Our Program and Approach
At KU James Cahill, we believe that children learn through play. Our educational program is guided by the principles of the Early Years Learning Framework and the National Quality Standards.
We are proud of our reputation within the local community of providing rich education and care that concentrates on individual children in a family-focussed and supportive way.
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.
KU James Cahill Preschool has been involved in research projects that aim to support educators and families in their understanding of how to nurture children’s social and emotional wellbeing within the context of a preschool environment. Through our involvement with these projects, we have had the opportunity to recognise the importance and power of connection and the enduring effect this has on the relationships between educators, children and families.
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.
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 James Cahill, our specialisation is relationships. Over the last 16 years, the educators at KU James Cahill Preschool have participated in research projects which have predominantly focused on developing each educator’s capacity to understand and support each child’s emotional and social well-being within an educational setting.
We incorporate this specialisation into our program through developing specific models of practice that support children’s play skills and social communication. These are primarily implemented through our Playspace® structure and our arrival and reunion routines, as well as the Circle of Security and Marte Meo.
We feel that the children benefit from this specialisation, because we have recognised the significance of following children’s relationship needs and, as a result, we provide a positive and predictable learning environment where the children and families feel nurtured, respected and secure.
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...
"Our experience with KU James Cahill has superseded all expectations. Both our daughters have benefited greatly from the wonderful environment created for them to safely learn about themselves and their world. The educators have consistently worked hard to help my daughters feel secure and supported at preschool. This has allowed their confidence to grow, try new experiences and start relating to their peers. The style in which the educators communicate with the children and parents is friendly and so respectful. The children always come first and we as parents have been kept well informed of our child’s progress, plans, activities and procedures relating to life at preschool. The transparent communication and inclusiveness has encouraged a supportive preschool community to form and lasting friendships to develop. Entrusting your child’s care to another is difficult for some of us to hand over, but seeing my daughters grow in their confidence and learning to trust their educators at KU James Cahill Preschool brings great joy and relief for me as a parent." - KU James Cahill Preschool parent
"We think the unwavering enthusiasm and understanding of the team is a real asset and speaks volumes to your leadership...we believe the stability of the staff is of great benefit to the families that attend and a reflection of quality leadership and programs. Mornings are always difficult but arriving at JCP is a pleasant experience with warm, friendly and genuine greeting from the staff and we can’t believe how well the carefully choreographed morning drop off routine works. We like the stability of the morning routine but always enjoy noticing the different setups of equipment and teaching aids knowing that lots of thought and hard work has gone into it, and all with the children’s best interests at heart." - KU James Cahill Preschool 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.
At KU James Cahill Preschool, we acknowledge our physical environments as the ‘third teacher’. They are designed to support an enquiry-based learning approach by providing a flexible, ‘open’ program where each child has the opportunity to explore and extend on their learning and develop connections and friendships with peers across both indoor and outdoor learning environments.
Our playground is designed to allow children to explore nature and discover the natural environment. We want children to be able to dig in the mud, climb trees, discover and learn about insects and enjoy connecting with nature. The many activities we offer enable children to immerse themselves in the natural elements of their surroundings and 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 James Cahill, we began our journey to develop our centre’s RAP in 2019 and we are proud to present it here.
