KU Phillip Park - Exploring Social Justice

To celebrate KU’s 125 Anniversary, KU Phillip Park has explored social justice with the children and families.

The theme for the anniversary is: ‘Making a difference through 125 years of social impact and early education’.

Over the past few months, the preschool children at KU Phillip Park have demonstrated a deep interest in social justice and in advocating for equality, kindness and protecting vulnerable members of their community as they explored, alongside their educators, complex topics including money, homelessness, and the government's roles and responsibilities around these socio-cultural issues.

The children considered ways they could make a difference to the local community and considered: raising money; donating food; making decorations and music; building houses for the rough sleepers and donating toys for the children.

The educators have supported the children’s questions and ideas through the social justice lens by encouraging them to take action and make a difference through different projects.

In July, the children held a bake sale to raise money for the homeless. Initially the goal was to $125 dollars but the generosity of the community exceeded expectations, raising $200 for End Street Sleeping, a collective impact initiative whose goal is to halve rough sleeping across NSW by 2025 and work toward ending it by 2030.

In September the centre will also host a Food Drive to honour the children’s wishes to donate food to rough sleepers in our community.

“I love how involved the children are about these issues. They are compassionate and curious about what is going on in the world. The families are passionate and teach their children to give back to the local community.” Educator, Cassandra Tsirepas.