks to KU.” - KU Grandstand Parent
“My son is having a difficult transition to preschool as an only child with a stay at home mum. The staff could not be handling it better. The first day I received a call within an hour to say he was struggling and they recommended I collect him soon. From day one I have trusted they are doing the best thing for my child (which is the most important thing)." - KU Grandstand Parent
Our Environment
Each KU centre is unique. The best outcomes for children are created within relationships and interactions between children and staff, and children and their families, not within four walls. We work hard to create beautiful, interesting, homelike learning environments for children - whatever our setting.
KU Grandstand has a stunning view of St Leonards Park, allowing the children to witness the beauty of nature and to observe the comings and goings of everyday Sydney life.
Our playground is our outdoor learning environment and includes natural elements such as sand, grass, water, mud, leaves and twigs and kitchen gardens. Wherever possible we avoid using lots of fixed, plastic equipment in our playground. Instead we provide an ever-changing array of challenging and interesting activities and equipment, explored by children and educators together. These activities help with the development of children’s gross motor skills, enhancing their overall health and wellbeing, as they discover their strengths and abilities and feel inspired to create, imagine and play.
Our Reconciliation Action Plan
KU was proud to launch its inaugural Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) in 2016. At KU Grandstand, we began our journey to develop our centre’s RAP in 2018 and we are proud to present it here.
