Our School

Principal’s Welcome

Thank-you for taking the time to learn more about our school. I am grateful to have the opportunity to lead Macclesfield Primary School forward as Principal. We have a committed team of educators, thoughtful, engaged families, and resilient, considerate and happy children who love learning about their world. 

Our families value the style of learning that leads children to develop the skills, knowledge and dispositions required to be an independent, engaged learner in our modern world. Our children feel valued at our school when opportunities to contribute to learning both inside and outside the classroom take place. We value student voice and agency as essential for building a community that provides student-centred learning. We offer the progressive inquiry learning approach through the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program (PYP). We believe inquiry is the vehicle to drive student learning and the PYP provides the scope, flexibility and structure for teachers and educators to guide student learning. 

Our children and families already come to school with a whole range of experiences, knowledge and skills that demonstrate their enormous capacity and potential. The curriculum we create through our Units of Inquiry emerges from the questions, wonderings, knowledge and experiences our children discuss and share. Our teachers are skilled at facilitating learning by balancing the need for explicit instruction of curriculum, skills and approaches with the careful release of responsibility that leads to self-management and agency. 

I am extremely proud of our students. They are kind, considerate and polite. Our children are creative and imaginative. I love the structures and games that can emerge from outdoor nature-based play. Our children work together to solve problems. They are learning the responsibility we all share in taking ownership of our mistakes, and see these as opportunities to build on what we know.

Our students ask questions to deepen their learning, and are beginning to take great responsibility for the role they play in building knowledge. 

I am equally proud of our School Team – our staff are extremely committed and understanding of the importance of their role in ensuring that our students have access to the best learning environment and opportunities possible. Ongoing staff learning is a feature of our school and we are committed to improving our practice through targeted and specific professional development. 

I am very grateful for the support that our parents and families provide. A strong and supportive partnership between home and school is essential for a child’s learning to be successful and this is highly regarded at Macclesfield Primary School. Our families are the first educators and we rely on information sharing, collaboration and trust to ensure we are meeting the learning and wellbeing needs for ALL of our students. As an IB school, we value the experiences, passions, interests and vocations from within our school community and see these as integral for building on the rich learning experiences taking place through the Primary Years Program. 

Macclesfield Primary School is certainly a school to be proud and we are firmly committed to ensuring continuous improvement well into the future.
If you are a prospective parent, then please make sure you contact us to learn more about our school. School tours are conducted all year round, and we are always excited to show new families around our school. 

Regards, 

 

Andrew Bagnall

 

School Overview

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.

Macclesfield Primary School is committed to implementing a comprehensive Teaching and Learning program to provide the best educational opportunities for all students. Our Teaching and Learning goal is to give all students access to educational experiences that are challenging, purposeful and comprehensive, and that result in all children achieving success in learning. The provision of high quality teaching and learning in a multi-age setting is the goal of a continuous improvement cycle.

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.

History

Then & Now

(1909 – current) 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.

Mission & Vision Statement

Macclesfield Primary School Vision Statement:
Macclesfield Primary School aims to create an inspiring teaching and learning community, where we nurture curiosity and bestow a life-long love of learning.

 

Macclesfield Primary School Mission Statement:
Our unique setting at Macclesfield Primary School aims to develop a community hub which provides a quality, inquiry-based education. We believe this allows everyone to reach their full and unique potential within a caring and joyful environment, celebrating cultural diversity and sustainable practices.

 

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.

For more information:

Our Macclesfield Primary School IB PYP Brochure

The Primary Years Programme Of Inquiry Grade Units 2023 Of Inquiry

Child Safety Standards

Macclesfield Primary School is committed to the safety and wellbeing of all children and young people.  As part of the Victorian Government?s commitment to implementing the recommendations of the Betrayal of Trust report, there is a new regulatory landscape surrounding child safety, underpinned by new Child Safe Standards.

Standard One: Strategies to embed an organisational culture of child safety, including through effective leadership arrangements.

  1. Andrea Goodey is the designated Child Safety Wellbeing Officer
  2. Andrew Bagnall (Principal) is the Child Safe Champion
  3. Macclesfield Primary School is committed to child safety
  • We want children to be safe, happy and empowered. We support and  respect all children,       as well as our staff and volunteers in all school environments and Outside of School Hours Care.
  • We are committed to the safety, participation and empowerment of all children.
  • We have zero tolerance of child abuse, and all allegations and safety concerns will be treated very seriously and consistently with our robust policies and procedures.
  • We have legal and moral obligations to contact authorities when we are worried about a child?s safety, which we follow rigorously.
  • We are committed to preventing child abuse and identifying risks early, and removing and reducing these risks. The school has robust human resources and recruitment practices for all staff and volunteers and regularly trains and educates staff and volunteers on child abuse risks.
  • We support and respect all children, as well as our staff and volunteers. We are committed to the cultural safety of Aboriginal children, children from culturally and/or linguistically diverse backgrounds, and to providing a safe environment for children with a disability.
  • We have specific policies, procedures and training in place that support our leadership team, staff and volunteers to achieve these commitments.

Standard Two: A child safe policy or statement of commitment to child safety

Standard Three: A code of conduct that establishes clear expectations for appropriate behaviour with children.

Standard Four: Screening, supervision, training and other human resources practices that reduce the risk of child abuse by new and existing personnel.

Standard Five: Processes for responding to and reporting suspected child abuse.

Standard Six: Strategies to identify and reduce or remove risks of child abuse.

Standard Seven: Strategies to promote the participation and empowerment of children.

Standard 2 Child Safety Policy – Code of Conduct

Standard 4 Child Safety Recruitment

standard 4 WWCC Register Policy

Standard 5 Child Safety Making A Report

Standard 5 Mandatory Reporting –Child Safety Responding And Reporting Obligations Policy And Procedures

Standard 6 DET Health, Safety & Wellbeing Policy

Standard 7 Student Engagement And Well Being Policy

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