Clifton Hill Primary School

School Council Update

Dear Families

 

The School Council continues to meet monthly with our last meeting being on Wednesday 17th August.  Please see below for a brief update.

 

Thank you to the families who supported our annual raffle.  It was great to see school families winning the majority of prizes.  The raffle raised just over $10,000, meaning that we are well on the way to meeting our fundraising target of $60,000.  Thank you to the raffle sponsors:

Nelson Alexander Fitzroy, Emma Whiting Travel, Alpha 60, Birkenstock HQ and CompNow.  

Our next major School Council fundraiser will be the Trivia Night on Saturday 3rd September.  

 

The School Council is committed to providing the highest quality experiences for all children at Clifton Hill Primary School - this includes improving the physical environment, class resources, program opportunities and well-being offerings.

 

Based on feedback from families in April and School Council identified needs, fundraised monies will be allocated to:

  • Cosmetic upgrade to Organ Factory toilets - this will include cladding the walls, painting the floors, extension of the polycarbonate roof and replacement of the wash trough. 
  • Conversion of female toilets in the main building to all-gender toilets - floor-to-ceiling walls will be installed, replacing wall tiles with melamine cladding, new toilet doors and new toilet fittings.
  • Repairs to main building brickwork (Page Street) - replacement of bricks which have been damaged/removed.
  • Extension of balustrades at the top of stairways in the main building.

These works will be completed in the September school holidays.  Money raised from the Colour Fun Day, Raffle and Trivia Night will be allocated to these projects.  We expect these works to cost approximately $120,000.

 

The School Council has set a target of $50,000 to be raised through holding the School Fair.  A conservative amount has been set due to the fact that we have not held a Fair since 2019.

 

The School Council will allocate the money raised through the Fair to the following projects:

  • Replacement of the flooring in the multipurpose room - the current floor is a thin layer of carpet on top of the concrete slab.  The new floor will be cushion-backed carpet squares providing greater comfort for students when exercising and using the multipurpose room.  The carpet squares can be replaced individually if damaged.
  • Improvements to the Gold St and Wellington St play areas - this project includes removing capping from playground walls and rendering, the inclusion of retaining logs/walls along the basketball court and Wellington St playground and upgrades to dry river bed areas.

Any funds raised above $50,000 will be allocated to the painting and carpeting of classrooms.

 

On 1 July 2022, new Child Safe Standards came into effect.  Eleven new Standards were introduced and replaced the previous seven standards and principles.  The Child Safe Standards are compulsory minimum standards for all Victorian schools to ensure they are well-prepared to keep children and young people safe and protect them from abuse.

 

At this month's meeting, we discussed Child Safe Standard 5 - Equity is upheld, and diverse needs are respected in policy and practice.  This standard focuses on creating environments where all children and young people feel welcome.  We focused on identifying and addressing challenges that students experience due to their diverse attributes such as the limited access to all-gender toilets and change facilities within the school for gender diverse children.  Other areas that were identified in relation to this standard were a review of policies relating to this Standard, such as the Bullying Prevention Policy and Student Engagement and Wellbeing Policy.

 

The School Council is currently engaged in the tender process for our Outside School Hours Care (OSHC) program.  We have the opportunity to review the OSHC provider every two years.   A working group is evaluating 8 expressions of interest applications.  This process should be completed by the end of this term.

 

The Victorian Government Schools Agreement 2022 commenced on 25 July 2022. The School Council is pleased that the agreement acknowledges the extra time teachers and educational support staff work beyond 38 hours, through the formal introduction of time-in-lieu provision.  The School Council are working through how this will impact school events such as productions, camps, and parent information sessions as there will be no additional funding provided to schools to meet this requirement.  

 

School Council has received a number of reports from concerned parents about unsafe driving practices at the beginning and end of the school day.  Please be mindful of children crossing the roads and allow extra time for parking safely around the school. School Council is also working through ways that the opening of the new school building may affect our crossings and whether an additional crossing is required. We welcome parent feedback on this matter.

 

Thank you

CHPS School Council