Our Program and Approach
At KU Bligh Park, our educational program is based on child development and is tailored to meet the needs of individual children. We are guided by the National Quality Standards and the Early Years Learning Framework, and as such we have a play-based learning program.
We provide a thoughtful, calm and respectful environment, where children feel safe, stimulated and challenged. We embrace diversity and work with families in achieving collaborative goals for each child, allowing them to develop confidence, independence and resilience.
At KU Bligh Park, we begin our day outside in the garden, where children can connect with nature, making their own observations of changes and the creatures that may be hurrying about in their world. Children are encouraged to respect other living things who share our environment. Our native bee hive is a precious addition to our garden, as the children observe the bees and are often inspired to create artwork representing something they have noticed. Our outside environment is a beautiful, inviting space. Children are empowered and have a strong sense of belonging as they work alongside educators in the garden, understanding that our environment takes love and care to create and maintain. Our garden is a peaceful space where children can play, imagine, investigate and explore, enjoy learning, and be inspired to continue learning. It is an environment conducive to cooperation and collaboration.
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 special interest.
At KU Bligh Park, our special interest is developing meaningful and authentic relationships with children, their families and our environment. Our educators are facilitators of conversations where children are encouraged to listen to others and participate in discussions respectfully as they learn about their world.
We incorporate this into our program through activities such as our morning meeting, which is a non-threatening space for children to have a voice and feel valued. This is a platform where children explore the power of language as they learn to question and respond to their own curiosity, as well as responding to others in a supportive environment. It is in this space that children are challenged to think, reason and find solutions.
Language is extended as children learn to sing as a group, learning songs that tell a story, have a repetitive sequence or nonsense songs that make us all laugh! We believe music is a wonderful tool for children’s learning, as we stretch the children’s capacity to learn complex songs. Music is a form of self-expression, so it too is another language. The children are learning that different music arouses different emotions and whilst some music makes us feel sad, there is always a happy tune to conclude our experience. We welcome parents who may be willing to share their musical skills with us too.
We are fortunate to have a large collection of children’s literature in our library that reflects our diverse interests. This is where children can be read a story by an educator, delivered with theatre and animation. The children also enjoy looking at books themselves. It is here that children learn to move through a book from cover to cover and left to right.
Our Quality
Our centre has been independently assessed by the NSW Department of Education under the National Quality Standard, and are proud to be rated as 'Exceeding' the National Quality Standard.
However what matters most is what our families think....
“KU Bligh Park is the most wonderful preschool I have ever been to. All the kids are happy and engaged. Whenever I arrive to collect my child, the staff are always involved in the kids' activities, not just supervising. The range of options for the kids is brilliant and the centre is always clean, colourful and inviting. We feel very privileged to attend such a fantastic school and be a part of such a caring community of families.” - KU Bligh Park Parent
“My children have been supported by extremely nurturing teachers, who provide such a stimulating and fun preschool day. Both the outdoor and indoor environments are organised in such a beautiful way that as an adult I want to stay and explore, so I can only imagine how exciting it must look to little eyes as they arrive each morning. KU has provided such a strong foundation as my children embark on their lifelong learning adventure.” - KU Bligh Park 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. We work hard to create beautiful, interesting learning environments for children – whatever our setting.
KU Bligh Park is an early childhood service located on Sydney’s Northern Beaches and caters for 30 children each day. It is a purpose built centre constructed in the early 1960’s and is set in a residential area that backs onto natural bushland.
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, leaves, twigs, and kitchen gardens. We also offer important gross motor challenges for climbing and physical play. We foster the holistic development of each child so they 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 Bligh Park, we began our journey to develop our centre’s RAP in 2018 and we are proud to launch it now. Please view it here.
