March 2023 – News about a temporary second campus
We are creating a temporary second campus for the school to use over the next 5 years. By 2028, the school will need places for another 225 students.
This campus is set to open in the second half of 2023. It will help provide the places needed for the area’s rapid growth and provide local kids with new modern classrooms. We are also building 2 other nearby local primary schools. One in Fishermans Bend is planned to open in 2026, and a new campus of North Melbourne Primary School will open mid-2023.
In suburban and regional schools, we can use relocatable buildings to cater for fluctuations in demand. Docklands Primary School’s urban setting does not have the space for relocatable buildings. This is why we need a second nearby campus.
We’re creating the new campus just 200 metres from the school’s existing site.
New school
-
Start
Q2 2018
-
Planning
-
Design
-
Construction
-
Finish
Q1 2021
About the project
We built a new primary school in Docklands. It opened in 2021 and helps the growing local population get great education close to home.
Adam Bright was appointed as the first principal. Enrolments are now open for Prep to Year 6.
The 3-storey school includes a library, music and arts rooms, administration areas, outdoor learning terraces and a competition-grade indoor sports court for netball and basketball.
Further information on the school, including enrolment, can be found on its official Facebook .
Co-Located Kinder
We built a kindergarten at Docklands Primary School.
It is on the second level of the school building and includes 2 kindergarten rooms, administration areas and an outdoor learning terrace.
Having the kindergarten and school together will help local children make a smooth transition from pre-school and reduce the number of drop-offs for some parents with kinder and school-aged children.
School name
Docklands Primary School was chosen as the school name following community consultation and discussions with Geographic Names Victoria, with consideration given to factors including public interest, relevance to the local area, and the consideration of local Indigenous languages.
The school is after the suburb it is located in. This is the first new primary school to be built in Docklands.
We consulted with local communities for three weeks from Wednesday 24 June to Wednesday 15 July 2020. Thank you for your input.
Community engagement
Early in 2017, we asked the local community about their aspirations and ideas for a primary school in Docklands. Community feedback received during the community engagement stage was collected and given to the architects to incorporate into the school building design.
We heard:
- Participants sought a sustainable school building. They would like to see strong natural elements incorporated, including trees and vegetation, and open space for students to run around and play.
- Participants felt the new school provides an opportunity to create and enhance a sense of community belonging and identity in Docklands. This could be achieved through community spaces at the school, and connecting students to local community facilities.
- Participants supported an inclusive curriculum that offers a wide range of practical and specialist skills, including a focus on Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM).
- Safe and easy access to the school for pedestrians, cyclists, public transport users and vehicles is important.
- Celebrating multiculturalism and social diversity is important.
You can contact us for a copy of this engagement report.
In the 2016–17 State Budget, $1 million was allocated to this project for planning.
In the 2018–19 State Budget, $18.8 million was allocated to the school.
In the 2019–20 State Budget, the school shared in $624.8 million allocated for new schools.
Reviewed 09 September 2023