Name: KU Children's Services
Price range: $

Our Program and Approach

At KU Bilya Gulyangarri, we are proud of our reputation within the local community of providing a creative and nurturing preschool program for children aged 3-5 years that concentrates on individual children in a family-focused and supportive way.

Our centre is a welcoming and nurturing space where each child is immersed in a program that supports their individual development, values their family’s input and encourages children to laugh, wonder, think and learn together in relationships that are warm and supportive.

Our program offers children the opportunity to engage in a wide variety of learning experiences and activities, each specifically designed to promote children’s confidence as capable, active participants in their own learning. Children are presented with a range of activities including gardening, arts and crafts, music and movement, physical play, block building, sand and water play, science experiments, early numeracy activities such as counting and measurement, and early literacy activities such as reading, drawing and writing.

We aim to build strong relationships with families and create a sense of belonging in our community. We respect the individuality of our children, families and educators and celebrate the richness that this brings to our centre.

Our Special Interest

In addition to the high quality well-rounded programs we offer, all KU centres are also encouraged to develop an area of interest.

At KU Bilya Gulyangarri, our special interest area is engaging with our Indigenous Community and our natural environment and sustainability.

We incorporate this into our program through activities such as creating and welcoming opportunities to participate in Cultural experiences and nurturing our relationships with local Elders. We have a vegetable garden and fruit trees, worm farm and compost area, and we have a commitment to recycling and using our natural environment as a valuable and rich resource.

We feel that the children benefit from this interest because we live in the Blue Mountains National Park and want children to experience and understand the importance of Aboriginal Culture and Country. Our natural environment surrounds us and we strive for children to have an appreciation and wonder at their world and their sense of belonging to this land.

Our Quality

Our centre has been independently assessed by the Department of Education NSW 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...

“Such a wonderful centre! We were very happy with our old centre too, but Trudi is truly a treasure and does such a fantastic job of providing an inviting play environment and engaging the children. We are very thankful for this beautiful centre.” - KU Bilya Gulyangarri Parent

“Staff are lovely, my child feels happy and relaxed attending this preschool.” - KU Bilya Gulyangarri 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 Bilya Gulyangarri is an early childhood service catering for 20 children in North Katoomba in the beautiful Blue Mountains National Park. It is housed in a purpose built centre full of natural light and in a playground that celebrates the huge gum trees that provide shade and habitat for native animals and birds. Our name “Bilya Gulyangarri” was given to us by the Elders in our community and means “place of laughing children” in Dharug Language.

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 Reconciliation Action Plan

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

Other Features

Designed Centre

Extended Hours

Hat and Sunscreen

Transition to School

Public Transport

Play-based Learning

Parking

Outdoor Play

Storypark

Anita Andrews

Director

Anita is a university qualified early childhood teacher with over 25 years’ experience working with children and babies. She has worked on Darug and Gundungarra country for most of her career.

Anita has extensive experience in inclusion and nature pedagogy. She has been working at KU Bilya Gulyangarri since 2022.

Our Team

KU Bilya Gulyangarri has a strong team of committed educators with broad experience and knowledge in early childhood care and education.

We bring together a philosophy of care and support for our families, to provide a secure and nurturing environment for all children.

In the Darug language, Bilya Gulyangarri means 'place of laughing children'. We believe in honouring this and for families to feel that their child feels safe and happy and displays a strong sense of belonging. We believe learning happens best when we are enjoying the journey.

The daily fees for 2024 at KU Bilya Gulyangarri Preschool are:

Fee	Amount
4 year old Start Strong Fee Relief fee	FREE
3 year old Start Strong Fee Relief fee	FREE
Start Strong Equity Fee Relief fee	FREE
Unfunded fee	$51.50

Which fee will you pay?

The NSW Government is committed to ensuring that all children in NSW can participate in 600 hours of quality preschool education in the year before school, no matter where they live or what their circumstances are.

To ensure that affordability is not a barrier for families with young children, the NSW Government provides Start Strong funding making 600 hours, or 15 hours per week, of preschool participation in the two years before school more affordable. In KU preschools, this 15 hours per week is met by enrolling for two days per week.

Start Strong Free Preschool (3 year olds and 4 year olds)

From 2024, the NSW government has provided additional fee relief funding, based on $4,220 per eligible child. This enables NSW preschools to reduce the daily fee as much as possible, within the Start Strong funding parameters.

This funding is for children who turn 3 or 4 years of age by 31 July in the preschool year and are enrolled in a preschool program for 15 hours per week. Across KU Preschools, the ‘15 hours’ is usually met by enrolling in two x 7.5 hour days per week.

Start Strong fee relief can only be accessed at one service, either a preschool or long day care service. This ensures as many children as possible can access affordable early childhood education.

Start Strong Equity Fee Relief Fee

The NSW government provides further funding for children who meet the Start Strong Equity funding criteria. If you think you may be eligible for Equity funding, please speak with the Preschool Director further about this.

Unfunded Fee

The Unfunded Fee is charged when a family has chosen to access the Start Strong fee relief at another community preschool or long day care service.