‘Bursting at the seams’: Parents want solutions for Lennox Head Public School

Department of Education said that in addition to the upgrade project, “enrolment management mechanisms will also be implemented to ensure every student has a place at a local public school.”

Lennox Head resident Liesel Jeffers is part of a group of parents who wrote to the NSW Government about the infrastructure needed at the local public school.

Parents and carers have asked the state government to take action at Lennox Head Public School, which they say is “bursting at the seams”.

Lennox resident and mother of two Liesel Jeffers is part of a group of parents who wrote to the government about the issue.

After 18 years living in the coastal town, Mrs Jeffers said the school was the heart of Lennox Head and its community.

“It’s a lovely school, it’s got fabulous teachers, it’s just growing so quickly that the small, community-minded school becomes difficult to maintain when it’s bursting at the seams,” she said.

“Lennox has hundreds of new houses, and they are not retirees, they are families, and the majority of their children would go to the public school.”

A new shopping centre, a second medical centre and other developments have been recent signs of the town’s growth, and the school has seen the effect of such changes, Mrs Jeffers said.

“If you ask kids that are older, in year 5 and 6, they would say, for example, that there is no space for them to play at lunchtime on the schoolgrounds, so they have to go and play supervised on a green area outside the school now, which is not fenced,” she said.

“They used to be able to have school athletics on site and other things, and parents could come on site and enjoy things like book parades and watching the kids athletics, but we can’t have those things at the school anymore, and the kids have noticed that.

“Big events need to be staggered to meet the needs of the 504 students and parents that want to support their children.”

The group wrote a letter to the NSW Department of Education School Infrastructure and the Minister for Education outlining their concerns.

“We explained the growth and projections for the area, and the amenities being archaic and inappropriate for 2021,” she said.

Ballina Shire Council motion

Councillor Sharon Cadwallader will present a motion on the school to be discussed at this week’s council meeting.

In the document, Mrs Cadwallader explained Lennox Head Public School was supposed to be upgraded by 2018, but the project was delayed after the discovery of almost 600 Aboriginal artefacts.

In 2018, the NSW Department of Education was granted a Aboriginal Heritage Impact Permit for the school’s redevelopment.

“The build was to give an additional eight classrooms,” the councillor said.

Ballina councillor Sharon Cadwallader.

“In 2018, the school had 357 students with the extra classrooms catering for approximately 380 students.

“There are now 504 students, which equates to an additional 12 classrooms.

“Projections for next year, based on enrolments so far, indicate approximately 520 students. “So, one additional classroom will be needed making it 13.

“It is not good that students may need to travel to Ballina or other areas because the local public school cannot have them.”

The motion before the council proposes writing to the Minister for Education, Sarah Mitchell, seeking a briefing on the Lennox Head Public School expansion, and the department’s future planning for the Ballina Shire.

Liesel Jeffers said parents wants the school to remain where it is, but they also understand it is hard for the school to have the 520 students coming next year within the current facilities.

“We would love to see it remain there, but there’s got to be other options,” she said.

“We don’t want to be angry and disruptive, we want to work on ideas together and have consultation with the community to try to keep what we have but improve it so caters for the growing needs to town.”

Close assessment

A spokesperson for the Department of Education said the government planned to deliver an upgrade at Lennox Head Public School.

“The department is closely assessing population and development trends across the Ballina area, and a number of strategies will be considered to meet enrolment needs at local schools,” the spokesperson said.

“In addition to the upgrade project at Lennox Head Public School, enrolment management mechanisms will also be implemented to ensure every student has a place at a local public school.

“Planned maintenance work is continuing at Lennox Head Public School, including the recent upgrades to fencing, returfing grounds, reroofing temporary buildings, and new carpets, furniture and pinboards.

“Additional works to the play equipment, footpaths and drainage have been identified and will be progressed in school holidays to minimise disruption to the school.”

The spokesperson said the government will continue to work with the school leadership to plan the upgrade project and to keep the community informed of progress.