Let’s fix Kensington Primary!

Hello residents of inner Melbourne! It’s great to be writing to you in the very first edition of our new local newspaper.

Local news is so important. We’ve lost so many local papers over the years, it’s wonderful to see a new one pop up.

As your state MP and a local mum, I want to share some news with you about my work to push the government to build new primary schools in our area, and fix up our existing ones.

I was so pleased in 2014 and 2015 to be heavily involved in the campaign to get a new school built in the Docklands, which finally opened this year! We also received funding in the last State Budget for a new North Melbourne Hill Primary school to take some pressure off North Melbourne Primary. These are really welcome developments, and I’m working with the government and community to make sure this new school is designed to actually meet the needs of our kids.

But last budget, unfortunately one school really missed out, and that is Kensington Primary School (KPS).

KPS is a wonderful school, but unfortunately the school buildings are facing a growing list of serious maintenance issues: from leaking roofs to broken floors.

Since 2014, I have worked with dedicated parents to secure some critical emergency funding for urgent issues at the school. We’ve achieved a lot, like improving wheelchair accessibility, fixing mould, fixing up toilets and more, but this 140-year-old building needs a lot more love! 

The school buildings need the roof fixed to stop the source of mould, the building needs to be restumped to address the collapsing floor, playgrounds and bathrooms need replacing, and more. I’ve just put in a Budget bid to the state government to fund these urgent safety needs and will be campaigning between now and the Budget to secure this funding.

2020 was a challenging year for many teachers, parents and students. It’s shown us how central schools are to connecting our communities. In 2021, as things go back to COVID normal and students are back in school, I want to see Kensington Primary given the major fix ups it needs to be ready for the next 140 years of educating our kids.

If you’re interested in staying up to date on this local community campaign you can sign up at ellensandell.com/fixkensingtonprimary 

Building another primary school for North Melbourne

As everyone will know, North and West Melbourne is growing fast, and this brings a lot of challenges, not least of which is that local enrolments at North Melbourne Primary School have doubled in recent years, meaning overcrowding for our kids and pressures on teachers and parents.

We love our local primary school, but there simply isn’t enough space for such a fast-growing population. For several years, local residents have been lobbying for a new school to take some of the pressure off. 

The vertical school will be on the public housing redevelopment site at Abbotsford and Haines Streets and is due to be completed by 2023.

Now, let’s be clear. I do not, and did not, support the selling off of public housing land by this Labor Government, and have been working with residents to oppose privatisation of this important asset. Although we didn’t win everything we wanted, throughout this campaign did achieve some important improvements including the commitment to a school on the site.

I know this will come as a relief to parents and young families in North Melbourne and surrounding suburbs, who have been left behind for so many years by the government’s lack of planning for schools in the inner city. 

But I also know there are still a lot of unknowns about the new school. Parents are asking me questions like whether the new school will be a campus of North Melbourne Primary or its own school, which will have implications for school zoning, what the new school will look like, whether it’ll be well integrated into the local community and more.

We’ve been reassured that anyone with kids at North Melbourne Primary (or siblings of future students) will not need to change schools, but there are still a lot of other unanswered questions.

I hear your questions and will be working hard to make sure the voices of locals and parents are heard loud and clear by the government, and you are consulted every step of the way.

I’d also love to hear from parents in Kensington, North Melbourne and the Docklands about your views on the local education and in particular what you want for our new schools. Please get in touch with my office by emailing [email protected] or calling us on 9328 4637. My office is here for you, so please get in touch anytime. •