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 Centennial Parklands, we are committed to acknowledging the importance of early education and the values and beliefs that support ongoing commitment to children, families and the wider community.

Our play-based 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. Our core values and principles facilitate our vision of all children being able to learn, grow, collaborate, and engage with the notion of inclusion, diversity, respect, and acceptance.

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 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 Centennial Parklands, our specialisation is connecting with the natural environment. One of the strengths of KU Centennial Parklands is our leafy, natural outdoor environment that encourages creative and imaginative play and has space for both small group and individual play.

We incorporate this specialisation into our program through activities such as growing plants and herbs and using what we have grown in our cooking activities. We have a large garden, where planter tubs hold a mix of plants and the vegetable and herb garden creates enthusiasm for growing these and eating the results. Our passionfruit vine often provides fruit for our morning tea.

We feel that the children benefit from this specialisation, because they are able to observe the process of nurturing plants as they grow and engage in bringing our plants, fruits and herbs from garden to plate, enhancing their appreciation for the natural environment.

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...

"I couldn't recommend KU Centennial Parklands enough. It is a centre that exceeds in all areas. The educators really care about the children, they nurture and promote learning through a well thought out and interest based curriculum. They ensure each child is given every opportunity to shine and excel as individuals and as part of a loving community." - KU Centennial Parklands parent

"KU Centennial Parklands provides such a unique learning environment. The beautiful natural environment is the best classroom for children - digging for worms, dinosaur islands in the sandpit, climbing and gardening are just some of the wonderful activities my son and daughter have experienced. The educators are caring and allow the children to discover autonomy with everyday tasks. KU Centennial Parklands encourages curiosity and independence." – KU Centennial Parklands 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 Centennial Parklands is located in a beautiful parkland setting in Moore Park.

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.

All of our playrooms are named after the local birds who visit us; Lorikeets, Kookaburras and Magpies.

Our Reconciliation Action Plan

KU was proud to launch its inaugural Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) in 2016. At KU Centennial Parklands, 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

Child Care Subsidy

Cooked Meal

Designed Centre

Extended Hours

Hat and Sunscreen

Lunch

Transition to School

Public Transport

Play-based Learning

Parking

Outdoor Play

Nappies

Storypark

Rachel Cunningham

Director

Rachel is a university qualified early childhood teacher with over 20 years’ experience working with children and babies in a variety of contexts. She has been working with KU since 2014. Rachel is passionate about embedding literacy into the curriculum, scientific research with children and collaborating with families.

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 fees for 2019 at KU Centennial Parklands Children's Centre are:

Infants: $157.50
Toddlers: $157.50
Preschoolers: $152

This is the full daily fee. If you are entitled to 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 120 years. Like all early childhood education providers, our costs continue to be subject to market factors such as CPI, salary costs, Government funding and the requirements of the National Quality Framework.

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. Any surplus we may make is reinvested into our local staff, continually improving the quality of our services, and ensuring our long-term sustainability. KU does not distribute our profits to shareholders or send them offshore.

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, you can speak to your service Director or visit www.education.gov.au.