Calls to properly fix Bellbrae PS oval

THE oval at Bellbrae Primary School has been closed for nearly a year, and the parent of one of the pupils says the “incompetence” of the Victorian School Buildings Authority (VSBA) is to blame.

The school has received a considerable level of upgrades in recent years, such as water and sewerage works, finished in 2022; a refurbished the amenities block, finished in 2019; and an outdoor inclusive learning space, which is still in the planning stages.

According to the VSBA website, the upgrades also include $9.1 million for a competition-grade gym; open learning spaces and new science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) facilities; and “improvements to the school oval”, with this tranche of work scheduled to be complete in the fourth quarter of 2022.

The “angry and frustrated” parent, who did not wish to be named, said: “Bellbrae Primary School and their community of frustrated staff, students and parents are fed up with the Victorian Schools Building Authority and its incompetence in managing and executing a new oval for the school”.

“A straightforward project to reorientate the oval, and install irrigation, drainage and turf has created a list of ongoing problems that continue to keep the entire school oval closed for student use, nearing 12 months later. This is on top of partial oval closures since 2019.”

The parent said the school’s outdoor play and learning spaces had been severely compromised for the school’s 471 pupils.

“This poorly managed project by the VSBA and their contractors is having an impact on the well-being of our students. The oval must reopen urgently.”

The parent said the VSBA had made several mistakes during over the course of the upgrade, including

* Failing to include irrigation in the initial plan and budget, which held up the project timeline

* Failinf to include standard drainage in the oval design or budget

* Laying turf on a poorly prepared surface, in the wrong season, with no drainage

* Giving limited attention and care to the turf growth between June 2022 and December 2022, which resulted in much of the space becoming unsafe, and

* Poorly installing drainage in January 2023, which resulted in considerably more turf damage.

“The Bellbrae Primary staff, students and parents have had enough. We want our oval to be safe and reopened for our kids to use as quickly as possible,” the parent said.

A spokesperson for the Department of Education had not responded to this newspaper’s request for comment by deadline.

For more information on the upgrades at Bellbrae Primary School, head to schoolbuildings.vic.gov.au/bellbrae-primary-school