Westmead Catholic Community

Sacred Heart Parish Westmead and local Catholic schools are growing to meet the needs of the expanding Westmead community. The Westmead Catholic Community project is a strong response to these needs, building on the strengths of the Parish and each school by providing new facilities at a central location in Darcy Road to support the local community through faith, learning and outreach. This will include new Parish and community services and additional enrolment opportunities through major investment in our outstanding Westmead Catholic schools.

The Westmead Catholic Community initiative meets the NSW Government’s definition of a State Significant Project. Therefore, the relevant decision-making body is the Department of Planning, Industry & Environment (DPIE).

As of March 2024, the project has DPIE approval and, following this approval, the Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese Limited Board has given endorsement for the next phase of the project to go ahead.

Catholic schools in Westmead are unable to meet growing demand, turning away more than 500 enrolment applicants every year for several years. A plan has been announced by the Diocese of Parramatta, Marist Trustees and supported by the Sisters of Mercy Parramatta, to provide more enrolment opportunities to meet the growing need of families seeking a Catholic education for their children locally. These changes are part of the Westmead Catholic Community initiative, which also includes new Parish facilities.

New Catholic primary school facilities in Westmead will open in 2026 and will be located at Darcy Road, Westmead. A single Kindergarten to Year 6 primary school will replace the existing Sacred Heart Primary Westmead and Mother Teresa Primary Westmead schools and will be known as Sacred Heart Primary Westmead. The identities and traditions of each primary school will remain strong and vibrant within the Westmead Catholic Community. St Teresa of Calcutta will continue to be honoured, including through the new Mother Teresa Early Learning Centre which will be located on the Darcy Road site. Expanding enrolment opportunities at Catherine McAuley Westmead and Parramatta Marist High School through the gradual upgrade of their existing facilities at a later date remains a priority.

Catholic schools in Westmead will remain focused on ensuring the needs of students and their families are met. After 2024, all current students of Sacred Heart Primary school and Mother Teresa Primary will be automatically transferred to the new primary facilities at Darcy Road. Please note that after 2023, students enrolled in Sacred Heart Primary for Early Childhood Education to Year 2 will be automatically transferred to Mother Teresa Primary for Year 3 to Year 6. Expanding enrolment opportunities at Catherine McAuley Westmead and Parramatta Marist High School through new facilities at a later date remains a priority.

As indicated earlier, and subject to the necessary approvals, 2024 is the scheduled time for the opening of the new primary school and Parish facilities. Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese’s enrolment policy continues to apply to all Catholic schools in Westmead.

As we work together to meet the increasing need for Catholic school places in Westmead, it is anticipated that there will be increased employment opportunities for teachers and support staff. Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese is committed to fair and transparent processes as the Westmead Catholic Community grows and we will keep staff informed.

In the long-term, Westmead Catholic Community will also provide additional opportunities for sharing resources, collaboration between schools, pathways and partnerships. New facilities will support schools to offer a dynamic and contemporary learning environment. The project will result in increased subject choices for secondary students and may mean occasionally senior students from Catherine McAuley Westmead and Parramatta Marist High School share a class to make the provision of a specialist subject possible. Teachers will continue to be required to be appropriately qualified for the work they are engaged in.

The design of the new facilities for both primary and secondary students at schools in Westmead will see some changes to recreational facilities for students. Open spaces will be complemented by significant investment in creating up-to-date and exciting play and recreation spaces throughout the new buildings. These new spaces will be usable all-year round, in all weather and be tailored for the age groups who use different areas.

Research supports spaces like these to encourage more activity in children. Providing spaces throughout the new buildings, as well as on the ground, reduces the need for children to use stairs and lifts during the day and ensures all their break times can be used for play based and social activity. These spaces are also then easily accessible for outdoor learning and breakout areas as part of the overall learning engagement.

During the construction, some recreational spaces used by the schools will be relocated. These changes will be made in consultation with the school leadership teams. On completion, Westmead Catholic Community will maintain sufficient play space and open space for the planned number of students on campus.

Catholic schools in Westmead are committed to meeting the needs of every learner. This includes ensuring that students are supported through appropriate structures and pastoral care during growth within their own school communities.

We’ve been listening carefully to our community about the project, including feedback about the student numbers for the primary school onsite. This means that the primary school will be able to welcome just one more class in each grade, in addition to students and staff from our existing Westmead primary schools, Mother Teresa Primary and Sacred Heart Primary. For this reason, the building will also be able to accommodate some students and staff from Catherine McAuley Westmead as well.

Westmead Catholic Community will provide additional opportunities for sharing of resources between schools to cater to specific student needs. A Catholic Early Learning Centre is also planned for the site.

The current site of Sacred Heart Primary is extremely limited and its classroom facilities were not designed to support contemporary learning. The school site also includes some playground space on short-term lease from the Anglican Church. It is anticipated that the Westmead Catholic Community initiative will provide more space for students to learn and play at the new location on Darcy Road.

Traffic management has been and will continue to be a major consideration in the planning for the Westmead Catholic Community. The Project Team has worked closely with local transport and traffic authorities, the NSW Government including Transport NSW and Western Sydney Local Health District, to discuss traffic management and transport. A traffic engineer has been consulted to provide expert advice on how to best manage the movement of people and vehicles. This is a major opportunity to improve traffic management and parking across the Darcy Road site, including during construction. A new multi-storey car park is being constructed as part of the first phase of the project, as well as an additional school ‘kiss-and-drop’ area. This work is expected to be completed in mid-2025 and should address some of the traffic management concerns that were also raised during community consultations.

In response to community feedback and working closely with the City of Parramatta’s traffic experts, traffic consultants, Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese and school principals, a new ‘Kiss and Drop’ was established at the Darcy Road schools’ site in 2021. This has also resulted in a small number of additional car spaces being available to families each afternoon.

Safe and healthy travel to school is an important consideration for the planning and design process. At present, 75% of students at Catherine McAuley Westmead and Parramatta Marist High School travel to school by public transport or on foot. In the medium to long-term, the Westmead precinct will benefit from active pedestrian and cycle paths, Parramatta Light Rail, Sydney Metro West and the existing heavy rail and T-Way. These facilities will support increased use of active travel and public transport, particularly for older students and those who will live within the Westmead precinct. “Active travel means walking, cycling, scootering, skateboarding or any similar transport where human energy is spent to travel” (NSW Government, Healthy Kids). Parents and carers, students, staff and the community will be invited to participate in discussions on ‘Active travel’ during consultation.

Yes, Catherine McAuley Westmead and Parramatta Marist High School will still be single-sex schools. The Westmead Catholic Community will provide additional opportunities for sharing resources and collaboration between schools. This will result in increased subject choices for secondary students and may mean occasionally senior students from Catherine McAuley Westmead and Parramatta Marist High School share a class to make the provision of a specialist subject possible. Sufficient facilities will be provided to allow for combinations of single-sex and co-educational learning in a limited number of subjects for the two separate Year 7 to 12 secondary schools.

The Westmead Catholic Community will see local Catholic systemic schools located on the same site. A Catholic Early Learning Centre is also planned as part of the initiative. This may provide convenience for some families including opportunities for siblings to travel to school together. There will be many opportunities for siblings of different ages and support needs to share in Westmead Catholic Community celebrations together.

The safety of all students will always be the number one priority for Westmead Catholic schools and in the design of Westmead Catholic Community. Shared resources including specialist learning areas will provide new opportunities for collaboration. Access to these resources will be carefully supervised to ensure that shared usage is safe and appropriate. Visitors to the school will be required to follow strict protocols.

Student safety has been a key consideration in the planning process for the site. A great benefit of redesigning the site and the buildings will be the ability to ensure sightlines for supervision are considered holistically, further adding to the overall safety and wellbeing of each child. The secure school premises will feature covered play areas designed for the exclusive use of particular year groupings to provide a safe environment for recreational activities. These arrangements promote student safety and encourage the development of social skills through opportunities to play with students of a similar age.

Westmead Catholic schools are committed to ensuring safety and minimising disruption to current students during the construction of new facilities. A construction management plan has been developed as part of the planning process which will outline ways to mitigate noise, dust and debris. The Project Team will be working closely with each of the schools to plan ways to schedule classes and activities to minimise disruption to learning and teaching, particularly during HSC trials and examinations.

As indicated earlier, 2026 is the scheduled time for the opening of the new primary school and Parish facilities. Sacred Heart Primary Westmead will continue to operate at its current site until this time.

As part of the Catholic Church, Westmead Catholic Community shares a responsibility to care for God’s creation. The project will comply with all government requirements regarding environmental impacts and the facilities provided as part of the project will be more environmentally efficient. There will also be the possibility of Westmead Catholic schools participating in the Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese Energy Efficiency Program.

In September 2019, the Diocese of Parramatta, together with the Marist Brothers Australia and Sisters of Mercy Parramatta, announced the Westmead Catholic Community in response to the needs of the growing Westmead community. As part of this news, it had been decided that the Westmead Catholic primary schools would be designated as Sacred Heart Primary for students from Kindergarten to Year 2, and Mother Teresa Primary for students from Year 3 to 6.

It was announced on 29 June 2020 hat, after further consultation with the communities, a single primary school would be the best option for the Westmead Catholic Community. Consequently, from 2026, the primary school within the Westmead Catholic Community will be known as Sacred Heart Primary Westmead and will serve students from Kindergarten to Year 6. St Teresa of Calcutta will continue to be honoured, including through the new Mother Teresa Early Learning Centre which will be located on the Darcy Road site.

After 2026, all current students of Sacred Heart Primary and Mother Teresa Primary will be automatically transferred to the new Sacred Heart Primary Westmead facilities at Darcy Road.

The current site of Sacred Heart Primary is extremely limited and its classroom facilities were not designed to support contemporary learning. The school site also includes some playground space on a short-term lease from the Anglican Church. It is anticipated that the Westmead Catholic Community initiative will provide more space for students to learn and play at the new location on Darcy Road.

Progress is being made on the new Sacred Heart Church and Parish Centre on Darcy Road with early works and site inspections completed as of March 2024. The next phase is detailed design and final approvals.

The Church will remain open and available during the building phase of the project, enabling the worshipping community to continue to gather for all of the Church’s important celebrations such as Easter and Christmas.