St Kilda Primary School families urge Victorian goverment to build indoor sports hub

St Kilda Primary School students are forced to play “silent ball” in classrooms when it rains after a multi-million government upgrade removed a multipurpose hall.

Mae 8, Markus 11, Stella 10, Walter, 7 and Ava, 9 want an indoor sports hub. Picture: Wayne Taylor

Inner-city schoolchildren are being forced to play “silent ball” in classrooms and are missing on vital indoor PE classes due to a lack of indoor sporting facilities.

St Kilda Primary School parents are desperately urging the state government to build an indoor sports and community hub, saying 430 students have no spaces for indoor PE, assemblies, graduations, performances, or extra-curricular activities.

A change.org petition calling for the indoor space has gathered more than 1500 signatures.

In 2018, the state government delivered $10.5m to upgrade and modernise the school, which included contemporary learning spaces and outdoor play spaces.

As part of that upgrade a multipurpose hall that had been used for sports and other activities, as well as external community events, was removed to make way for new classrooms.

Mae 8, Markus 11, Stella 10, Walter, 7 and Ava, 9 don’t have anywhere to play when it rains. Picture: Wayne Taylor

Selina Ife, whose two children attend the school, said students now do not have access to a full sporting curriculum.

“If it’s raining they need to do sport inside and the area inside that is most fit for purpose has classrooms adjoining it, so they have to be quiet,” she said.

“They are playing silent ball and the first one who makes a sound is out.

“The teachers are doing a great job with what they have but what we really want to do is lock in that funding so we can get a hall built, not only for the school but for the whole community.”

Ms Ife said pupils were being forced to forgo many important schooling activities and events.

“If there’s bad weather the assembly will be broadcast over the speaker, so they also miss that opportunity,” she said.

“There’s no space for events such as Grandparents Day, Year 6 graduation, productions.”

Ms Ife said many students were forced to travel to different schools to take part in Playball competitions.

“MSAC (Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre) is flat out trying to schedule all of these games, so we just need another facility for the whole community, whether it’s students or other people,” she said.

“There is a part of the school where there is an indicative plan for where the hall would go near the oval on the Chapel St side of the school.

“My message to the Department of Education and state government is to please consider us in the funding and the needs of the school and the wider community.”

More than 1500 people have signed a petition calling for funding for an indoor sports facility. Picture: Wayne Taylor

Opposition Education spokeswoman Jess Wilson said students, staff and families at the school had been left without critical infrastructure because the state government “can’t manage money”.

“The government needs to urgently replace the hall it tore down so that students and the school community have an indoor space for assemblies, sports and events,” Ms Wilson said.

Another parent, Caroline Thornton, said 52 per cent of children at the school lived in flats and apartments.

“They live in an area of Port Phillip that has very little open space,” Ms Thornton said.

“When they come to school they need to be able to participate in any recreational activity that they can.”

Ms Thornton said it was “very distracting” for teaching staff when children play within the indoor spaces adjoining classrooms.

“It’s a really inadequate space, but it’s the only large space that you can get a class into for PE,” she said.

Another parent said schoolchildren also struggled to play sports outdoors in summer.

“It goes from wet to scorching hot and there’s schools around that all have facilities and we had one and it was taken away,” he said.

“It’s beyond the needs of the school and we do have strong backing from the City of Port Phillip.”