Our Program and Approach
At KU Gwynneville, 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.
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. 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 Gwynneville Preschool provides a warm and welcoming environment that is child centred and an ideal setting for play based learning. We believe in equity, fairness and respect for the individual differences of families and children as well as the importance of tolerance and understanding in our community. Children are provided with opportunities to be involved in large blocks of uninterrupted play, both indoors and outdoors, as well as small and large group experiences.
The educational experiences provided at KU Gwynneville include science, art, cooking, block building, music, stories, puzzles, sand play and more. We also promote a range of programs that focus on daily living habits and skills, supporting health and wellbeing. These include road safety awareness, sun protection, dental hygiene, munch and move, and a focus on the environment and sustainability.
We see parents as the child’s first teacher and encourage participation of the family in the 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 Gwynneville we focus on our transition program to preschool and formal schooling, community engagement and relationships, and sustainability.
We incorporate these into our program through activities such as family picnics, school visits, visits from the retirement trust, visits from community organisations and energy conservation.
We feel that the children benefit from this focus because they develop a sense of belonging, a sense of community, and a respect for the world we live in. We also aim to promote emotional and social wellbeing, to ensure smooth transitions to school and preschool.
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...
“KU Gwynneville is an excellent centre and the staff are very knowledgeable, friendly and professional.” – KU Gwynneville parent
“The exceptional staff at Gwynneville are an asset to KU. They create a fun, friendly, inclusive and safe environment every preschool day.” – KU Gwynneville 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 Gwynneville is located in an old church, which provides a unique setting for children to play and learn. Our outdoor shed has a mural painted by a local aboriginal artist and we have a specially designed brand new outdoor play area.
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 KU Gwynneville Preschool Team were awarded the 2021 'Making the KU Difference for Inclusion' Award. The award recognised their dedication to supporting children with additional needs and to celebrating children's cultural diversity. The team was also awarded the 'Making the KU Difference for Communities' Award in 2016.
In 2022, Carly Wells was awarded the 'Making the KU Difference for Children' Award, in recognition of her outstanding contributions as an educator at KU Gwynneville.
The Making the KU Difference Awards were introduced a number of years ago, as a way of acknowledging KU staff who have worked above and beyond their normal duties to make a significant contribution to KU.
Our Reconciliation Action Plan
KU was proud to launch its inaugural Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) in 2016. At KU Gwynneville, we began our journey to develop our centre’s RAP in 2018 and we are proud to present it here.
