‘No information, no nothing’: The surprise move to phase out this type of school

Schools in Melbourne’s west are facing a shake-up as part of a government restructure that has blindsided teaching staff and prompted fears of job losses.

Under the plan, announced by Point Cook MP Mathew Hilakari on Friday, schools in his electorate that serve year 10 to 12 students will become secondary schools spanning years 7 to 12.

The change means the prep to year 9 feeder schools will become dedicated primary schools.

Hilakari said every school in his electorate would transition within the decade, and the new system would prevent students who attended some primary schools from having to move schools twice during their time at secondary school.

“The community raised this issue in the time I’ve been in parliament,” he said. “And their main question is: why P-9s and why here?”

However, Victorian Association of State Secondary Principals president Belinda Hudak said the announcement had followed a lull in consultation.

“There had been some initial conversations, and then it went quiet for a while, and then suddenly it came to an outcome,” she said of the announcement.

“Our preferred process is always that school communities and principals are part of final decisions.”

Hudak said it was vital that future changes be made in a staged manner and in consultation with the community.

The change will start with Homestead Senior Secondary College in Point Cook, which will transition from a year 10 to 12 school to a year 7 to 12 school by 2028. Saltwater P-9 College, which shares a campus with Homestead, will become a dedicated primary school within three to five years.

Like many schools in the city’s inner west, Saltwater P-9 College has recorded rapid growth. It opened in 2019 with 580 students and by last year it had 2199 students.

Hilakari said some P-9 schools had already expressed a preference to become standard primary schools in the near future, but acknowledged there would be some locals hesitant about the change.

“Every transition is going to have some challenges, and we are up for working through that with the community,” he said. “While we’ve got some indicative timings on it all, we’re open to a conversation with each school.”

A staff member at one of the schools, speaking anonymously to protect his employment, said staff had been blindsided by the announcement, which had prompted fears of “massive job losses”.

“This is the biggest change to schools in years with absolutely no evidence for change apart from a bogus survey,” he said.

He said impacted schools had been left with more questions than answers. “There has been no information, no budget. No nothing. Just a ‘this is what we are doing’,” he said.

Hilakari said the Department of Education would work closely with schools, including teachers, who “we could do with more [of] if anything”.

In emails to staff on Friday, seen by this masthead, principals said the change was designed to ensure consistency across Melbourne’s western metropolitan area.

Principals at the affected schools met their leadership teams on Friday morning after emailing news of the changes to staff.

Alamanda K-9 College principal Lynette Jobson said that while details were still to be finalised, it could mean that the single campus school of 3335 students could end up with a primary and a secondary campus.

“Everyone has received the news, and we understand what it is about,” she said. “It’s five years away for us, so we have time to digest it.”

Enrolments at the Point Cook school have grown by more than 300 per cent since it opened in 2013. However, Jobson said the school had not reached its capacity of 3700 students.

Point Cook Senior Secondary College, which has more than 770 students in years 10 to 12, is expected to become a year 7 to 12 school within three to five years.

Melbourne’s western growth corridors are facing a school enrolment surge, driven by rapid population growth in local government areas such as Wyndham, Melton and Hume.

Opposition education spokesman Brad Rowswell said locals shouldn’t have uncertainty about schools just weeks out from the state election.

“Victorian parents and students in Melbourne’s west have every right to be confused and disappointed in the Victorian Labor government,” he said.

A government spokesperson said that no schools would close and that the consultation process was ongoing.