The Concerned Parents of St Columba Uniting Church Preschool are today celebrating.
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Their fears the Figtree facility would close its doors for good after almost 50 years serving the community have been allayed.
KU Children’s Services (KU), Australia’s most experienced provider of early childhood education, on Monday announced their purchase of the property in Uralba Street, Figtree, along with the St Columba Uniting Preschool located onsite.
The purchase has secured the future of the preschool, which was in doubt when plans to sell the site were announced earlier this year.
‘’KU has been operating preschools in the Illawarra for more than 50 years, and we are so pleased to be welcoming all the wonderful staff and families at St Columba Uniting Preschool into the KU family,’’ KU chief executive officer Christine Legg said.
Representatives from both KU and the Keiraview Uniting Church have already met with staff to discuss the transition process, and are working towards KU formally operating the centre from the beginning of 2018.
We feel like the preschool now has a bright future ahead.
- Cheryl Collinson-Smith and Elen Santarelli
‘’This is a really exciting and positive outcome for our preschool,’’ St Columba co-directors Cheryl Collinson-Smith and Elen Santarelli said.
‘’KU is a not for profit organisation with a very good reputation for quality preschools in the Illawarra, so it’s a wonderful alignment of values for us to join them. We feel like the preschool now has a bright future ahead.’’
The move away from church management means the preschool will change its official name next year, from St Columba Uniting Preschool to KU Figtree Preschool.
Ms Legg said KU prides itself on quality.
‘’This preschool program has already been independently rated as ‘Exceeding’ the National Quality Standards, so we are looking forward to supporting the teachers and educators to continue to provide high quality programs to the children and families at the centre,’’ she said.
‘’We are working closely with Uniting, and Keiraview Uniting Church, who currently operate the preschool, and are confident we can achieve a smooth transition for children, families and staff.
‘’We are striving for uninterrupted service for the community, so parents can expect the preschool to continue operating in 2018 as planned.’’
All KU preschools provide a full transition to school program and their philosophy supports the National Quality Framework.
