At KU Shalvey, we believe children are capable, competent and active participants in their own learning. Our program is guided by the Early Years Learning Framework and the core concepts of belonging, being and becoming.
We work in partnership with children, families and communities to find effective ways to ensure that all children have opportunities to achieve learning outcomes. We believe in the importance of building relationships with families that are based on trust, respect, compassion and understanding. We are proud of our reputation within the local community of being an inclusive service providing rich education and care that concentrates on individual children in a family-focussed and supportive way.
Our outdoor and indoor spaces are designed and organised to engage children in quality experiences in both built and natural environments. We provide a home like environment that allows children to freely explore, engage and investigate.
Our program offers children the opportunity to engage in a wide variety of learning experiences and 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 aim to establish immediate rapport and a sense of belonging in our community, as families arrive through the front door.
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 Special Interest
In addition to the high quality well-rounded programs we offer, all KU centres are also encouraged to develop an area of interest.
At KU Shalvey, our special interest is for all children to acquire ways to manage their physical and emotional wellbeing.
We incorporate this into our program through activities such as messy play, loose parts play, music and movement, blowing bubbles, talking about emotions and our responses, water play, yoga sessions, breathing exercises, gross motor play and connecting with the natural environment.
We feel that the children benefit from this interest, because it increases their confidence and sense of wellbeing.
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 like how friendly the staff are and how informative our director is regarding my child. I like that the children are involved in creating items for special events (i.e. my Mother's Day soap). I like that my child enjoys her time at KU and comes home and tells me what she has learnt.” – KU Shalvey parent
"The workers at KU Shalvey have always been so friendly and kind to both my daughter and myself. I know that my daughter enjoys her day at preschool, because she's always so happy at the end of the day when I pick her up. I appreciate the effort the workers put into getting to know my daughter, even though she only goes one day a week." – KU Shalvey 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.
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.
In 2021, KU Shalvey Educator Jan Bulger was awarded both a 'Making the KU Difference to Communities' Award and a 'Making the KU Difference through Reconciliation' Award, recognising her significant impact on the lives of children, families and the local community.
The Making the 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 Shalvey, 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
Hat and Sunscreen
Transition to School
Public Transport
Play-based Learning
Outdoor Play
Storypark
Hat and Sunscreen
As part of the centre’s duty of care in minimising exposure to Ultraviolet Radiation (UVR) and promoting sun safe practices among children, families and staff, the centre provides each child with a KU hat and sunscreen is administered by staff where possible 20 minutes before commencing outdoor play.
Transition to School
The centre offers a full preschool program and places a strong emphasis on programs which challenge and extend children’s abilities and confidence, aiding their transition to school.
Public Transport
The centre is accessible by public transport and is close to a train station and/or public buses.
Play-based Learning
Our high quality play-based programs are based on current research and are planned by experienced and qualified early childhood staff. Through play children learn the skills, knowledge, feelings and dispositions that provide a solid foundation for their life-long learning.
Outdoor Play
The centre provides a natural outdoor environment designed as an active place for learning. We encourage children to develop an understanding about sustainability by exploring the natural world around them.
Storypark
The centre provides a secure, private online communication portal called Storypark at no cost that is designed to document your child’s progress and learning and provide you with updates about your child.
Emma Forbes
Director
Emma has been working in early education and care since 2000 and has completed both a Bachelor of Teaching (Early Childhood) and Master of Education (Leadership). She has been working at KU Shalvey as Director and Early Childhood Teacher since November 2020.
Emma has worked with all age groups however her passion is preschool aged children and working with children getting ready to transition to school. Emma has worked in a range of roles within early childhood and has a particular passion for introducing quality literature to young children. She is involved with Children’s Book Council of Australia and reviews children’s literature for publishers and loves to involve the children in getting their thoughts on picture books that are read within the preschool.
Emma was nominated and shortlisted for the HESTA Early Childhood and Care Awards as a Director in 2014. Emma visited Reggio Emilia in 2017 which was a transformative experience and spent time focusing specifically on pedagogical documentation. She was a founding fellow in ‘The Apiary Fellowship’ working with other leaders across early education and care in Australia to look at how early childhood will evolve into the future within Australia and transformational change. Emma has worked in a wide range of leadership roles in early childhood across organisations and is passionate about quality service provision and quality early learning for all children.
Our Team
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 2023 at KU Shalvey Preschool are:
Fee
Amount
4 year old Start Strong Fee Relief fee
FREE
3 year old Start Strong Fee Relief fee
FREE
Start Strong Equity Fee Relief fee
FREE
Unfunded fee
$42.50
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.
The NSW Department of Education requires parents to sign the ‘Fee Relief Declaration’ and ‘Consent to use and disclosure of personal information’ forms at the time of enrolment (see KU’s Standard Terms for the Enrolment of Children, p.4). Your eligibility for Start Strong Funding, and the ‘Start Strong Fee Relief fees’ is conditional upon signing these forms.
Start Strong Free Preschool(3 year olds and 4 year olds)
From 2023, 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.
