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Our Organisation
Kids’ Uni is operated by UOW Pulse Ltd. We are a not-for-profit organisation that is active across a diverse range of operations on UOW campuses. We have a strong commitment to high quality care and education for children. This means that we commit to :
Ongoing reflective practice and continuous improvement.
- We use current research and feedback from families to drive our practices. Our policies are reviewed and updated regularly in response to ongoing change in our community and our sector. We strive to be the best that we can be every day.
Working in partnership with families and community.
- We have a close reciprocal relationships with organisations such as UOW Early Start, Wollongong City Council, Rotary, UOW Woolyungah Indigenous Centre and other local early Childhood services. We have Aboriginal elders who spend time in our services and we visit spaces in our local community such as the botanic gardens and the art gallery.
Respecting and valuing our team as professionals.
- We resource the team with professional learning and wellbeing strategies. We provide good working conditions, career pathways and reward and recognition opportunities.
Being inclusive.
- We respect and celebrate our diverse community and are committed to cultural responsiveness and social justice. We promote and implement inclusive practice and create environments where all children are welcomed and supported.
Giving children a voice.
- Respect underpins our philosophy at Kids Uni. This is most evident in our interactions with children. Children have a say about what happens in our programs, environments and in our managerial decision making. We do things with children, not to them. We advocate to ensure that children are valued as important citizens in our community.
Investing in children.
- Some of the ways that we invest in high quality education and care are by offering better than required staff to child ratios, employing Early Childhood Teachers in every classroom, attracting high quality staff with above award conditions and pay, providing healthy and nutritious menus that have been developed in consultation with a nutrition specialist and ensuring that our classrooms are full of beautiful resources and equipment.
A bright future.
- Social justice and sustainability are at the forefront of our work. We work towards creating a sense of belonging and a strong identity for our children so that they can advocate for the future world that they will be living in.
We also provide services to University of Wollongong students and staff. Please note: There is a waitlist at our various locations, which you can access here.
UOW students and staff may be eligible for additional discounts and fee support, and in some cases, their fees can be fully subsidised, resulting in free education and care for their child/children.
Educational Programs
Our educational programs are individualised for each child and are aligned with our national curriculum document, the Early Years Learning Framework. Relationship are at the foundation of learning for children and at Kids Uni. We know that children, like adults, cannot learn until they are calm, safe and secure.
We run a play based program because research tells us that children develop neural pathways in their brain up to 20 times more quickly when they are learning through play! We know as adults we learn more quickly when we are engaged in something that we love to do. Literacy, numeracy and other key learning areas are intentionally weaved throughout our daily program based on the children’s interests.
When we are supporting children in their transition to school we focus on dispositions for learning that will support lifelong learning. Children who are resilient, curious, reflective and respectful will be set up to be successful learners. We also focus on supporting children’s social and emotional development so that they can thrive in school classrooms. We work on skills such as turn taking, conflict resolution, problem solving and developing friendships because children with strong social and emotional development will make a smoother transition into kindergarten.
We recognise that families know their child best and so there are many opportunities for families to contribute to our programs. We communicate with families daily and we want to work in partnership with you to develop a program for your child that is responsive and sensitive to each family.
OUR STANDARDS AND KEEPING CHILDREN SAFE
At Kids’ Uni we are advocates for families and children. Therefore we actively participate in National frameworks that are in place to improve quality and to keep children safe.
The National Quality Framework in Early Education and Care aims to raise quality and drive continuous improvement. It includes the National Education and Care Services National Law and Regulations, the National Quality Standards and the National Quality Rating and Assessment process. We are proud that all of our services are rated as Exceeding the National Quality Standards across all quality areas. You can look up our ratings, and ratings for other services here:
Kids Uni is also proudly a Child Safe Organisation. We have adopted the National Child Safe Standards and we have extensive policies and practices in place to protect children and keep them safe. A child safe organisation puts the best interests of children and young people first.
“A child safe organisation means that the place where our children spend time is safe from physical, sexual, psychological, ill-treatment and neglect. A child safe place will have established rules to make sure children and young people are kept safe” (Office of the Children’s Guardian). You can learn more about the National Child Safe Standards here:
