New facilities encourage open learning at Fulham North Primary, South Australia

Fulham North Primary, located in Henley Beach, South Australia has now come full circle following the completion of the school’s Building the Education Revolution (BER) project. Fulham North was one of the first schools to be granted funding under round one of the Primary Schools for the 21st Century program.

The Nation Building-Economic Stimulus Plan funding has enabled the construction of three new classrooms. The new classrooms feature a flexible floor plan to introduce an open learning environment for students, encouraging students to be interactive and creative. Principal Mark Ireland said the year three/four classes now participate in more activities as a whole unit through the common learning space.

‘The classrooms provide a fantastic venue for the kids to develop strong bonds with each other; as they work as a unit and share ideas and learning activities. The open learning approach allows the teachers to plan and deliver their curriculum together and fosters consistency,’ Mr Ireland explains.

‘Teachers now all sit together to discuss the curriculum and ‘bounce’ ideas off each other to ensure an interactive and 21st Century learning experience for the students,’ said Mr Ireland.

Fulham North also received $1,340,000 in funding to build a new multipurpose hall. The new hall caters for wet weather activities and community events. Mr Ireland expects the hall will be in high demand from the community seeking to use the new facility for community meetings and other purposes and believes it’s important to remind the students that infrastructure on this scale has not been seen by the school since its opening in 1973.

‘During the course of the project and throughout the construction phases, the kids put together a photo story of the progress, slowly turning the photos into a storybook that can be put into the school archives for posterity,’ said Mr Ireland.

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