Our Program and Approach
At KU Osborne Park, 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.
The development of our program is guided by the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF). We follow a holistic approach to programming, based on developmentally and culturally appropriate practice, the child development theories of Piaget, Vygotsky and others, and the emergent (child-centred) curriculum. During the day, children will be involved in a range of both child-directed and teacher-selected activities.
The basis of learning for young children is through play. Play is a medium used by children to translate experiences into something internally meaningful to them. Play clarifies concepts, facilitates social development and creates periods of satisfaction and delight. Through play, children have opportunities to explore, investigate, create, imagine, problem-solve and make decisions.
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 interest.
At KU Osborne Park, our special interest is nature play.
Nature play is a natural fit for us considering our large outdoor environment and our natural bush surroundings. Our special interest is incorporated into our program through activities such as the mud pit and our regular bushwalking program. Our natural playground and surrounding bushscape provides children with greater learning opportunities and encourages children to develop positive, caring feelings about the natural environment.
At KU Osborne Park, we believe children are naturally drawn to active outdoor play. Play in nature provides many benefits for children including improved immunity, physical activity, resistance to stress and behavioural issues, increased self confidence, improved muscle strength and coordination as well as improved language and collaborative skills.
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 Meeting the National Quality Standard.
However what matters most is what our families think...
“When I walk into KU Osborne Park Preschool, it’s like I’m walking into a magical kingdom. I might see a snow leopard in her cave of wooden blocks, a swaggle of policemen with cardboard handcuffs or bounty hunters collecting raindrops in buckets. It is wonderful to see my son flourishing in an environment where learning and discovery are so highly prized.” - KU Osborne Park parent
“My daughter is in her second year at KU Osborne Park. She adores the educators and loves that there's a wide variety of activities to choose from. She enjoys playing in the mud pit, jumping on the trampoline and balance boards, building with magna tiles and doing the table top games like visual matrices and puzzles. Above all the children just seem to love it and thrive in the natural environment. The teachers are so committed, and the children have lots of space to burn off all their energy!” – KU Osborne 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, not within four walls. We work hard to create beautiful, interesting, welcoming learning environments for children – whatever our setting.
Nestled on the edge of the local bush reserve, our playground is designed to allow children to explore nature and discover the ever-changing natural environment. We believe children need opportunities to dig in the mud pit, climb trees, discover and learn about insects and living things, and enjoy connecting with nature in a natural setting.
As well as our wonderful natural environment, our indoor space offers opportunities for children to engage with materials from natural and constructed environments. We offer experiences where children are able to self-select, with a variety of open ended materials for imaginative play. 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 Awards
The KU Osborne Park team were awarded the KU Marcia Burgess Award in 2022, for demonstrating an outstanding commitment to fostering inclusion and enriching the lives of vulnerable children and their families.
The annual 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. The perpetual KU Marcia Burgess Award is our most prestigious award, named in honour of one of KU’s trail-blazing luminaries of social inclusion and child wellbeing
Our Reconciliation Action Plan
KU was proud to launch its inaugural Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) in 2016. At KU Osborne Park, we began our journey to develop our centre’s RAP in 2019 and we are proud to present it here.
