Source: New Zealand Government
The Government has taken decisive action to address the inequitable state of school property to ensure better outcomes for all students.
“It is crucial that the school property portfolio is managed effectively so students can continue to benefit from safe, warm, and dry learning environments,” Education Minister Erica Stanford says.
“After a Ministerial Inquiry found the Ministry’s School Property function unfit for purpose, the Government is delivering improved efficiency and performance by prioritising warm, safe, and dry learning environments, maintaining existing school assets, and accelerating cost-effective new builds using standard designs and offsite manufacturing.”
Since the release of the Inquiry there has been:
A 35 percent increase in the number of standard or repeatable designed buildings delivered.
A 28 percent reduction in the average cost of each classroom, from $1.2m to $0.87m.
A 34 percent increase in funding for school maintenance.
The Ministry has also increased the number of new classrooms it delivered in 2024 by 140 when compared to 2023.
“One example was Wellington Girls’ College, where 14 classrooms over four, two-storey modulars were delivered in just 12 weeks at a cost of around $550,000 per classroom. This represented a 35% saving on the current value for money cost per classroom.”
Jerome Sheppard has been appointed Chief Executive of School Property as part of the phased approach to address the recommendations of the report.
“Mr Sheppard brings expertise in delivering infrastructure to have responsibility for all operational aspects of school property, and I look forward to working with him to ensure we can achieve better outcomes for all schools.”
The decisions on the final form of the Ministry’s School Property function will be made later this year.
“This Government is committed to delivering a world leading education in classrooms that give Kiwi kids the best chance to succeed so they can grow up and live the lives they want,” Ms Stanford says.
Notes for editor:
The Report of the Ministerial Inquiry into School Property: Microsoft Word – Report of the Ministerial Inquiry into School Property – Final draft.docx
