Schools Support

Every school in Hepburn Shire, from Bullarto to Yandoit, is eligible for support from us each year. Teachers know their students, so we trust them to decide where it helps most.

When a student needs something, their school can say yes straight away.

At a glance

  • All

    schools in Hepburn Shire are eligible for our support

  • 2023

    the year the program began, funded every year since

  • 50%

    of Schools Support goes to literacy programs

How it works

  • Each school has its own fund

    Each participating school manages its own allocation from us.

  • The school decides

    Staff use it where students need it, quietly and without delay.

  • We top it up

    When the money is spent and the school reports back, we replenish the fund.

What schools use it for

  • School lunches and healthy breakfasts
  • Literacy programs
  • Swimming lessons
  • Camps and excursions
  • Uniforms and sports equipment
  • Access to a computer
  • Diagnostic testing
  • Specialist medical and psychology appointments
  • Wellbeing programs

Stories from our schools

  • Students sitting in a circle on the lawn at Daylesford Secondary College

    Daylesford Secondary College

    Backing the staff who know students best

    Our funding supports the college’s wellbeing work with students and families. Since 2022 we have also funded Carmen’s Legacy, John Maher’s road safety presentation for Year 12 students, which has reached an estimated 260 young people.

    We are grateful to The Daylesford Foundation for supporting our students, families and the broader school community. You are absolutely changing lives and making a difference. We could not do this work without your generosity.

    Bridget Franc, Former Head of Wellbeing, Daylesford Secondary College, 2025

    Image: Daylesford Secondary College, supplied by the school

  • The student pantry at Clunes Primary School, stocked with food and toiletries

    Clunes Primary School

    From one wellbeing room to a suite of support

    What began as a calm wellbeing space has grown, year by year, as new needs emerged: the Peaceful Kids mindfulness program, a Lego social skills program, start-of-year stationery packs, and a student pantry that gives families discreet access to food and toiletries.

    Image: Clunes Primary School. Photographer: Jodie Parker, 2026

  • A volunteer preparing school lunches in a kitchen in Clunes

    Clunes

    Keeping lunch on the table

    When the Clunes school lunches program needed urgent support to continue, volunteers at the Clunes Neighbourhood Centre relaunched it, and we fund the lunches. Students get a hot meal each week, families in need pay less, and reusable containers cut the waste.

  • Students in maroon uniforms and hats working in the school garden at Creswick North Primary School

    Creswick North Primary School

    New uniforms, no one left out

    When one of the smallest schools in our region changed to a new uniform, funds from the Foundation helped families who were struggling to pay for the change.

  • Students building a shelter from branches in the bush

    Daylesford Dharma School

    Camp for every student

    Funding helped make the school’s bush camp in Gariwerd accessible to all students, with bushwalking, nature craft and learning about Indigenous connections to Country. The principal called it “a wonderful shared experience for students and teachers alike”.

Schools in Hepburn Shire

  • Bullarto Primary School
  • Clunes Primary School
  • Creswick Primary School
  • Creswick North Primary School
  • Daylesford Dharma School
  • Daylesford Primary School
  • Daylesford Secondary College
  • Hepburn Primary School
  • Newlyn Primary School
  • St Augustine’s Creswick
  • St Michael’s Daylesford
  • Trentham Primary School
  • Yandoit Primary School

I can’t express how much of a difference The Foundation makes to our families, our school, and our community.

Trudi Blick, Former Assistant Principal, Daylesford Primary School, 2026
Donate
Our literacy program
Everything we fund