Our Program and Approach
At KU Kangaroo, we are committed to providing high quality early education and care that is guided by the principles of the Early Years Learning Framework. We promote children’s learning through respectful relationships and quality learning environments that invite children to spend time engaging in meaningful experiences. We provide an active learning environment where children are encouraged to explore and interact.
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.
Building strong attachments with children underpins our program. Our educators have been trained in the Circle of Security, providing us with the knowledge and skills on how to best support children with building positive and meaningful relationships with adults and peers.
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.
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 Kangaroo, we specialise in supporting and nurturing each child’s attachment and emotional resilience. A predictable, calm and well planned environment allows educators to be available to children and support the individual children’s needs.
One way we incorporate this into our program is through Playspaces. Educators sit in a designated playspace for the first 45 minutes of the day. The reason for doing this is to help create a predictable start and play environment for your child.
On arrival at preschool, children will begin to recognise that each educator will be in the same area every day. Making a connection with an educator at the start of the day helps your child feel safe and secure and will influence the rest of their day. Some children are ready to give the educators a big hello when they arrive, others like to quietly slide into an activity.
By staying in the one place, the educators can be sure of how your child likes to begin their day. It also helps keep the social side of play safe and predictable, as the children can first rely on the educator as a safe base before going out to explore.
We feel that the children benefit from a predictable and calm start to their day and we strive to develop children’s emotional resilience.
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...
“I have two children at KU Kangaroo and they absolutely love it. They literally jump with joy in the mornings before they get there with excitement. I feel they are really engaged and learning and developing before my eyes." – KU Kangaroo parent
"KU Kangaroo is such a nurturing and caring environment, where the children are encouraged to explore and grow. As a parent of a child that was quite shy to begin with, it was so important to me that the staff work with us to make him as comfortable as possible. The communication and genuine care shown was amazing. My two children, who have two very different personalities, have absolutely thrived here.” – KU Kangaroo 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.
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 Awards
In 2015, the team at KU Kangaroo Preschool was awarded the 'Making the KU Difference by Representing KU' Award.
The Making the KU Difference Awards were introduced a number of years ago, as a way of acknowledging KU staff who have made a significant contribution to KU. These annual awards are open to all KU staff, at any level (either individual staff or a team), who have worked above and beyond their normal duties.
