ST FRANCIS XAVIER PRIMARY SCHOOL

About This Project

ROAM Architects were appointed to develop a comprehensive masterplan for St Francis Primary School in Frankston. The school site is bounded by busy roads to the north and east, and by the main entrance and pick up / drop off zones located on Park Street to the south. The school has been extended incrementally over the years with the learning areas grouped around a central gathering space.

One of the key challenges was to find ways to improve the entrance spaces which are currently restricted and provide limited opportunities for community members to gather and engage with the life of the school.

Many of the existing learning spaces are oriented to the north but do not have direct access to covered outdoor learning spaces. This offers an opportunity to provide indoor / outdoor learning spaces without the need for major internal changes.

A key requirement the brief was to develop a masterplan which provided the school with a clear road map to transform the school environment. To help achieve this, we divided the school into seven key functional zones so the work in each zone can be understood in detail and then prioritised.

The consultation process included a number of different activities aimed at engaging a broad cross section of the school community. Activities included an online survey and focussed group sessions – all of which included students, teachers and community members.

The masterplan reimagines the existing library and computer lab as a new Well Being Hub. This includes a new community kitchen which is both accessible via the entrance / car park space and from the school outdoor spaces. Connected to the kitchen is a new STEM space and a refurbished library and consult / meeting spaces. The development of the Well being Hub was informed by the process of consultation and will become a resource for the entire school community.

Other improvements include new covered external learning decks, renovations to the learning spaces, refurbished play spaces and improvements to existing specialist spaces.