Our Program and Approach
At KU Castlecrag, our program intentionally provides opportunities and activities based upon the Early Years Learning Framework, for your child to discover and pursue their own interests and strengths.
We encourage children to laugh, think, question and learn. Their sense of self and confidence grows as they make connections with each other and build warm, trusting relationships with our team.
KU Castlecrag has been established for 60 years and has long held a reputation for excellence in the education of children aged 3-5 years. We operate within the Castlecrag community centre, boasting large and inviting natural play areas, encouraging children to explore, investigate and learn through play. We are proud of our reputation within the local community of providing rich education and care that concentrates on individual children in a family-focussed and supportive way.
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 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.
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 Castlecrag, our area of focus is connecting with Nature.
We incorporate this into our program through our regular “Yana Nura” Bush Kinder Program, which is unique to our service and provides children and educators opportunities to connect with nature on a regular basis in a local community bushland.
The program is designed to promote physical wellbeing, spiritual and emotional wellbeing and explore connections to the environment. We feel that the children benefit from this focus, because it leads to more environmentally aware children who participate in sustainable living practices and develop creativity, independence and resilience, as well as an appreciation of the natural environment.
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...
“KU Castlecrag is truly a wonderful experience, with dedicated staff that focus on the individual child and their learning story.” – KU Castlecrag parent
“KU Castlecrag is nurturing and caring. The Bush Kinder program enhances the excellent program offered and enhances the children’s learning through the engagement of nature.” – KU Castlecrag 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 Castlecrag is housed within the local community building, and our outdoor play space offers natural play areas that encourage exploration and a connection to nature. These represent the early foundations for a healthy, happy and nurtured child.
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.
As the preschool is situated next to Castlecrag Community Library, this allows children to visit and borrow books from their local library.