The year in review
Chairman and CEO’s Report
The past year has been an exciting and challenging one for KU as we have focused on implementing our Strategic
Plan and responding to the changes and challenges in the early childhood education and care environment.
In our centres and services we implemented the “Making
the KU Quality Difference” initiative as part of our
commitment to continually improving the quality of
our early childhood education and care. This year we
focused on the quality of our environments, curriculum
and professional development.
We identified and articulated KU’s own Quality
Standards, which are over and above the basic licensing
and accreditation standards set by governments and
are based on research, experience and best practice. We
then assessed all our centres against the standards and
achieved improvement through an Action Plan for each
centre. We plan to expand on this initiative in 2009 by
adding the quality areas of relationships and ratios to
the Quality Improvement Program.
In September we were very pleased to launch our new
KU brand and logo, after several months of consultation
with KU staff and parents. We believe our new brand
reflects our commitment to play-based learning, as well
as our proud heritage and our focus on environmental
sustainability. The roll out of the new brand is being
implemented slowly to keep costs down and will be
completed with new signage being installed in every
centre in 2009.
We were also proud to launch KU Solutions, an exciting
new initiative which offers community based/not for profit
centres the opportunity to benefit from our expertise in
the provision of quality early childhood education and
care, and to access the services, resources and support
that are available to every KU centre. The initiative will
particularly help rural and remote centres which often
struggle with a lack of expert and practical guidance due
to their location. It will also help raise the professionalism
of the early childhood sector as a whole.
We also continued the major upgrade of KU centres
that we commenced in 2007. Over 2008 we have
invested $2.8m in capital works to improve 59 centres.
In conjunction with this, a special “Make Us Proud” Fund
enabled the purchase of new
As part of its commitment to good
For the first time in many years,
equipment, furniture and
governance, the KU Board undertook
early childhood has been a
educational resources
a Governance Review to ensure it
key focus of government.
in many centres. We plan
continues to operate effectively and
to complete this capital upgrade
efficiently. This included an evaluation of
program in 2009.
our performance as a Board and a review of the Board’s
structure and function. We have already made changes
We are also establishing an ongoing maintenance and
to our Board Committee structure, our Board agendas
capital plan for each centre so that we can ensure that
and our Board meeting program as a result of this review
the physical environment supports the delivery of quality
and will consider further changes in 2009.
early childhood education and care.
For the first time in many years, early childhood has been
KU continued to grow as we welcomed 4 new centres:
a key focus of government. KU welcomes this recognition
KU Bradfield Park and KU Concord long day care centres
of the importance of early childhood education and care
transitioned to KU from parent committee management,
and has been very active in making submissions and
and we were proud to open The Treehouse in Sydney for
attending consultation forums.
Stockland and our third Qantas Joey Club, in Brisbane.
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KU Children’s Services
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