The Andrews Labor Government is delivering families in Melbourne's growing inner suburbs the first-class learning facilities they deserve, ensuring local little learners and young students have a great local school close to home.
Minister for Education Natalie Hutchins today joined Minister for Early Childhood and Pre-Prep Ingrid Stitt to open the new five storey Molesworth Street campus of North Melbourne Primary School, which includes a new kinder on site to save parents time and money by ending the dreaded double drop-off.
The multi-level Prep to Grade 2 campus includes spaces for art, food technology, breakout rooms and large indoor and outdoor play spaces, with a separate fifth level for kinder students to play safely in their own, custom-built, age-appropriate areas.
The campus includes 18 general purpose classrooms, two mini libraries plus one full-size library and reading areas, while specialist teaching spaces, a canteen and staff workspaces ensure teachers have the resources and spaces they need to deliver the great educational outcomes local kids deserve.
Netball courts and a basketball court complete with spectator seating are on offer to encourage budding sports stars, while a performance and gathering space will nurture the next generation of musicians and thespians.
Offering the littlest learners, a stimulating environment across two rooms, the kindergarten includes outdoor learning with a sandpit and cubby to ensure the benefits that come from learning through play.
The Victorian School Building Authority also worked with Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation on the campus design, which includes artwork by Ash Firebrace.
The Labor Government provided $36.12 million in the Victorian Budget 2020/21 to deliver the Molesworth Street campus, ensuring local families have the state-of-art-facilities they need to provide their kids the best start in life. Funding for the on-site kindergarten was provided as part of the $283 million investment in the Victorian Budget 2019-20 for kindergarten infrastructure.
We've already invested $4.4 billion in our once-in-generation Best Start Best Life reforms, with a further $1.8 billion invested in this year's Budget, bringing our investment in the state's littlest learners to $6.2 billion, with more to come.
In the past nine years, the Labor Government has invested $14.9 billion in building new schools and delivering more than 1940 school upgrades.
As stated by Minister for Education Natalie Hutchins
We are building and expanding schools across Melbourne's inner suburbs to meet increased demand."
"This new campus further supports the community's needs, ensuring local students now and in the future have access to a high-quality education, close to home."
As stated by Minister for Early Childhood and Pre-Prep Ingrid Stitt
"We know how important the first years of education are, that's why we're backing local families with the early childhood services they need, ensuring our littlest learners get the best start in every corner of the state."
