Posted November 2017
KU Children’s Services has today announced the purchase of a property on Uralba St Figtree, along with the St Columba Uniting Preschool located onsite. The purchase has secured the future of the preschool, which was in doubt when plans to sell the site were announced earlier this year.
“KU has been operating preschools in the Illawarra for more than fifty years, and we are so pleased to be welcoming all the wonderful staff and families at St Columba Uniting Preschool into the ‘KU family’,” said Christine Legg, KU’s Chief Executive Officer.
“We pride ourselves on quality at KU,” explained Ms Legg. “This preschool program has already been independently rated as ‘Exceeding’ the National Quality Standards, so we are looking forward to supporting the teachers and educators to continue to provide high quality programs to the children and families at the centre.”
“We are working closely with Uniting and Keiraview Uniting Church, who currently operate the preschool, and are confident we can achieve a smooth transition for children, families and staff. We are striving for uninterrupted service for the community, so parents can expect the preschool to continue operating in 2018 as planned.”
Representatives from both KU and the Keiraview Uniting Church have already met with staff to discuss the transition process, and are working towards KU formally operating the centre from the beginning of the new year.
“This is a really exciting and positive outcome for our preschool,” said Cheryl Collinson-Smith and Elen Santarelli, Co-Directors at St Columba. “KU is a not for profit organisation with a very good reputation for quality preschools in the Illawarra, so it’s a wonderful alignment of values for us to join them. We feel like the preschool now has a bright future ahead.”
As a result of the move away from Church management, the preschool’s official name will change next year, from St Columba Uniting Preschool to KU Figtree Preschool.
All KU preschools, including the new KU Figtree Preschool, provide a full transition to school program and their philosophy supports the National Quality Framework, introduced to ensure consistent, high quality early childhood education for all children.
KU currently operates four preschools in the Illawarra area: KU Gwynneville Preschool, KU Bulli Preschool, KU Corrimal Preschool and KU Wombarra Preschool.