Our School

Principal’s Welcome

Macclesfield Primary School is a fantastic small school with a focus on continued improvement. Our students, families and teachers value school as a place of learning and building skills. Over the last 5 years, we have sought to improve the social, emotional and academic outcomes for our students by focusing on evidence-based strategies and best practice. When you walk through our school, you will notice calm, quiet, productive classrooms where students are attentive to the teacher, and focused on their learning. You will hear our staff explain what they are learning and why they are learning it, and you will see teachers first modelling a new skill, before providing students with opportunities to practice and master the skill.

Our curriculum provides our students with rich, knowledge building experiences. Across the school, we explore 4 ‘knowledge-rich’ units of learning, where students and teachers build knowledge of geography, science, history and socio-cultural connections. 
If you were at school during our three playtimes, you would hear students making announcements for different clubs, see lots of sporting games,  see students building cubbies or playing in the sandpit or climbing trees or checking on our chickens. Our outdoor space is large, spread over 4 acres, where students have opportunity and autonomy to be imaginative, creative and energetic. It is normal for children of different ages to be playing together at school. It might be a game of basketball, a cubby or a card game in the library, but the nature of our students and what they enjoy doing means everyone can join in.

Students from Grades 3-6 have opportunities to represent our school in different sports. Basketball, swimming, softball, AFL/AFLW, soccer, cricket and athletics are some of the sports we participate in with other local schools. Being a small school, students from a wide range of experience, get the chance to try something new. Our focus is learning the rules of a new game, building skills to participate and compete, and understanding how to play as a team. Students give up lunch-times to train together in the lead up to an event, which builds camaraderie and team spirit. 

Some of the little things that matter to our students include: the opportunity to wear casual clothes on your birthday, and having your name called out for 3 cheers at assembly; being able to climb trees- we place ribbons in the trees to indicate how high students can climb; student-led assemblies every Friday; regular hot lunch orders made by our generous families; chickens cared for by our student-led chook champions; our Student Representative Council and the opportunity to build cubbies.

Our families come from the local Macclesfield community and surrounds. At Macclesfield, parents are welcomed and encouraged to participate in all school activities and to be partners with teachers in developing positive relationships between home and school. The school council and parent community provide highly valued support to all aspects of the school’s endeavours.

We look forward to you joining our school community at Macclesfield Primary School.

Regards
Andrew Bagnall

Mission & Vision

Our communal goals are

To cultivate a desire of learning in children and provide them with the skills they need to be knowledgeable, adaptable, empathetic and resilient in a rapidly changing world.

To educate students to be mindful of other perspectives, to take personal action towards shared guardianship of planet Earth and help to create a better, more peaceful world.

History

Macclesfield Primary School was established in 1909 and is situated within a semi-rural residential area on the eastern edge of the Dandenong Ranges, approximately 50 kilometres east of Melbourne in the Shire of Yarra Ranges.

A State School opened in Macclesfield with 6 pupils at the local hall on 3rd May 1909, under HT Miss J Walker. The date of the first recorded Committee meeting was 7th August 1911 with W. Marr (President) and W. Bolduan (Secretary and Treasurer). The minutes of the first meeting record a motion to inquire about medals to commemorate the coronation of King Edward VII.

The Department leased the hall for 20 years. After numerous requests for a school building the committee arranged a deputation to meet with the relevant minister in 1928. E.G. Risk became the first teacher to teach at the new school which was opened on land sold to the Department by H.J. Legg.

The new building was officially opened on 4th December 1929 by George Knox. A school residence requested in May 1950 was first occupied in September 1952.

Electricity was connected to the school in July 1964 and a room was added to the original building in 1967. A Mothers’ Club was formed in 1951.

We celebrated our centenary in 2009 and it is our challenge as a school community to continue with similar optimism, commitment and willingness to do what we can to provide the best possible educational opportunities for our own children – and for the students who will attend Macclesfield PS in the years to come.

Our Team

Our Grounds

We have extensive grounds at Macclesfield Primary School for outdoor play and exploration. Climbing trees, building cubbies, playing sport and make-believe play are common activities during the 3 main play breaks. Students from Prep to Year 6 often play together, modifying games and activities so everyone can be included.

School Tours

School Tours are available all year round. Please call our office on 5968 4734 to arrange a suitable time.

Enrolments/Tours

Enrolment forms

Enrolment forms must include:

• date of birth (note: evidence of date of birth can be official, such as a birth certificate or where this is not able to be produced, unofficial, such as a doctor’s note attesting to a child’s age).
• names and addresses of the student and enrolling parent or carer
• details of medical and other conditions that may require special consideration
• emergency telephone numbers, including a nominated doctor
• an Immunisation History Statement from the Australian Immunisation Register
• the name of the previous school and the student’s current year level, where students transfer from another school
• the Privacy Collection Statement.

The signature of:

• the parent as defined in the Family Law Act 1975 (Note: In the absence of a current court order, each parent of a child who is not 18 has equal parental responsibility)
• both parents for parents who are separated, or a copy of the court order with any impact on the relationship between the family and the school
• an informal carer, with a statutory declaration. Carers: may be a relative or other carer, have day-to-day care of the student with the student regularly living with them, or may provide any other consent required, for example, excursions)

You can find the Enrolment Form here: Student Enrolment Form

Foundation (Prep) enrolments

The Department of Education (DE) has a statewide Foundation (Prep) enrolment timeline.

The timeline advises families when and how to enrol their child into Foundation (Prep) at a Victorian government primary school, including Macclesfield Primary School

You can find information and resources about the enrolment timeline and procedures at: Enrolling in Foundation (Prep).

Documents

Provided below is supplementary documents that will help potential new families to understand Macclesfield Primary School’s mission, vision and culture:

Policies

First Aid Policy

Health Care Needs Policy

Inclusion And Diversity Policy

Japanese Policy

Language Policy

Mathematics Policy

Mobile Phone Policy

Parent Payment Policy (DET)

Parent Payment Policy 2026

Privacy Collection Notice

Privacy Policy (DET)

Statement Of Values And Philosophy

Student Engagement And Well Being Policy

Visitors Policy

Volunteers Poilcy

WWCC Register Policy

Yard Duty Supervision Policy