KU Ourimbah Preschool and Children's Centre

Central Coast Campuses South Loop Rd
OURIMBAH NSW 2258
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  • Monday to Friday 7:00am - 6:00pm
Babies Toddlers Preschoolers NSW Fee Relief – Childcare

Our Program and Approach

At KU Ourimbah, together with you and your child, we build a shared understanding of play and learning. We do this in unique ways, through a lively teaching environment, through connections with the natural world and through the use of virtual dialogue, which keeps you in touch with moments of discovery and wonder.

Our commitment lies in a belief that children learn best through sensitive interactions based on warm and rich relationships. We recognise children’s wellbeing is based in an entitlement to playful learning in safety and with others. Every child is welcomed, included and seen as unique.

At KU Ourimbah, we search to understand the children’s fascinations that they bring with them every day and in so doing, promote each child’s sense of belonging. Children's family life is respected; the recognition of home cultures underpins our approach.

Our daily routine guides the progress of the day. Routines are developed to give consistency alongside flexibility, so we can accommodate emergent learning from many spontaneous opportunities that arise. The routine has periods of quiet and energetic times, group and individual experiences, child initiated and adult directed activities. Routines are recognised as important opportunities for learning.

We are responsive to the individual needs of our children and our group times include music, story and drama, science, mathematics, geography, history, technology and physical activity.

We greatly value the strong relationships between our staff, children and families, and we look forward to the opportunity of including your family in the life of our centre.


Our Specialisation

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 Ourimbah, our specialisation is our Forest Preschool.

Our Forest Kindergarten enables children access to specialist teaching, where we emphasise immersion in nature as a starting point to understanding the wider world. Natural outdoor settings have been found to influence children’s emotional well-being and mental health. There is also evidence that suggests an increase in academic outcomes for children attending a Forest Kindergarten when they first begin formal schooling. The changing natural environment affords possibilities that make creativity highly conspicuous and challenge children to take account of the less predictable nature of outdoor landscapes.

Our educators aim to develop and extend thinking around the nature kindergarten experience, exploring the relationship between children’s experiences across all the learning environments that they have access to. These include indoors, outdoors, the University Campus Grounds and the Rainforest.

Our Forest Kindergarten operates daily. Children benefit from this specialisation because it is an opportunity for them to connect with the natural world, to solve problems in a landscape that is not uniform and that offers challenges, inspiration, beauty, unpredictability and interest.


Our Quality



KU Ourimbah was one of the first services to undergo the assessment and rating process in June 2012 and achieved an overall rating of ‘Exceeding’ the National Quality Standards in every quality area.


However what matters most is what our families think...

"It is refreshing to be placing my children in care with staff that feel family orientated. Thank you for making a difference." - KU Ourimbah parent

"I could not ask for more out of a centre. KU Ourimbah is a home away from home for my son." - KU Ourimbah parent

If you would like to see more parent testimonials, click here.


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.

The unique location of KU Ourimbah, nestled amongst beautiful natural forest surroundings and cultivated grounds of the University of Newcastle, extends opportunities to feed children’s imagination. KU Ourimbah is a place where children connect and care for one another and the natural world and find joy in making meaning. We seek to enable children to participate in their community. Our conversations and daily routines are responsive to the ideas children initiate and we embed these into our routines and culture.

Our playground is designed to allow children to explore nature and discover the natural environment. We want children to be able to dig in the mud, climb trees, discover and learn about insects and enjoy connecting with nature. The many activities we offer enable children to immerse themselves in the natural elements of their surroundings and feel inspired to create, imagine and play.


Our Awards

In 2016, KU Ourimbah's outstanding environmental education initiatives and leadership among schools across Australia was acknowledged in winning the Environmental Education Award at the United Nations Association of Australia World Environment Day Awards. This prestigious award, not received in the Early Childhood Education sector before, recognises KU Ourimbah as exceptional in the steps taken towards sustainability and in environmental excellence.

This commitment towards embedding sustainable practices and driving nature connection and environmental stewardship within their daily program was further recognised with a Business Excellence in Sustainability Award at the 2015 Central Coast Business Excellence Awards. KU Ourimbah was selected for their ability to execute initiatives that demonstrate educational innovation and their commitment to sustainable business practices.

This acknowledgement from the Business and Environmental sectors complement KU Ourimbah's leadership through recent multiple educational awards that acknowledge scholarship and innovation that continues to support exemplary practice.

KU Ourimbah was awarded 3rd place at the NSW Early Childhood Environmental Education Network (ECEEN) SPROuts Awards in 2021, recognising the service's commitment to embedding sustainable practices.

In 2016, the team at KU Ourimbah were awarded the 'Making the KU Difference to Quality' Award. The Annual KU Difference Awards were introduced a number of years ago, as a way of acknowledging KU staff who have made a significant contribution to KU. These annual awards are open to all KU staff, at any level (either individual staff or a team), who have worked above and beyond their normal duties.


Our Reconciliation Action Plan

KU was proud to launch its inaugural Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) in 2016. At KU Ourimbah, we began our journey to develop our centre’s RAP in 2018 . Please view it here.


Other Features

Child Care Subsidy
Cooked Meal
Designed Centre
Extended Hours
Hat and Sunscreen
Lunch
Transition to School
Public Transport
Play-based Learning
Parking
Outdoor Play
Award
Storypark
Education for Sustainability

Director

Amy Chiswick

Our Team

KU Ourimbah staff are committed to this service, where staff turnover is barely perceptible and there remains a pedigree of investment in Professional Learning. Both senior teachers have degrees at Masters level, with staff undergoing professional training at every stage, including our highly successful trainees. Many of our staff have won awards for the quality of their scholarship.

Our team of early childhood educators are qualified, experienced, caring and highly motivated. All hold specialist qualifications in early childhood education. We believe that the positive interactions children have with our staff are the most important component of our high quality program.

The daily fee for 2024 at KU Ourimbah is: $143

This is the full daily fee, commencing 5 February 2024. If you are eligible for Child Care Subsidy, this will reduce the daily fee you are charged.

In an increasingly competitive marketplace, KU has remained very proudly a not for profit provider of quality education for more than 125 years. Our fees are designed to cover the operational costs of delivering the unique KU learning experience, and to ensure KU can continue delivering those experiences for many years to come.

About Child Care Subsidy

Child Care Subsidy is the main payment to assist families with the costs of childcare. It is paid directly to the childcare provider and passed onto families as a fee reduction wherever families meet the criteria. The level of subsidy you receive, as well as the number of hours you will be subsidised, depends on your individual family’s circumstances.

If you do not already have one, you will need a MyGov account linked to Centrelink to claim any subsidy you may be eligible for, and to find out more information, please contact Centrelink on 136 150 or visit https://www.dese.gov.au.

NSW Start Strong Fee Relief

From 2024, the NSW Government is providing additional fee relief funding based on $2,110 per eligible 4 year old child attending a preschool program within a long day care service. This funding is applied as a weekly credit to the gap fee after CCS has been applied or to full fees where a family does not receive CCS. The Start Strong Fee Relief will not impact CCS entitlements.

If your child is 3 years old and not yet 4 years old on, or before 31 July 2024 and enrolled at an eligible long day care service, you will receive up to $500 in fee relief.

Start Strong Fee Relief funding is for children who are 4 years old on or before 31 July 2024, and can only be accessed in one service. This could either be in a community preschool or long day care service. If you have a child who may be eligible, please discuss this with your service Director.

The NSW Department of Education requires parents to sign the ‘Fee Relief Declaration and Consent’ form at the time of enrolment. Your eligibility for Start Strong fee relief Funding is conditional upon signing this form.