Barramurra Public School P&C Association president Carolyn Brown speaks as demountable to be installed on ‘small playground’

A Sydney mum has blasted a decision to clutter a small school playground with demountable classrooms after the campus’ population is set to hit capacity just three years after opening.

P&C president Carolyn Brown and vice president Delano Cornelius pictured with their kids Lincoln, 7, & Oliver, 8, and Zoey, 7, and Luke, 6. Picture: Max Mason-Hubers

A Sydney mum has blasted a decision to clutter a small school playground with demountable classrooms after the campus’ population is set to hit capacity just three years after opening, saying the government had “grossly miscalculated” demand.

Barramurra Public School P&C Association president Carolyn Brown has called on the government to take action and cited concerns about the impact on students’ health if demountables took over their playground space.

The mum said they were told the Oran Park school would never get demountables due to the playground ratio to the student population, but now measurements have been taken with a unit expected to be installed later this year.

Ms Brown revealed the school currently had 850 students enrolled, but the first day of 2024 would see the population breach capacity of 1000.

“Our enrolment has just blown way out of their expectancy … they have grossly misjudged the population for this area,” she said.

Barramurra public school in Oran park has seen enrolments skyrocket. Picture: Max Mason-Hubers

School Infrastructure NSW confirmed one demountable was being installed on the 2.4ha campus, but it was unclear whether this would potentially increase with rising student numbers.

Ms Brown’s son has already expressed his frustration at being unable to kick a ball during lunchtime due to the limited space and the high number of students sharing that space, a problem she said would only worsen.

“I implore the Department of Education Infrastructure to prioritise the future of our children by taking immediate steps to reclaim a portion of the land adjacent to Barramurra Public School before construction continues for the baseball fields earmarked for this space and provide the necessary space for physical activities at recess and lunchtimes,” she said.

“Ensuring that our students have access to a safe and ample outdoor area for play and exercise is crucial for their physical health, mental wellbeing, and academic success.”

An inquiry into the planning and delivery of school infrastructure handed down last year found “planning disasters” in the early years of Oran Park Public School and Gledswood Hills Public School.

Barramurra Public School in Oran park. Picture: Max Mason-Hubers

Witnesses also spoke of how poor demographic planning had resulted in schools - such as at Gledswood Hills and Gregory Hills - exceeded their capacity in “an unacceptably short time”.

Camden Labor MP Sally Quinnell has long campaigned against using demountables and said while it was a “necessary evil”, problems arise when they become permanent fixtures.

“The infrastructure hasn’t been keeping pace, and so what’s been happening is the schools have been arriving too late, and the developments already well and truly have houses and people, so the minute the school is open, it’s at capacity,” she said.

Ms Quinnell said the former state government failed to properly plan for population increases in southwest Sydney despite the number of new homes being built, and the region had been “completely neglected”.

School Infrastructure NSW was asked how overcrowding in southwest Sydney schools was being addressed. Despite being given nearly 72 hours to respond, the department failed to respond to the question.