Ministry of Education policies and guidelines related to facilities
School Property Guides and space allocations
For year 1–6 students, the Ministry's latest School Property Guides include the allocation of an area of 0.3m2 per student for practical aspects of the curriculum, such as dance, drama, science, technology, and visual arts. This allocation is in addition to the basic classroom area. A further 0.5m2 per student has been included for multi-purpose spaces.
For year 7–8 students, up to three extra teaching spaces, over and above the approved number of curriculum delivery teachers, has been provided for similar reasons.
Property guide entitlements for all year levels are calculated on a total area basis. It is up to each school to determine how it uses the space provided. The amount of space available for any particular activity will depend on a number of factors, including a school's size and its own priorities.
Therefore, any suggested room types or sizes on this website are to be considered only as a guide. They are not a required minimum that a school must supply in order to meet the needs of the performing arts curriculum.
Note that some facilities and space suggestions in this website can only be achieved in schools where additional local funding is arranged.
Property funding
Schools are funded in two ways for property development – for capital works and maintenance.
Capital works
Capital works funding is used to improve existing facilities (quality). This is done through a five-year programme (5YP) budget, which schools themselves allocate to specific projects based on their 10-year property plan (10YPP). A school's 10YPP guides all of its property decisions.
Capital work funding is also used to increase school capacity (quantity) relative to the property guide (code) through either:
- additional teaching space as justified by roll growth, and/or
- other space deficiencies through an annual programme prioritised mainly by the size of each school's total square metre deficiency.
Capital works funding is allocated as a dollar budget. Schools then develop the property solution themselves. All budgets are regularly reviewed, based on inflation (specifically changes in the capital goods price index which monitors and projects changes in construction costs).
Maintenance
Funding for the cyclic repair and upkeep of the school's land and buildings is a component of the school's operating grant. How this funding is spent is again determined by the school through its 10YPP.
For more information, see the Ministry's website section on property funding.
Project management
The individual property projects that are identified in a school's 10YPP and 5YP are implemented according to the Ministry's Project Management System Guidelines, which can be downloaded from the Ministry's website.
The guidelines provide best practice advice on the planning, implementation, and completion phases of a property project. The guidelines also cover the design standards that must be met in the planning and construction of school facilities to ensure the durability of the facilities themselves and the safety of the occupants.
Other useful documents in the project management section of the Ministry's website include:
- Consultant's Billboard
- Design Standard Guidelines and Consultants and Construction Contracts Guidelines.
Third party occupancy
Guidance is available from the Ministry of Education on the different types of arrangements that schools may enter into for the use of school facilities by non-school people – this is called 'third party occupancy'.
Schools may be used by different groups for a variety of purposes not directly concerned with day-to-day teaching, and there are several different agreements that a school might sign with such groups – these are called 'third party occupancy agreements'.
These agreements provide guidelines to ensure that the rights and responsibilities of everyone involved in the arrangement are known and understood.
For more information, see the Ministry's website section on third party occupancy policy.
Health and safety
The purpose of the Health and Safety in Employment Act is to keep workplaces safe and healthy for everyone connected with them. It applies to schools because schools are places of work. Boards of trustees are employers with responsibilities for the staff and other people who enter the school premises.
The intent of the Act is to encourage employers and employees to work together to keep the workplace safe, because those involved in the work (employers and employees) are usually the best people to decide what measures are needed to keep their own workplace safe. The only sure way to do that is by systematic management of all hazards.
The Ministry of Education's Health and Safety Code of Practice for State and State Integrated Schools sets out the steps a school needs to take to systematically manage hazards.
The Ministry also produces the Worksafe at School Guide, which is a framework that all schools can adopt to help them comply with the requirements of the Act, and to ensure a safe environment for all staff, students, and visitors.