Four Victorian Catholic primary schools set to close after term 4

Dozens of Catholic primary teachers and support staff will lose their jobs or be redeployed while hundreds of families have been left stranded after the sudden closure of four primary schools.

About 80 Catholic primary teachers and support staff will be made redundant or redeployed following the closure of four primary schools from next year, which will also leave hundreds of families stranded.

The four schools, St Bridget’s Catholic Primary School in Greythorn, St John’s Primary School in Clifton Hill, St Joseph’s Primary School in Black Rock and St Mary Magdalen’s Parish School in Chadstone, were all battling low enrolments.

Together, the schools have just 300 students, and will remain open until the last day of term four, 2023.

The smallest school was St Bridget’s which had just 71 students spread across seven year levels.

The staff, many of whom are very distressed at learning of the closures, will have to find a new job by the start of next year.

General Secretary David Brear said the closure would be “devastating for students, families and staff”.

“We were out yesterday in each of the four schools to support their dedicated and understandably distressed staff through these very difficult early days. We will continue to work with and advocate for our members to make sure they’re properly supported.

“We want to make sure that every effort is made by employers to accommodate those who wish to be redeployed in other local Catholic schools, and that the preferences and circumstances of every individual are properly considered,” Mr Brear said.

Parents, who have been rallying and agitating to save their schools were upset at the sudden decision, which was made public late on Thursday.

They have expressed concern that the schools which will close, which are not the smallest in the state, are all located on prime real estate, such as St Joseph’s in Black Rock which is just a few blocks back from the beach and St Brigid’s in Greythorn, which is in the heart of North Balwyn, an area full of expensive new developments.

Together, the schools set to close have just 300 students.

Several distraught parents said their children did not have places for next year, and those with additional needs were facing a particularly tough challenge finding accommodation at nearby schools.

Most have missed the deadline for special needs funding in state schools next year.

This prompted Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS) to clarify that there are hundreds of spaces at nearby Catholic schools who are ready to welcome them into their communities.

MACS executive director, Dr Edward Simons said these schools “provide high-quality specialist support for students with a range of special needs”.

“We will ensure everyone receives the support they need, including appropriate fee relief, uniform support, and funding for students. This includes supporting students, families, and carers with individualised and tailored plans, to support their transition into a new school community,” he said.

He said there will be no redundancies, with redeployment options provided for principals, teachers and support staff.

However, it’s understood a number of staff may not want to be redeployed and instead will seek a redundancy.

Severance pay for those aged 45 and over is 25 weeks for those with 12 years or more continuous service.

One parent told the Herald Sun the review and closure process was flawed and “they had little hope of help from MACS now”.

Hundreds of families have been left stranded after the sudden closure of the four schools from next year.

Some upset parents are refusing to accept the decision and are asking for appeal mechanisms and more detail about the reasons and processes.

Liberal MP Brad Rowswell, who has been agitating on behalf of parents, said:

“The closure of St Joseph’s Primary School is a kick in the guts for a wonderfully tight knit and supportive community.

“Tonight, on behalf of my community, I have sought assurances from Catholic Education that they will support students and families to transition to their next school and that they will support teachers and staff to redeploy with no redundancies. This assurance has been unequivocally given.”

Liberal MP for Kew Jess Wilson expressed disappointment for parents at St Bridget’s.

“This is disappointing and devastating news for St Bridget’s Primary School. There is no doubt the weeks and months ahead will be a very upsetting time for the students, families, teachers and staff. I have been assured tonight by Catholic Education that it will support this wonderful school community through the difficult transition,” she said.

Dozens of other Catholic schools in the metropolitan area and around the state have enrolments much lower than the four schools, including those in Vermont, East Doncaster, Kew East, Reservoir, Blackburn North and Flemington. Rural Catholic primary schools in Clarkes Hill, Dunnstown and Pyramid Hill each have fewer than 20 students.

One parent from St Joseph’s in Black Rock said she was “devastated” about the closure of the school and said many parents had not been able to find other schools to enrol their children in. Students with special needs are understood to be particularly impacted as they may miss out on funded places at other schools, even if they manage to get places for 2024.

The parent said they believed “something was up as there were people in suits at the school today having meetings”.

“It is very sad that we are hearing this from the media and have not even had time to tell our children,” the parent said.

“It’s the wrong decision, but we believe the process was set up to deliver the outcome they wanted, which was to close the schools.”

A text sent through to parents at 4.59pm on Thursday was headed “Outcome of School Viability Process”.

It was a letter from principal Liam Buckley saying that it was “with a heavy heart” that he attached a letter about the closure, noting that staff had only been notified in the past hour.

“Please know that we are here for you and we will support you and each other in the best ways we can,” he said.

The shock decision was announced by the operator of the schools, Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS).

Executive Director Dr Edward Simons said all alternative options were explored before making the difficult decision that it was no longer sustainable to operate these schools beyond this year.

He said all families would receive support and transition to move to neighbouring schools.

“Over the past few months, we held several meetings with principals, parish priests and parent representatives as part of the consultation process to understand how we could best support these schools,” Dr Simons said.

“We looked closely at enrolment outlook and demographic trends, proximity of neighbouring schools, projected financial outlook, educational programs, site facilities and pastoral mission as well as the ability to continue to attract and maintain students and teachers in each of these communities, unique to their circumstances.

“After weighing up a range of factors, and careful consideration of significant community feedback, we have come to the difficult decision that it is not viable to continue operating these schools into the future.”

As the Herald Sun reported back in May, changing demographics, Catholicism’s social stigma and a decline in religious beliefs have left some schools with as few as 16 students. Parents have been expressing concern at the process of decision-making, with some believing that the schools’ closures were already decided when the “reviews” were announced in May.