Our Program and Approach
Honeybee is a work-based childcare centre for employees of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. True to our name ‘Honeybee’, we work together to create a cohesive and collaborative community that offers every child, family and staff member the right to feel respected, safe, cared for and valued.
Since our establishment in 2015 to meet the needs of Commonwealth Bank families by providing a childcare service, it has been our key focus to grow and nurture genuine, warm and caring relationships to create a harmonious environment. At Honeybee, these relationships are at the core of how we work, creating a feeling and culture that is recognisable as soon as you walk in the door.
Our commitment lies in the belief that children learn best when they feel happy, safe, secure, and free to be themselves. We value children’s learning and connect our daily work with new theories and research to enhance the learning potentials and possibilities of each child.
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.
At Honeybee Child Care Centre, 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.
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 Honeybee our area of specialisation is Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and Heritage. Every day we focus on learning and connecting to the First Peoples of Australia.
We incorporate this into our program through activities such as researching Gadigal land, through art works, through learning local Aboriginal language and through every day discussions about diverse aspects of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and heritage.
We feel that the children benefit from this specialisation because it is important for everyone, including the children, to learn about the history, culture and stories of the First Peoples of Australia so that they learn respect, culture and connection that will be present for a life time of learning.
We have a dedicated team whom research and yearn to understand more about Indigenous culture. We have one staff member named Hannah who is of Aboriginal decent from the Muruwari nation. She works closely with us to guide new ways of thinking and learning. Most recently, she has introduced diverse Aboriginal languages into the curriculum such as Dharug, Muruwari and Gamilaraay. Together we learn from and with each other to strengthen our area of specialisation, so that everyone benefits from the enrichment of new learning and connection.
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...
"Honeybee is an excellent centre, which is safe, warm and provides lots of fun times for our two boys. Simone and her amazing team have been a crucial part of our family since the first day it opened its doors. We love that the centre has carers who are warm and so clearly care about the children as individuals. What was also important to us was the large and varied outdoor space, which is so important for our two very active boys!" - Honeybee parent
"My daughter has grown into a happy, confident toddler who loves to go to Honeybee everyday. At Honeybee, the teachers are caring and supportive, they observe and develop each child to their own needs. Simone, the Director, is always there to listen, support and provide guidance. Thanks to everyone in Honeybee for making it a wonderful learning experience for my daughter." - Honeybee 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.
Honeybee is a state of the art centre established in January 2015, specifically designed to meet the needs of Commonwealth Bank families. The centre is situated in a co-corporate building, however as soon as you walk through the doors there is a lovely calm feel with natural light shining through the windows of every room. There are five rooms to cater for 79 children per day and one large playground that boasts a hill for rolling, lots of room for running and a beautiful outlook onto Darling Harbour. The centre also offers a drop off parking facility.
Honeybee has developed a culture and feeling that really strives to be a home away from home. Many people comment on the relaxed feeling, the dedicated team and lots of happy children. The team work hard to ensure that each individual child’s needs are taken care of and that each child feels a sense of security and support around them. When children feel secure, they are more open to learning and therefore each relationship is important to us.
Our playground is our outdoor learning environment and includes natural elements such as sand, grass, water, mud, leaves and twigs and kitchen gardens. Wherever possible we avoid using lots of fixed, plastic equipment in our playground. Instead we provide an ever-changing array of challenging and interesting activities and equipment, explored by children and educators together. These activities help with the development of children’s gross motor skills, enhancing their overall health and wellbeing as they discover their strengths and abilities and feel inspired to create, imagine and play.
Our Awards
In 2017, Simone Delagarde, Director of Honeybee, was awarded the 'Making the KU Difference' Award by Representing KU.
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.
Our Reconciliation Action Plan
KU was proud to launch its inaugural Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) in 2016. At Honeybee, we began our journey to develop our centre’s RAP in 2017 and we are proud to launch it now. Please view it here.
