At KU Wentworthville, we believe that the early years in a child’s life determine much of their future development. We aim to provide a happy, stimulating, caring and safe environment, which caters to the needs of children, families, staff and the wider community.
We believe in providing an educational program that values each child as an individual and we promote positive self-identity in all children. We recognise that children come from a range of different cultural, linguistic and family backgrounds and include this knowledge in our understanding of each child.
At KU Wentworthville, 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.
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 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 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 Wentworthville, our special interest is our outdoor environment.
The centre’s playground is very large and aesthetically pleasing and is an obvious feature of the centre. It includes many natural elements such as grass, rocks, trees, plants, kitchen garden, sand and a digging patch.
The outdoor area and program supports children to engage in exploration, discovery, problem solving, imagination, communication and collaboration. Our outdoor environment supports a number of sustainability practices including recycling, re-using, composting, worm farming and gardening. Food and cooking experiences are supported by the centre’s kitchen garden.
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...
“The KU Wentworthville educators are well grounded in their knowledge of child development. They are warm, friendly and positive people and we feel secure and confident keeping our child in their care and guidance. They are keen observers too.” – KU Wentworthville parent
“The best decision I made was to send my daughter to KU Wentworthville Preschool. The teachers are exceptional and my daughter thrived there. The centre is well organised, with a great educational program. I highly recommend the preschool.” - KU Wentworthville 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 Wentworthville caters for 25 children per day and is located in a quiet street, among trees and close to parkland. The centre has been operating in the local community for over 41 years.
We have a beautiful outdoor environment, which is very large, allowing children lots of space to run and explore. Our playground, which was redesigned and updated last year, is planned to maximise the use of the natural environment and allow children to play and investigate.
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, plants, mud, leaves and bark. 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 and experiences such as climbing, jumping and physical play, enhancing their overall health and wellbeing as they discover their strengths and abilities and feel inspired to create, imagine and play.
Our Reconciliation Action Plan
KU was proud to launch its inaugural Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) in 2016. At KU Wentworthville, 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
Parking
Outdoor Play
Award
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.
Parking
Parking for drop-off and pick-up is available.
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.
Award
The centre has been recognised and awarded as an outstanding service provider.
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.
Catherine Lloyd
Director
Catherine is a university qualified early childhood teacher with over 25 years’ experience working with preschool aged children. She delights in working with this age group and enjoys their curiosity, sense of humour and keen interest in learning and using their language to find out about themselves and the world around them. Catherine has been the Director of KU Wentworthville for over 19 years and is committed to ensuring that the centre consistently provides a quality service. She is familiar with the local community and is committed to ongoing professional learning and development.
Catherine has a particular focus on leadership and mentoring educators, supporting them to develop and build upon their skills to interact effectively with preschool aged children. Catherine promotes inclusion and is experienced and knowledgeable in leading a staff team to support children and their families from a range of cultural and linguistic backgrounds, as well as children with additional needs and their families. She also has significant experience in supporting children’s transition to school.
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 educator team is characterised by longevity and experience, which has created a knowledgeable, consistent and well-functioning team. Each member of the team brings their own qualities, life experiences, professional skills and interests that complement each other and enrich the program.
The daily fees for 2021 at KU Wentworthville Preschool are:
Fee
Amount
Attending two days (3 or 4 year olds)
FREE
Unfunded fee (single or additional days)
$78.50
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.
'Free Fees': Start Strong (3 year olds and 4 year olds) and additional COVID funding
To be eligible for Start Strong (and therefore the COVID-19 funding for ‘free fees’ in 2021), children must turn 3 or 4 by 31 July in that preschool year, and be 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.
For 2021, the NSW government has provided additional funding for NSW preschools, to lessen the financial burden on families as a result of COVID-19. This funding means preschool will be free for those two days (15 hours), for children eligible for Start Strong funding.
The NSW Department of Education requires parents to sign the ‘Consent to use and disclosure of personal information’ form at the time of enrolment (see KU’s Standard Terms for the Enrolment of Children, p.4). Your eligibility for Start Strong Funding is conditional upon signing this form.
The Unfunded Fee is charged when:
Children who:
Only attend one day per week (less than 15 hours); or
Attend more than two days (15 hours) per week - in 2021, the first two days will be free, then you will be charged the Unfunded Daily Fee for each day after that.
