Boundary fence construction
Construction on the school boundary fence will commence from mid-September 2024.
Construction will take approximately five weeks and it is expected the fence will be in place within the first half of Term 4. It will be black in colour and 2.1 metres high.
Safety of the school community during construction is a priority. Temporary fencing will be put up and the construction areas will be cordoned off for the duration of the work. Student learning will not be impacted.
Consultation
During Semester 2 2023, the Education Directorate ran a six-week community consultation on a boundary fence design for Farrer Primary School.
As part of this consultation, the school and local community had their say on the fence line, the location of access gates and after-hours access arrangements. This consultation shaped the final design which you can find here
The decision to install a fence at the school was made in the interest of student safety and to mitigate vandalism of school property.
We acknowledge that there are mixed views on the need for a fence. The Education Directorate takes its duty of care for students seriously as well as the wellbeing of staff.
Out of hours (community) access arrangements
Through the community consultation, it was acknowledged that providing access to school grounds out of school hours was important to our community.
Once complete, all gates will be locked when the grounds are in use by the school. This includes while Out of Hours School Care is running. There will be no impact or change to pick up and drop off locations.
ACT public schools are shared community assets. The boundary fence allows continued community access to school facilities when not in use by the school. Community will have access to school grounds:
- Weekends, public holidays and school holidays from 8am – 5.30pm (until 8.30pm in summer)
- Weekdays from 6pm – 8.30pm during summer only
More information will be provided about how these gates will work in the coming months.
Thank you to everyone who participated in the community engagement process.
For any questions please contact: ACT.Education@act.gov.au.