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 Faulconbridge, our play-based program intentionally provides opportunities and activities based upon the Early Years Learning Framework, for your child to discover and pursue their own interests and strengths.

We believe partnership with families is fundamental and continually look for ways for families to have an active involvement in their child’s learning journey. By valuing strong collaborative relationships, we aim to create a place where learning is valued and fostered.

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 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 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.

We Focus On

In addition to the high quality well-rounded programs we offer, all KU centres are also encouraged to develop an area of focus.

At KU Faulconbridge, we focus on the Circle of Security and the Educaring approach.

We incorporate this into our program through our approach to transitions. There are several stages of transition children experience, from orientation, to when they arrive in the morning, to their transition between rooms and finally their transition to school. We support the children by including two terms of orientation visits to Faulconbridge Public School and ensuring our teachers meet with the children’s new teachers to pass on information.

We feel that the children benefit from this focus, because both the Circle of Security and the Educaring approach provide solid research for how we as educators can help support children to become competent, focused, involved, cooperative, resourceful, initiating, confident, aware, secure, attentive, curious, exploring, interested and inner-directed. In addition, children are supported to develop the disposition and skills that will help them become lifelong learners.

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 know that working within childcare and education is incredibly challenging and all of the staff at KU Faulconbridge are doing an amazing job. We truly feel that our children are in a safe and encouraging environment, not only physically but emotionally.” - KU Faulconbridge parent

“How grateful we are for the first class care the kids get at KU Faulconbridge. It is exemplary. Thanks to all the wonderful teachers at KU Faulconbridge.” – KU Faulconbridge 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 Faulconbridge is an architecturally designed facility, located on the school grounds of Faulconbridge Public School. The before and after school care and vacation care operates across the oval in the school hall, making it easy for families to manage the logistics of their children being in different places. The teachers at the school also bring their children to KU Faulconbridge, so there is a wonderful sense of community.

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 Faulconbridge, 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

Child Care Subsidy

Cooked Meal

Designed Centre

Extended Hours

Hat and Sunscreen

Lunch

Transition to School

Play-based Learning

Parking

Outdoor Play

Nappies

Storypark

Education for Sustainability

Acting Director

Rashmi Verrier is the Acting Director at KU Faulconbridge. Rashmi is a university qualified early childhood teacher who is passionate about working collaboratively with staff, families and children to provide a high-quality program for all children.

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.

The daily fees for 2024 at KU Faulconbridge Children's Centre are:

Infants: $153.50
Toddlers: $153.50
Preschoolers: $149.50

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 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 www.dese.gov.au.

NSW Start Strong Fee Relief

From 2024, the NSW government has provided 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.