Name: KU Children's Services
Price range: $

Our Program and Approach

At our centre childhood is celebrated. When they play and explore, children's imagination and curiosity is sparked – they enjoy learning, and are inspired to continue learning more.

At KU Sunbeam, our friendly and qualified educators provide a program which invites exploration, creativity, investigation and imagination, while preparing your child for the transition to school. The program is developed in collaboration with families and takes into account each child’s individual interests and strengths.

Set in the heart of the local community, KU Sunbeam presents an environment rich in quality programs for children. The preschool was founded over 90 years ago and we are proud of our reputation within the local community of providing education and care that concentrates on individual children in a family-focussed and supportive way.

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, early numeracy activities such as counting, sorting 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 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 KU Sunbeam, our area of specialisation is establishing an Indigenous garden in our playground.

We incorporate this into our program through hands on gardening, researching native plants, discussion about bush food, and collaboration with families and the local community.

We feel that the children benefit from this interest, because the bush garden provides young children with the opportunity to learn about Indigenous spiritual and cultural connections, as well as traditional sustainable practices, in an authentic and meaningful way.

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 greatest test you can give for any childcare is not how well your children separate from you in the morning, but how they are when you pick them up in the afternoon. At their previous daycare, my children were tired, strung out and often emotional at the end of the day, but when I pick them up from KU Sunbeam, they are happy, relaxed and full of tales from the day. KU Sunbeam is a nurturing environment, but also one that seeks to challenge and develop children. There is plenty of time for free play, but there is also a wonderful emphasis on learning and exploration. Yuki and the amazing team of educators have managed to tap into my son's interests and through them get him to draw instead of scribble, write his name and have an unbelievable knowledge of the life and environment of the goblin shark! My younger daughters' independence is being nurtured and her social skills refined through subtle, kind and consistent reinforcement that we can replicate at home. As a parent, I'm informed and consulted about my children and feel confident that at KU Sunbeam they are receiving the very best of care.” – KU Sunbeam parent

“Since our four year old daughter joined KU Sunbeam, we have been incredibly happy with the structured yet fun curriculum set by Yuki and her team of professional staff. The encouragement and ability to be involved in setting topics, sharing experiences and learning from one another is second to none. I think our daughter has really grown in her early years development as a result and I would highly recommend the centre to any family considering KU Sunbeam for their child.” – KU Sunbeam parent

Our Environment

Each KU centre is unique. The best outcomes for children are created within relationships and interactions between children and educators, 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 our outdoor learning environment and includes natural elements such as sand, grass, water, mud, leaves and twigs and 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

KU Sunbeam Director Yuki Moyle was awarded a 'Making the KU Difference to Quality' Award in 2022, recognising her significant dedication to providing an exemplary educational program where the service philosophy and values are evident and embedded in the practices and curriculum of the service environment.

The Making the KU Difference Awards were introduced a number of years ago, as a way of acknowledging KU staff who have worked above and beyond their normal duties to make a significant contribution to KU

Our Reconciliation Action Plan

KU was proud to launch its inaugural Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) in 2016. At KU Sunbeam, we began our journey to develop our centre’s RAP in 2018 and we are proud to present it here.

Other Features

Child Care Subsidy

Extended Hours

Hat and Sunscreen

Transition to School

Public Transport

Play-based Learning

Outdoor Play

Storypark

University Qualified Educators

Experienced Staff

Award

Acting Director

Yingying Zhang

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 educators are the most important component of our high quality program.

At KU Sunbeam, some of our educators have been in the service nearly 15 years and are known by the generations of families.

The daily fees for 2023 at KU Sunbeam Preschool are:

Toddlers: $124.00
Preschoolers: $122.00

This is the full daily fee. If you are entitled to Child Care Subsidy, this will reduce the daily fee you are charged.

In an increasingly competitive marketplace, KU has remained very proudly a not-for-profit provider of quality education for more than 125 years. In the past, KU has taken great pride in offering the very best services with minimal increased fees wherever possible. However this year is different, escalating operating costs have meant that in 2024 we are forced to increase fees at a higher rate than we would normally.

The fee increase will ensure we can continue to improve the quality of our services and invest in our highly skilled teachers and educators. We recognise our staff are the heart of KU as they build strong nurturing relationships with children and families whilst continuing to provide a high-quality learning program. These are vital factors that contribute to what is most important to us all – the best outcomes for children.

Overall, KU services hold the highest ratings across the National Quality Standard, with 82% of our services rated either Excellent or Exceeding, compared to the sector benchmark of 45%

KU does not distribute our profits to shareholders or send them offshore.

About Child Care Subsidy

Child Care Subsidy is the main payment to assist families with the costs of childcare. It is paid directly to the childcare provider and passed onto families as a fee reduction wherever families meet the criteria. The level of subsidy you receive, as well as the number of hours you will be subsidised, depends on your individual family’s circumstances.

If you do not already have one, you will need a MyGov account linked to Centrelink to claim any subsidy you may be eligible for, and to find out more information, please contact Centrelink on 136 150 or visit https://www.dese.gov.au.

NSW Start Strong Fee Relief

From 2024, the NSW Government is providing additional fee relief funding, based on $2,110 per eligible 4 year old child attending a preschool program within a long day care service. This funding is applied as a weekly credit to the gap fee after CCS has been applied or to full fees where a family does not receive CCS. The Start Strong fee relief will not impact CCS entitlements.

If your child is 3 years old and not yet 4 years old on, or before 31 July 2024 and enrolled at an eligible long day care service, you will receive up to $500 in fee relief.

Start Strong fee relief funding is for children who are 4 years old on or before 31 July 2024, and can only be accessed in one service. This could either be in a community preschool or long day care service. If you have a child who may be eligible, please discuss this with your service Director.

The NSW Department of Education requires parents to sign the ‘Fee Relief Declaration and Consent’ form at the time of enrolment. Your eligibility for Start Strong fee relief Funding is conditional upon signing this form.