The Victorian Government has announced it will build a kindergarten at Kialla West Primary School on the southern edge of Shepparton.
The school sits on the Goulburn Valley Hwy, a major transport route for heavy vehicles travelling between the northern states and Victoria.
Its school council has long campaigned for its school crossing to be redeveloped, as it fears another serious accident similar to one that occurred in 2019.
“I think the kinder is a fantastic opportunity to not only expand the school and have this great facility on our site but also to solve some other problems at the same time and put the heads together of all the different people that need to be, from local government to state government, to work out how we get the best outcome that suits the school and the new kinder so that it’s a really great environment for everybody,” school council president Jamie Gilbert said.
“I think that’s what we’re looking forward to now, is that consultation from the government.”
Mr Gilbert said school traffic at the site converged with heavy vehicles and other through traffic, along with pedestrians at school pick-up and drop-off times.
He said a kindergarten would only exacerbate the congestion.
The school is also on a septic system, not town sewerage, and relies on rainwater.
“So those issues certainly will need to be solved and the government may have already considered those things, and if they have, we’d love to hear more about that,” Mr Gilbert said.
Victorian Children Minister Lizzie Blandthorn announced on March 1 that Kialla West was among 13 schools to be chosen as the sites of new kindergartens due to open in 2026.
She said those 13 kinders would create at least 1600 places for children, helping to meet demand for three- and four-year-old kindergarten, plus pre-prep, in the Kialla West area.
Yarrawonga College P-12 is another of the schools that will receive a kindergarten.
The government said locating kindergartens on or close to schools helped children get the most out of their early learning; made drop-off more convenient for parents and carers; and helped with a smoother transition to primary school.
“We’re building hundreds of kinders at schools across the state, helping to meet local demand for kindergarten and making life simpler for hard-working parents and carers,” Ms Blandthorn said.
State Member for Northern Victoria Wendy Lovell has also welcomed the announcement but added her concerns to those of the school council regarding increased traffic around the school.
“An Early Learning Centre will be a fantastic addition to the Kialla West Primary School, but the government must also invest in safety upgrades to the school crossing and drop-off/pick-up area to ensure the safety of the school community,” the Liberal MP said.
“It is a disgrace that more than five years have passed since the horrific accident in which a school family were severely injured, and still no major work has been done to improve safety at the school crossing.”
State member for Shepparton Kim O’Keeffe also pressed the point that safety improvements needed to be made.
“The safety of our children and families at Kialla West Primary School must be a priority,” she said.
“This situation not only highlights the immediate need for improved safety measures at the Kialla West Primary School but also stresses the need for the Shepparton bypass.”
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