KU Annual Report 2008 | Page 6

Inside KU Centres Our great tradition of providing early childhood education and care Preschools Throughout 2008 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 3,072 licensed preschool places (2,957 in 2007) offered in these programs were utilised by 7,363 children and 6,921 families. Long Day Care During 2008 KU operated 18 community based long day care centres and 15 long day centres for corporate clients, an increase of four on the previous year. The transfer of KU Bradfield Park in January and KU Concord in February saw both centres receive significant upgrades. These were funded using existing centre funds and additional KU funds. The Treehouse, a centre managed for Stockland, opened in May and showcases both KU’s and Stockland’s commitment to environmental sustainability. Equipment was sourced using greenstar principles, a first for the early childhood sector. In October The Joey Club Brisbane opened, the third Qantas centre managed by KU. As a result KU is now directly providing early childhood services along Australia’s entire eastern seaboard. The 1,640 licensed long day care places (1,434 in 2007) were utilised by 3,945 children and 3,251 families. “ Other Services KU continued to operate 3 out of school hours care services and 3 occasional care services. The Loreto out of school hours care service was closed in December 2008. In October KU took over the management of the North Sydney vacation care program across 3 sites, on behalf of North Sydney Council, seeing KU operating a total of 2 vacation care programs in 4 locations. AMEP Centres KU continued to operate 7 child care 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 (195 in 2007) and 207 each afternoon (180 in 2007). A new AMEP centre was opened at Liverpool, doubling its previous capacity. The 2008 year saw KU’s AMEP centres utilised by 1,242 children, a 100% increase on the original tender forecast of 619 children per year. Special Education Programs The Special Education Team supported over 750 funded children with additional needs to be included in KU centres and provided assistance to many more children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. These figures include the Department of Ageing, Disability and Home Care funded Speech Pathology Program services which conducted over 157 consultation visits in the Eastern Sydney area, provided speech pathology My daughter could not have had a more enjoyable and rewarding preschool experience than the one she has had at KU over the last 2 years. The dedication, commitment to early childhood education and development, and sense of joy shown by the staff each day was fantastic. The way in which you always made the time to let me know how she was going was enormously appreciated, all the comments and observations were both interesting and insightful. A special thanks to her teacher for all her enthusiasm and genuine care. “ I had the joy of watching my daughter bloom during her time at preschool and have you to thank for that. Extract from KU Parent Exit Questionnaire 6 KU Children’s Services