Inside KU centres
Our great tradition of providing
early childhood education and care
Preschools
Throughout 2009 KU continued to operate a total of 95
preschools, including: 86 centre based, 7 mobiles and
2 Learning Together inclusive preschool programs for
children with additional needs.
The 3031 licensed preschool places offered in these
programs were utilised by 7,574 children and 7,125
families. Due to changing demographics, KU Mobile 3 and
KU Swansea Preschool closed in December 2009.
Long Day Care
During 2009 KU operated 20 community based long day
care centres and 15 long day centres for corporate clients.
The 1,731 licensed long day care places (1,640 in 2008)
were utilised by 3,914 children and 3,344 families.
In February KU Charlestown Occasional Care was
relocated to a new purpose-built centre in Highfield,
near Charlestown. The service was renamed KU Kahibah
Road Children’s Centre and now operates as a long day
care centre. In April Black Mountain Children’s Centre in
the ACT transferred to KU and this saw KU extending its
operations to all mainland States and Territories along
the eastern seaboard of Australia.
Other Services
In 2009, KU operated 2 out of school hours care services
and 2 occasional care services utilised by a total of 502
children. KU operated 2 vacation programs across 4
locations, 3 of which are operated on behalf of North
Sydney Council. The vacation care programs were utilised
by 680 children.
AMEP Centres
KU continued to operate 7 centres providing child
care for the children of students attending language
classes through the Adult Migrant English Programme
(AMEP). These centres can accommodate a total of 221
enrolments each morning and 207 each afternoon.
The 2009 year saw KU’s AMEP centres utilised by 1,044
children (2008 in 1,242).
Early Learning Inclusion Programs
The Early Learning Inclusion Team, (previously Special
Education Team), supported 803 children (750 in 2008)
who qualified for additional funding in KU preschool, long
day care, vacation care and occasional care services.
The Eastern Sydney Speech Pathology service was expanded
late in 2009 to include an additional 29 KU services in the
Inner West, Bankstown, Liverpool, Campbelltown and
Southern Highlands and 128 assessments were carried out.
KU Indigenous Programs supported 105 children (75 in
2008) in 28 KU preschools and 8 KU long day care services
and employed 10 Aboriginal staff. The KU Aboriginal &
Torres Strait Islander Advisory Group was established in
2009. KU Consultants provided 17 external training sessions
across NSW to support the wider early childhood profession.
Family Programs
KU Family Programs provide specific support to families
with young children who have been identified as vulnerable.
This support is largely delivered in the context of Supported
Playgroups and comes at no cost to the family. The groups
are staffed, supported and equipped to the same high
quality standard as all other KU services.
What do KU parents say?
• 99.1% of KU parents said they would use or recommend a KU service.
• More than 4 out of 5 KU parents said they were highly satisfied:
- With the educational program and equipment provided at their KU centre.
- With the communication they received about their child’s day and development.
- With the centre staff’s professional skills and helpfulness.
had 4 children attending KU since 2003. Our children
“ We’ve
all have the happiest memories being there and we are most
grateful for the teachers for their caring and kind attitude to our
children and all of the children there.
“
Extract from KU Parent Exit Questionnaire
6
KU Children’s Services