Franklin Early Childhood School will be renamed as Franklin School to reflect the major expansion works that will see the school grow from an early childhood school into a primary school. ACT minister for Education and Early Childhood Development Yvette Berry said that the ACT Government committed in 2016 to expand Franklin Early Childhood School to grow its permanent capacity to 600 students across Kindergarten to Year 6, in addition to the existing early childhood offering, to respond to the growing community. The $29.5 million permanent expansion is set to be completed for the start of the 2022 school year.




The Minister explained that in consultation with the school community, including staff, parents, Anglicare as the childcare and out of school hours care provider, and the broader community, the schools name will be changed to ‘Franklin School’ to reflect the expansion and acknowledge the history of the school and the community it supports. Minister Berry added that the school community will be asked to design a new school logo and students will be asked to think about the school values and how they will be extended into the expanded school.
Minister Berry said that to support a transition to a larger school, the ACT Government temporarily expanded the school’s capacity with high-quality transportable learning spaces. The school started its transition in 2019, allowing existing students to continue into Year 3 for the first time. This transition has been occurring gradually, with existing students continuing into Year 4 this year and Year 5 next year. The ACT Government is committed to ensuring every child has a place at a great local public school and this expansion at Franklin School demonstrates that commitment.
The Minister pointed out that each year, the number of children attending public schools across the ACT increases by around 3% and Gungahlin continues to be one of the fastest growing regions in Australia. To support this growth, the ACT Government is investing $52.2 million to expand schools across the Territory, focusing on high growth areas like Gungahlin.

Delivering new and expanded schools in Gungahlin includes:

• Increasing the permanent capacity of the Gold Creek School Senior Campus by 200 extra places by the beginning of the 2022 school year.
• Upgrading facilities at Gungahlin College to accommodate more staff and specialist science facilities.
• Construction begin later this year for a new primary school in Throsby catering for Kindergarten to Year 6. The new primary school will be built with capacity for 450 students and up to 132 preschool students, with space to accommodate future student growth.
• Planning is underway for a new school in Kenny to cater for 800 students from Years 7 to 10 with room for temporary expansion to accommodate more places if required.