Five years on, still fighting for Kensington Primary

Our local schools are the heart of our community. They’re where our kids learn, grow, make friends, and discover who they want to be.

That’s why it’s so distressing to see Kensington Primary School – a beautiful heritage school cherished by generations of local families – stuck waiting for basic repairs and upgrades that should have been completed years ago.

Five years ago, I worked alongside the Kensington Primary School community to secure more than $7 million in the State Budget to finally upgrade the school’s ageing facilities.

It was a hard-won outcome achieved through determined advocacy from parents, teachers, and local residents who simply wanted safe, modern classrooms for their kids.

But due to steep increases in construction costs across Victoria’s building sector, the scope of the project was dramatically reduced and only half the promised upgrades were finished.

Now, four years later, students and staff are still dealing with damp, mould, peeling paint, and holes in ceilings. Several classrooms and learning spaces can’t even be used. Many others lack proper heating, insulation or soundproofing. Some areas are inaccessible for students with mobility challenges, meaning not every child can get to the classrooms they need.

Historic parts of the school continue to deteriorate, and essential safety upgrades like installing a lift and access bridge, repairing rotting window frames, and reconfiguring learning spaces remain unfunded.

Our children deserve better.

Victoria is already the lowest-funded state in Australia when it comes to public schools. It’s simply not right that Kensington families are now holding sausage sizzles, trivia nights and fun runs just to cover basic repairs that the government should have funded years ago.

Kensington is growing, more families are moving into our area, and we want our school to be the best it can be.

I’m calling on the Minister to urgently fund the outstanding Stage 1 works and deliver the rest of Kensington Primary’s Master Plan. Our kids deserve modern, safe, functional classrooms, not temporary fixes and broken promises.

Our community has done everything asked of them. We’ve advocated, we’ve planned, we’ve been patient. But it’s well past time the government delivered on its commitments.

I’ll keep working alongside our community until Kensington Primary gets the funding it needs. Our children’s learning environment should reflect the care and pride our community puts into this school.

If you would like to get involved, please sign the open letter at: ellensandell.com/issue/kensington-primary-school •