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This template is for schools that have been invited by regional offices to participate in the Building
Futures process of the Victorian Schools Plan.
All sections of this template must be completed. Instructions for completing the template are
provided within each section. The Educational Rationale Guidelines should be consulted to assist
with completion of this template.
This template is in Microsoft Word. To use it, first download this file to your computer. Then open
Microsoft Word, go to the ‘View’ menu at the top of the screen and choose ‘Print Layout’. Using
your mouse, click into the grey field in each area and type your response, or use the Tab key.
If you need to cut/paste, spell check or do general formatting, it is advisable to turn off the Form
Protection (go to: View, Toolbars, Forms and click the padlock icon) and then reactivate it when
you are finished.
Identify the project type(s) under which the region has invited you to participate by clicking on the box:
Project summary (complete for the overall project not for each individual school)
Briefly describe the capital project that is required to support improved student outcomes in your school as part of
the school improvement process.
In light of the educational provision needs of students in our neighbourhood, the schools will be engaging
their communities in consultation around the concept of reducing five school sites to four, regenerating
the educational facilities and transforming the pedagogy in all schools.
Confirmed/Current enrolment
Insert the confirmed student enrolment as agreed in the February school census for the current year.
Enrolment SFO
School Name 2006 2007 2008 LTE INDEX
Carwatha College P-12 Primary component 294 297 332 128 0.675
Harrisfield P.S 237 224 193 234 0.723
Oakwood Park P.S 128 129 130 158 0.751
Silverton P.S 360 371 368 225 0.732
Yarraman Park P.S 179 183 185 150 0.694
flat roof.
• Teaching spaces are small inflexible and not fit for purpose. They limit the implementation of modern
teaching and learning practices. The self contained classroom can no longer provide the variety of learning
settings and experiences necessary to successfully facilitate twenty first century learning. We require
flexible, variable spaces that allow small and large groups of students that provide for rich, enquiry based
personalised learning to transform student learning outcomes
• Specialised facilities are inadequate for science and technology, visual and performing arts.
• ICT and other technologies are inadequate and unable to be sufficiently integrated into the existing
infrastructure. Teachers and students do not have sufficient access to apply a wide range of learning
technologies in their daily learning and teaching. This factor severely limits the development capacity of
teachers. They are aware how to effectively use ICT with the students but can’t apply the knowledge.
• The lack of integration between indoor and outdoor learning spaces restricts the learning opportunities of
students. This is especially obvious in our play based curriculum for Preps.
• Lack of age specific appropriate physical recreational/environment areas that gives a sense of ownership,
security and belonging.
• Our one stop philosophy for our school community is limited in its application by facilities that do not allow
for the flexibility of use by visiting community services who would like to integrate their services with ours.
Harrisfield Primary School
Harrisfield Primary School was built in 1956 and consists of two buildings, which are of a LTC construction with
concrete rendered exterior. One of the buildings is located on the site in close proximity to Princes Highway and
the other building is positioned within five metres of the perimeter fence. The two buildings form a ‘V’ shape, which
encloses asphalt sports courts. The location of both buildings prevents the possibility of developing external
learning spaces.
The use of ITC is restricted as learning spaces are not adequate to accommodate students and equipment.
Locating computers in corridors would create a safety and duty of care issue and corridors are currently used to
house student bags and resource materials.
Although teachers maximise opportunities to meet to plan as a team the structure of classrooms prevents them
from providing our students with the flexible teaching and learning experiences which would most benefit them.
Provision of basic ITC facilities is fraught with problems. Access for ITC infrastructure is greatly reduced and many
areas cannot be safely networked. In several areas the wiring and connections are exposed or in high traffic areas.
Teacher meeting, planning and preparation areas do not exist; therefore development of collegiate, professional
pedagogy is very difficult. Curriculum delivery, attempting to cater of the very diverse needs of this disadvantaged
and multicultural community is hampered by the limitations of the building structures.
As indicated in recent student surveys (see attached Attitudes to School Surveys) students are highly motivated to
learn, they finding the learning environment unstimulating.
Source of evidence PRMS and independent building assessments in the majority of schools.
MI …..
The three older schools in the neighbourhood struggle to deliver expected teaching and learning practices in
facilities which are deteriorating and are no longer fit for purpose to current. Although all three schools have utilised
locally raised funds to implement minor cosmetic changes the facilities have not have any substantial work
completed since their development some fifty years ago. Buildings are in a very poor state of disrepair with
structural cracks appearing throughout due to rotting stumps and floor joists. Maintenance of external and internal
doors are constant issues as the structures regularly move resulting in difficulty securing buildings. The structure of
these building is such that continued maintenance of the current facilities is expensive and not economically viable.
The presence of asbestos throughout all buildings makes repairs to structural cracks urgent and expensive. It also
makes the viability of any modifications to the existing structures extremely expensive and difficult to complete.
The size and structure of classrooms means it is difficulty for these schools to deliver the same quality of teaching
and learning practices as do the remaining two schools in the neighbourhood which are a better structural design
thus enabling a variety of teaching and learning opportunities to meet the needs of individual students. Carwatha
and Silverton are purpose built and have a variety of spaces, albeit not ideal in number, to deliver appropriate
intervention, enrichment and support programs compared with Harrisfield, Oakwood Park and Yarraman Park
which have no spaces for such intervention programs the result of which is some programs being delivered in
corridors and storerooms. These three schools also have inadequate preparation and work spaces for teachers
and support staff, which limit professional collaboration, team planning and effective delivery of support to students
and the broader community. Opportunities for teaching staff to engage in peer observation, which is an ongoing
natural occurrence and Silverton and Carwatha becomes an expensive and logistical nightmare for the schools
where classrooms are small and isolated. The existing physical structure of Harrisfield, Oakwood Park and
Yarraman Park limits teacher’s ability to incorporate ICT into their teaching and learning programs and to effectively
encourage the use of ICT as a tool and maximise the impact of new developments such as the Ultranet.
Welfare needs are high in all neighbourhood schools, with each school receiving funding for Primary Welfare
Officers and some employing the skills of a Chaplain and yet the current physical structure of schools means there
are not dedicated locations or secure offices for these staff that are in high demand to fulfil their roles.
Inadequate storage facilities result in valuable resources being locked away, often in a different building. To deliver
high quality lessons these resources need to be retrieved prior to the lesson and for the purpose of storage
returned following the lesson.
B4: Sharing arrangements that are currently in place with other schools, providers,
industry/community groups.
Briefly describe current sharing arrangements involving school facilities and grounds. Include details of the groups
involved, frequency of use and use agreements. Indicate whether there are any co-located groups or providers.
/
B5: Education provision issues, plans and community discussions relevant to this application.
Briefly provide information on those education provision issues and plans that are currently being discussed with
your Regional Office and other schools/training providers/community groups. E.g. service delivery planning,
sustainability and viability.
How have discussions about education provision issues progressed since Stage 1: Project Identification?
Consultation has taken place within and between both Springvale and Dandenong network schools and with the
regional office, Spatial Vision (Demographic Consultants) and there has been broad community consultation.
At a network level, there has been high-level consultation over the past few years resulting in a cooperative
neighbourhood of schools being established. Through our School Councils, in each school and at a Network level,
we have gained the unanimous support of school communities to advance this project. Discussions relating to
merging two schools within the neighbourhood are well advanced.
Sections C1 and C5 should be completed separately for each school. (N.B C1 could be completed
collectively if the data is available.) C2, C3, C4 and C6 are for the project as a whole.
Special schools should provide data and evidence that they consider appropriate and that best describes
student performance and school trends. Special schools may provide performance data /student
outcomes as an attachment.
Performance Focus
C1: Performance data
Summarise the performance data from the School Level Report that relates to the student outcomes that are the
focus of this application. (Student outcomes are learning outcomes, engagement and wellbeing, and student
pathways and transitions).
Yarraman Park Primary School
Reading Benchmark Data 2007
Level Prep Grade.1. Grade.2.
Level1 60% 97%
Level 5 30% 88% 100%
Level 15 66% 92%
Level 20 89%
Data Analysis
Seventy percent of students don’t reach the literacy benchmark by the end of Prep
Eight nine percent of students reach the literacy benchmark by the end of year 2
Up to 45 percent of students fail to reach the expected level in literacy by grade 5
Up to eight percent of students achieve at or above the expected standard in numeracy by grade 5
Discussion
Students entering the school are not ready for formal schooling
Little transition of information about children’s develop from birth through to school
Lack of Cohesive connected services from birth to school
Little transition of services and information about students age 0- 12 to cater for the drop of performance from
year 2- to year 6.
Inability to provide an engaging enriched learning environment with highly trained professionals to the degree
necessary to cater for disadvantage.
Catering for disadvantage takes away from resources necessary to cater for more capable students in numeracy.
of schools. The student outcomes are expected to be one or more of the goals identified in the School Strategic
Plans/Charters.
Literacy
1. All students in all five schools are from one of the most disadvantaged areas in Melbourne and Australia
2. The school populations are extremely diverse covering up to twenty five nationalities in any one school.
3. We have the highest concentration of refugees in Melbourne
4. The extreme disparity in literacy outcomes lines up with communities throughout Australia where poverty is
a key Characteristic
• The enriched environment ( internal and external learning environments to engage and make connections)
and resources ( personnel for coaching, efficient and effective professional interaction, degree of
intervention both social, emotional and academic) necessary to compensate for this disparity is not
possible to provide with the physical and human resources available to us with our existent buildings,
student populations and personnel
The degree of provision in relation to what is needed to address the inherent disadvantage of the
school population.
Number of students
Prep.28 Grade.1. 27 Grade.2. 32 Grade.3. 29 Grade.4. 17 Grade.5. 25 Grade.6. 28
D8: Management of Student Resource Package and Direct School Funding resources
Describe the proposed management of the Student Resource Package and Direct School Funding resources.
Strategic Focus
D11: Educational improvement strategies
Explain the strategies that have been developed to improve the student outcomes that are the focus of this
application. In most cases this would be a more detailed discussion of the improvement strategies in the School
Stage 2: Educational Rationale Template – Group of Schools 11
Building Futures
Strategic Plan and work the schools are undertaking on their Performance and Development Culture. It may be
useful to outline the way in which change will occur in one or more of the following areas:
1. Teacher capacity and effectiveness (enhanced pedagogical knowledge, skills);
2. Leadership capacity and effectiveness;
3. Curriculum programs delivered and the structure of that delivery;
4. School organisational structures (e.g. timetabling, etc.); and
5. Enhancement of education provision in a geographic area.
(You may present this information in either table or text form. E.g. Focus, Improvement Strategy, Improved Student
Outcomes. This may be particularly useful for New schools.)
D14: Risks
Identify and discuss any major risks associated with the implementation of the improvement strategies.
(E.g. New school staff members’ understanding of the improvement strategies, key change leaders or teachers
leaving, teacher use of new learning spaces, etc.)
D16: Limitations of current facilities to the school’s capacity to implement the proposed strategies
Briefly describe how the current facilities limit or impede the successful implementation and achievement of the
intended improvements to educational outcomes. Give clear reasons why the strategies cannot be implemented, or
are difficult to implement because of the current facilities.
Describe the way in which other factors are likely to influence the design of the proposed facility:
1. Site needs;
2. Relationship to existing buildings;
3. Relevance of buildings for planned uses; and
4. Other.
Consultation Process
D21: Regional consultation
Describe discussions with the Regional Office, other schools and providers, together with plans or strategies that
have been developed to address challenges of education provision in the geographic area.
Describe the consistency between this application and the regional provision plan.
Section E: Attachments
There are several mandatory attachments to the Educational Rationale.
• information relating to any community consultation undertaken in developing the application; and
• Any designs that have already been developed.
Section F: Endorsements
This section should be completed by each school. Signatures are required, with dates inserted.
We endorse that:
This application is consistent with the improvement milestones and targets from the School
Strategic Plan/Charter and Annual Implementation Plan.
Name of Principal:
Principal’s signature:
Date of signature:
Date of signature:
I endorse the strategies and targets included in this Educational Rationale and confirm that this
application:
• is consistent with the regional plan for the provision of schooling;
• offers significant opportunity for improved student outcomes within the time frame identified;
• has been assessed against the Building Futures assessment criteria; and
• is supported by robust data and evidence.
Date of signature: