Willowbank Primary School

The Willowbank Primary School – Meet the Team online information session was held on Wednesday 6 October 2021.

Families were provided an opportunity to meet the principal and team and find out more about the school’s facilities, enrolments and student experience.

The school is open for enrolments from Prep to Grade 6. For information about enrolling at Willowbank Primary School, contact Rynn Anderson by emailing willowbank.ps@education.vic.gov.au.

Find My School has been updated to show school zones for 2022. This includes the zone for this school.

Policies on enrolment, placement, and admission are available on the Department of Education and Training website.

Rynn Anderson has been appointed as the new principal of this school.

Rynn brings a wealth of education experience to her new role at Willowbank Primary School. She is a highly motivated and passionate educational leader, who has demonstrated a strong commitment to driving school improvement and improving student outcomes.

Rynn has taught at schools across the western suburbs and most recently has spent six years as the principal of Tarneit P-9 College, which has provided her with a range of valuable experiences that will support her leadership of Willowbank Primary School.

Rynn is looking forward to meeting the students and families of Willowbank Primary School and together building a wonderful school of which the community are proud.

Willowbank Primary School was chosen as the school name following community consultation.

The name reflects the school's proximity to Willowbank Road and Willowbank Estate.

The survey ran from Monday 26 October to Friday 13 November 2020 on Engage Victoria.

The school has the following facilities:

• an administration building, including library, art, food and science learning spaces
• a performing arts and physical education building
• 2 learning neighbourhoods
• 2 outdoor hardcourts
• a sports field
• a bike shed
• playgrounds

In 2018, we consulted with local communities gaining new schools in Melbourne's fastest growing outer suburbs – including your new primary school. We captured each local area's broad aspirations and used this feedback in our concept designs.

During January and February 2020, a second round of engagement invited locals to share their ideas, local knowledge and the things that mattered most about how their school would look, feel and function.

The Willowbank Primary School community placed a high value on large, well-laid out playgrounds that could be accessed after hours, and all-abilities facilities that stimulated play-based learning.

Natural outdoor areas and kitchen gardens where children could grow their own fruit and vegetables were popular suggestions. Willowbank families told us they valued a policy of reuse and recycle and wanted their school to be integrated with the natural environment.

Our consultation received strong and consistent feedback on many of their design needs and goals. Our architects used your feedback to help shape your school's interior and its landscape design.

We have built a kinder on the same site as this school. This may 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.

In 2018, the Victorian School Building Authority (VSBA) consulted with local communities during the land acquisition and planning stages for these new schools of 2022. We captured each local area’s broad aspirations and used this feedback in our concept designs.

During January and February 2020, a second round of engagement invited locals to share their ideas, their local knowledge and the things that matter most to them in the design of a school. Feedback was gathered through an Engage Victoria survey and responses were received in a number of ways.

Engagement snapshot

• 57,279 people reached through social media
• 259 online survey responses
• 78% of survey participants are parents of future students at the school

Our eight school communities told us they wanted:

Large playgrounds

We heard that communities wanted their schools to have room for students to be active and offer playground equipment to suit all ages. Protection from sun and rain is a high priority as these spaces will be used throughout the year.

“A large outdoor area where students can be active before, during and after school.”

Sports facilities

Sports facilities are important to schools. Communities want their schools to develop and maintain their own sports programs and offer resources that encompass a broad array of sports and activities. They hope these features will encourage active lifestyles and will include appropriate equipment suitable for all weather conditions.

“Sports provide an amazing outlet for health, teamwork and socialisation. A great way to build a school community and identity.”

Natural outdoor areas

These growing communities want school designs that reflect the surrounding natural environment. They are eager for designs that use natural colours and materials and plantings of native flora.

We heard there was a strong preference for the designs to be eco-friendly and sustainable. Outdoor, weather-protected seating areas were considered very important.

“Use native planting and lots of it, colours that fit in with the surrounding countryside and flora.”

During the engagement we asked a range of questions to learn more about the local area and understand where people enjoyed spending time.

Our goal was to ensure each new school reflected its area’s identity and had a great community feel. These were some of the things you told us you wanted most.

Modern learning facilities

Our school communities told us they valued modern and innovative classrooms that provided flexible learning environments for the broad range of learning approaches delivered as part of a 21st century education.

A diverse curriculum is high priority. Our new school communities will benefit from purpose-built spaces that provide facilities and resources to support broad learning areas, including visual arts and technology spaces.

Local history and cultural insights

We received strong community acknowledgment of the importance of multiculturalism, including events and cultural practices, and an awareness of the many different cultures relocating to new school areas.

School communities were eager to demonstrate a connection to indigenous culture, through art works and the introduction of history and language into teaching and learning.

Improved education outcomes

Your communities indicated high confidence (72% confident) that a new school would contribute to better educational outcomes for their students.

They saw many benefits for education and lifestyle including shorter travel times, modern facilities and amenities, reduced overcrowding, attracting high-quality teaching staff and the opportunity to create stronger community connections.

Transport considerations

Transport options to and from schools are critical elements of design. Communities want closer facilities to reduce travelling times and distances. They called for safer paths and crossings, reduced traffic congestion and adequate parking.

Schools in walking distance of homes are highly desired, but your communities told us you also valued accessible public transport options for carers seeking to get to their next destination and traffic and parking conditions that made it possible to drive children to school when necessary.

The architects we appointed to design each new school considered all community feedback and the key themes of responses from the consultation.

You can view the renders for the 2022 new schools below. These are artist impressions, and elements of the designs may have changed slightly.

The designs offer a diverse range of specialised learning environments to suit the needs of young learners. This includes enclosed, semi-enclosed and open classrooms that aim to maximise flexibility and support a more inclusive and modern approach to learning.

The concepts seek to maximise each school’s connection to nature and respond to community requests for outdoor play opportunities, natural landscaping, weather protection and shade.

School communities told us they placed a high priority on developing and maintaining their own sports programs onsite and wanted to offer their families a broad array of sporting opportunities and activities.

• 2,704 people reached through social media
• 42 online survey responses
• 88% of survey participants live in postcode 3437
• 74% of survey participants are parents of future students at the school

The Willowbank Primary School community placed a high value on large, well-laid out playgrounds that could be accessed after hours, and all-abilities facilities that stimulated play-based learning.

Natural outdoor areas and kitchen gardens where children could grow their own fruit and vegetables were popular suggestions. Willowbank families told us they valued a policy of reuse and recycle and wanted their school to be integrated with the natural environment.