Behind the Scenes
Providing support to the KU staff
who work directly with children
Professional Development
KU views the ongoing professional development of staff
as an essential component in the provision of high quality
early childhood education and care programs and as an
important part of “Making the KU difference”.
In 2008 KU held 119 professional development sessions
and learning opportunities which were attended by a
total of 2,010 people. This included the KU Professional
Development Program which conducted 80 workshops
for 1,019 staff.
The KU Annual Seminar attracted 470 attendees and
hosted keynote speaker Maria Aarts, founder of the
Marte Meo approach.
Team building sessions were attended by 66 out of
school hours staff across 2 sessions.
Seven orientation sessions were conducted and 11
meetings held specifically for Directors attracted a total
of 337 attendees. All centre based staff were invited to
attend 30 regional meetings and the highlights included
the launch of the KU Quality Standards and the Guiding
Children’s Behaviour policy.
Human Resources
The overall number of KU staff increased by 101 people
in 2008 as a result of new centres, changes to staff to
child ratios and Central Office restructuring. KU recruited
66 new Teachers and 367 Child Care Workers.
Staff turnover during 2008 was 19.2% which was
down 2.8% from the previous year. This trend is a good
result in the early childhood sector which remained very
competitive for the most part of 2008.
The Employee Assistance Program expanded and
now provides mediation and conciliation in addition
Farewell
The year was saddened by
the death of long-serving
and valued KU staff member,
Suzanne Carver, who gave 11
years and 7 months service
prior to retiring from
KU James Cahill Preschool
due to ill-health.
10
KU Children’s Services
to counselling and support services for staff. A total of
68 employees accessed the service during 2008 which
involved 225 counselling sessions.
The Occupational Health and Safety and Workers
Compensation functions were restructured in the second
half of 2008 resulting in reduced claim excesses and
a premium reduction of $876k for 2009. A Return To
Work Coordinator was employed to provide prompt and
efficient service to our injured staff.
KU continues to maintain a good industrial relations
record and negotiated a national union collective
agreement for our teaching staff.
Information Technology and Telecommunications
KU carried out an Expression of Interest to upgrade or
enhance our computer systems in the areas of Centre
Management, Finance and HR and Payroll, including a
new casual vacancy booking system. These applications
will be implemented in 2009 and will enable us to provide
better service to KU staff and parents.
The process of upgrading photocopiers in KU centres
to multi-function devices that can print, fax, copy and
scan was commenced in 2008. An upgrade of IT&T
infrastructure was also carried out in ISA offices so staff
can better handle an increasing volume of calls and store
documents securely.
Property Management
The Property and Procurement team continued to
implement the Capital Works Program in 59 centres. Works
totalled $2.8m and included projects such as playground
upgrades, re-roofing, installing air-conditioning, and
upgrades to bathrooms, kitchens and craft rooms. The
funds for the majority of works were provided by KU with
some projects funded by lessors or Government grants.