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 Briar Cottage, our play-based program offers children the opportunity to engage in a wide variety of learning experiences and activities that are specifically designed to promote their confidence as capable and active participants in their own learning. These experiences include gardening, cooking, creative art, literacy, numeracy, playdough, science experiments, music, block building and sand and water play.
Learning programs are developed for each child, based upon their individual strengths, needs and interests. Digital portfolios of children’s work are kept by our educators, offering parents a window into their child’s experiences at our preschool.
Aesthetic learning spaces are created by our team of educators, to create stimulating and sensory learning opportunities. These spaces encourage children to develop curiosity, take new challenges, consolidate emerging skills, persist and learn to engage and work with other children and adults.
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 Briar Cottage, our area of specialisation is garden to table nutrition, within a context of Inclusive Education.
We incorporate this into our program through engaging all children in the care of our large vegetable and herb gardens and our flock of chickens, as well as including lots of our fresh produce into cooking experiences throughout the year.
We feel that the children benefit from this specialisation, because children develop an understanding of their role within their environment and their community.
Our Quality
Our centre has been independently assessed by the NSW Department of Education 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 was only thinking this morning how lucky she was to be part of the Briar Family. You all gave her so much support and love over the past two terms, and built her up so she was ready to tackle Big School. Thank you for welcoming her so beautifully. There’s no place like Briar." – KU Briar Cottage parent
“All the educators and staff are very much trained to train our little one. He has started doing wonders and life is changing to be a bit better each day. Big thumbs up for educators, staff and Jenelle.” – KU Briar Cottage parent
“We will always be some of your biggest fans – we will never forget how you made Ash’s preschool experience simply incredible, loving and supportive. Thank you times a million.” – KU Briar Cottage 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 Briar Cottage has been providing high quality preschool education since 1977. Situated in a beautiful heritage-listed home, KU Briar Cottage is a happy and friendly place, where every child’s individuality and uniqueness is respected.
One section of our playground is our sensory garden, which contains a wide variety of multi-coloured and fragrant plants to stimulate children’s senses.
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.
Our Reconciliation Action Plan
KU was proud to launch its inaugural Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) in 2016. At KU Briar Cottage, 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
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.
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.
Jenelle Williams
Director
Jenelle is a university qualified early childhood teacher with over 20 years’ experience working with children and babies. She has been working at KU Briar Cottage since 1999. She holds a Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood), a Master of Inclusive Education and a Certificate IV in Training and Assessment. She is also a NSW Justice of the Peace.
Jenelle is qualified in the Early Start Denver Model (ESDM) for working with young children with autism and has a long standing interest in high quality Early Childhood Inclusive Intervention for children with additional needs.
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.
We have a long-serving, committed team of educators at KU Briar Cottage. With most members of staff having been at the centre for over 10 years, we have an in-depth understanding of the local community and families. We are honoured to have been formally recognised by KU Children’s Services frequently over the years, with many of our educators receiving KU “Making a Difference” awards.
We feel it is essential to continually update our knowledge, in order to ensure we are providing the children at KU Briar Cottage with high quality Early Childhood Education in line with current research and best practice.
The daily fees for 2024 at KU Briar Cottage 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
$45
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. At KU Briar Cottage, the ‘15 hours per week’ is met by enrolling for 30 hours (or 5 days) per fortnight.
Start Strong Fee Relief Fee(3 year olds and 4 year olds)
From 2024, 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. At KU Briar Cottage, the ‘15 hours per week’ is met by enrolling for 30 hours (or 5 days) per fortnight.
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.
