KU Karingal Preschool

Community Place, off Boronia Road
GREENACRE NSW 2190
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  • Monday to Friday 8:15am - 3:45pm
Preschoolers NSW Fee Relief – Preschool

Our Program and Approach

At KU Karingal, we are proud of our reputation within the local community of providing rich education and care that concentrates on individual children in a family-focused and supportive way.

We provide an environment that is safe and secure where each child feels valued and respected. We encourage children to become confident and involved learners where they are able to make independent play choices, and to develop an interest in the world around them to foster a love for life long learning.

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, cooking, puppetry, early numeracy activities such as counting and measurement, and early literacy activities such as reading, drawing and writing.

We believe the foundation for learning is in the relationships children develop with their educators and peers. Our educators are actively engaged with children as they play, and create supportive and nurturing relationships with each child, extending on their interests and learning.

Our physical environment is spacious and inviting, allowing children to make play choices and develop their interests and skills. We encourage children to connect with nature through gardening, engaging actively with the outdoor environment and exploring natural objects.

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 Karingal, we focus on developing literacy and communication skills through dramatic play.

We incorporate this into our program through activities such as the addition of literacy props into our play area and staff becoming immersed in play with the children. Staff model how to use these props, and support children in their exploration and play.

We feel that the children benefit from this focus, because it enriches their verbal and written communication skills.


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 Meeting the National Quality Standard.


However what matters most is what our families think...

“Karingal is a wonderful, nurturing environment that fosters learning and gives children opportunities to develop interests and independence. The staff are fantastic! They are very caring, approachable, sensitive to the children’s individual needs and treat the children with respect. I really love that children are encouraged to be children and learn about the world around them through play.” – KU Karingal Parent

“Thank you all very much for welcoming our family into this wonderful community you have built at KU Karingal. Our child has enjoyed his year more than I could have imagined and the care you have all showed towards him has helped shape his character in so many ways.” – KU Karingal 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.

We are situated in a park, and as such are immersed in nature. We love wildlife at KU Karingal and encourage children to interact with it. We inspect native insects, spiders, birds and more.

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, 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

In 2020, the team at KU Karingal was awarded the 'Making the KU Difference for Inclusion' Award. 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 KU Karingal, we began our journey to develop our centre’s RAP in 2018. Please view it here.


Other Features

Hat and Sunscreen
Transition to School
Public Transport
Play-based Learning
Outdoor Play
Award
Storypark
Education for Sustainability

photo of Rowah Oueik

Rowah Oueik

Director

Rowah is a university qualified early childhood teacher with almost 20 years’ experience working with children and babies. She has worked in various early childhood settings including inclusion support and has been Director at KU Karingal since 2022.

Rowah’s passions include working with families from diverse backgrounds to assist with fostering a sense of belonging and inclusion. She enjoys incorporating nature play with the different learning domains and has a passion for the Reggio Emilia approach and incorporates this into her teaching practice.

Our Team

Our team of early childhood educators are qualified, experienced, caring and highly motivated, with three team members having been at the centre for over 20 years. 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.

KU Karingal staff exhibit characteristics and core values that distinguish a quality service. We encapsulate the principles of the Early Years Learning Framework in belonging, being and becoming, in welcoming all children and families, respecting and valuing children’s abilities and enriching opportunities for children to learn in. This is particularly important given the diversity of the local community.

The daily fees for 2024 at KU Karingal Preschool are:

Fee Amount
4 year old Start Strong Fee Relief fee FREE
3 year old Start Strong Fee Relief fee $6.00
Start Strong Equity Fee Relief fee FREE
Unfunded fee $78.00

Which fee will you pay?

The NSW Government is committed to ensuring that all children in NSW can participate in 600 hours of quality preschool education in the year before school, no matter where they live or what their circumstances are.

To ensure that affordability is not a barrier for families with young children, the NSW Government provides Start Strong funding making 600 hours, or 15 hours per week, of preschool participation in the two years before school more affordable. In KU preschools, this 15 hours per week is met by enrolling for two days per week.

Start Strong Fee Relief Fee (3 year olds and 4 year olds)

From 2024, the NSW government has provided additional fee relief funding, based on $4,220 per eligible child. This enables NSW preschools to reduce the daily fee as much as possible, within the Start Strong funding parameters.

This funding is for children who turn 3 or 4 years of age by 31 July in the preschool year and are enrolled in a preschool program for 15 hours per week. Across KU Preschools, the ‘15 hours’ is usually met by enrolling in two x 7.5 hour days per week.

Start Strong fee relief can only be accessed at one service, either a preschool or long day care service. This ensures as many children as possible can access affordable early childhood education.

Start Strong Equity Fee Relief Fee

The NSW government provides further funding for children who meet the Start Strong Equity funding criteria. If you think you may be eligible for Equity funding, please speak with the Preschool Director further about this.

Unfunded Fee

The Unfunded Fee is charged when a family has chosen to access the Start Strong fee relief at another community preschool or long day care service.