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 Carillon Avenue, children are cared for in a positive and nurturing environment. Our learning environment is rich in natural and open-ended resources and includes spaces for discovery, adventure, exploration and relaxation.
Our centre is a welcoming and nurturing space where each child is immersed in a rich tapestry of educationally interactive experiences – a space where children are supported to be their own, unique selves, growing and developing a sense of belonging and empowerment.
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 believe parents are a child’s most important influence and we provide frequent opportunities for them to contribute skills, culture and interests to our program.
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 specialisation.
At KU Carillon Avenue, our specialisation is our Kitchen Garden Program. Our program has a strong focus on sustainability and the natural environment. Children are encouraged to learn about the world around them as they plant seeds in our vegetable garden, take care of the fruit trees, compost our fruit and vegetable scraps and feed our many animals.
We incorporate this specialisation into our program through activities such as visiting our front garden to rake, plant, weed, water, harvest, take care of our worm farm or just be still in nature. The children use wheelbarrows to transport soil and mulch, they prepare the soil by digging and mixing, then sow the seeds and wait for the plants to grow. Every day we engage in conversations about food and how it grows, as well as nutrition and recipes from various cultures.
We feel that the children benefit from this specialisation, because they regularly harvest the produce to use in our cooking, so they see the cycle from garden, to kitchen, to table, to mouth. Through our Kitchen Garden Program, the children learn about food, nutrition, various cultures and the process of cooking, which enhances their awareness of sustainability and the natural environment.
Our Quality
Our centre has been independently assessed by the NSW Department of Education under the National Quality Standard, and are proud to be rated as 'Exceeding' the National Quality Standard.
However what matters most is what our families think....
“KU Carillon Avenue has been a big part of our lives for four years. The teachers and educators are warm, friendly and always ready to follow and enrich our child’s interests and learning. Our family beliefs and ethics are valued and considered in planning. We have found support, advice and friendship in good times and bad.” - KU Carillon Avenue parent
"KU Carillon Avenue are very much part of our extended family. The educators are wonderful, calm and very happy souls who embrace our family and provide my husband and I with so much support. They have laughed with us and supported us through our child's development." - KU Carillon Avenue 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 Carillon Avenue is an early childhood service catering for 39 children located in Newtown, in Sydney's Inner West. It is next door to Newtown North Public School and close to RPA Hospital and Sydney University. We have chickens, a guinea pig, blue tongued lizards, turtles, a frog enclosure, herb and vegetable gardens and worm farms, so the children have the opportunity to for care for pets and plants on a daily basis.
Our playground is designed to maximise the use of the natural environment and allow children to play and explore as they would in their own backyard. We offer stimulating activities that arouse children’s curiosity and encourage them to choose from a variety of planned experiences, expanding their learning potential. Our playground includes natural elements such as sand, water, grass, mud, leaves and twigs, and we also offer gross motor experiences such as climbing, jumping and physical play. We foster the holistic development of each child so they feel inspired to create, imagine and play.
Our Awards
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.
In 2016, Charlotte Paterson from KU Carillon Avenue Children’s Centre was awarded the Making “the KU Difference” Award through Sustainability.
Our Reconciliation Action Plan
KU was proud to launch its inaugural Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) in 2016. At KU Carillon Avenue, we began our journey to develop our centre’s RAP in 2018 and we are proud to launch it now. Please view it here.
