Bellbrae Primary School council campaign begins

THIS week, the school council of Bellbrae Primary School is starting a campaign to urge the state government to fund capital improvements to the education facilities at our much -loved school.

Our students are in desperate need of modern and contemporary education facilities.

Bellbrae Primary School was established in 1861 and is still today located in a beautiful, tranquil setting in native bushland.

The school has a long and successful tradition educating children and it is highly valued by the Surf Coast community.

The number of students at our school has increased significantly to 517 in 2018. This increase has been at the direction of the state government’s Department of Education and Training, which continues to increase the school’s student numbers.

This increase in students at Bellbrae Primary School has not been coupled with improvements in our buildings and facilities. Our school has not had any significant capital improvements since 2014. Our class sizes are, on average, greater than the average class sizes across south-western Victoria’s government primary schools. Bellbrae Primary School is very under resourced and our buildings and facilities are in need of major improvements.

In 2018, the state government provided funding to five schools in our immediate vicinity. These funds were distributed to schools that were either brand new, “State of the Art”, less than four years old, or in the midst of a rebuild. The facilities at Bellbrae are well below the department’s own facility standards. Our school has too many relocatable buildings, we do not have a gymnasium or all-weather school assembly area. We do not have a music room or permanent library.

On behalf of the Bellbrae school community, we are calling for help from our community so we can give the students at Bellbrae Primary School contemporary and modern facilities to maximise their learning. We are requesting capital funding from the department for desperately needed buildings and facilities improvements.

In recent weeks, school councillors have meet with numerous politicians and key members of the Department of Education to raise awareness and request capital works funding to significantly upgrade our facilities.

While we are pleased with the outcomes of these meetings, we need to continue lobbying until a commitment is made and funding is provided. Our children deserve to have facilities the equal of other schools in our community. We are seeking your assistance to help Bellbrae. Please help Bellbrae secure immediate funds to improve our school and bring it up to the 21st century facility standards.

Please sign our petition and support Bellbrae Primary School’s efforts to provide the modern and contemporary facilities that our children deserve. Please also visit our Bellbrae Primary School Council Facebook page to show your support and receive regular updates.

We appreciate all your support.

Bellbrae Primary School Council