The state of education: Urbis reflects on the way ahead post-elections

Is there another way to deliver schools faster?

In new communities, developers could fund the building of schools directly and without delay, so social infrastructure is in place when residents move in.

If developers of new communities were able to fund school infrastructure upfront and seek reimbursement from the Government once the school is built, this could alleviate some of the pressure placed on the process of releasing funds for new and expanded schools in NSW.

Does the planning framework work?

While creating significant opportunities for the development industry during the next four years is a win, there is concern the current planning process may not be able to support demand.

In 2017, a key piece of NSW legislation (Education SEPP) was introduced to make it easier to deliver school infrastructure – by raising the threshold for State Government determination of applications and by expanding pathways that don’t require development consent from State Government or local councils.

Improving facilities for all students in Queensland

With a state election due next year, Queensland’s current education funding is directed towards ensuring its foundations are intact. There’s an element of transition and catching up as Queensland moves to a national system alongside New South Wales and Victoria.

Along with building and refurbishing current school infrastructure, including early childhood and childcare facilities, other commitments to increase funding in Queensland include:

• State schools experiencing challenges in adapting to growth of student populations.
• Schools needing enrichment and enhancement of current facilities.
• $100 million allocated to providing or upgrading air conditioning facilities to give Queensland students the best possible learning environment.
• Extending the universal access to early childhood education.
• Advancing schools towards clean energy, improving solar and energy efficiency measures.

There’s an overall allocation of $711.7 million in state recurrent funding and $100 million in capital assistance for independent and Catholic schools from 2019 to 2020, to ensure students at state, Catholic and independent schools benefit from improved facilities.

We are looking forward to seeing these commitments come to fruition as Queensland heads to the polls next year.

The private sector will support the delivery of these new schools. A recent example, the Growth Area Infrastructure Contribution / Works In Kind (GAIC-WIK) agreement between Mirvac and the State Government, signed in 2018. This provided the land to deliver Rockbank North Primary School, due to open in 2021.  

In 2018, we saw the opening of two inner-city Government schools, South Melbourne Primary School and Richmond High School. These schools, along with Haileybury’s CBD campus, are the first vertical schools in Victoria. This demonstrates how school delivery is changing to meet land constraints and population growth.

We look forward to seeing more of these delivery initiatives eventuate, noting success is reliant on the collaboration of the Government and private sector.

What about non-Government schools?

Non-Government schools make up more than 30% of schools in Victoria. Unlike Government schools, which are not regulated by the planning system in Victoria, independent and Catholic schools need planning approval in Victoria.

Early learning for all three-year olds

One of the most impressive joint initiatives, is the investment in subsidised kindergarten for all three year olds, to be accessible by 2022. This is the first program of its kind in Australia, and “the largest social, economic and educational reform ever undertaken in early childhood learning in Victoria’s history.”

This funding includes:

• $473.2 million for new and upgraded early childhood infrastructure.
• $27.6 million for the Children’s Facilities Capital Program to build, upgrade and improve existing early years facilities.
• $6 million to improve playgrounds and buildings and provide equipment to help kindergartens be more inclusive and accessible to children with additional needs.
• $33.6 million for local councils and eligible providers to construct, expand and improve local kindergarten and other early childhood facilities.

This multi-faceted approach to engaging vulnerable and disadvantaged children, who are less likely to attend three year old kindergarten, includes the co-location of kindergartens within the same site as new primary schools. This will help ease the burden of multiple drop-off points for parents and provide a more cohesive learning environment for children.

We understand the priority on regions is based on the ability to roll this out where there are existing facilities.

Our map analysis shows the program will initially be rolled out across regional Victoria, with metropolitan Melbourne forecast to have funding for five hours a week of early learning education by 2022 – with the full 15 hours a week provided by 2029. Current ABS births data reveals there are 70-80,000 three-year olds in Victoria in any given year – without forecasting population growth. As 75% of Victorians live in Melbourne, we will need to find kindergartens for many three-year olds much sooner than 2029.

For independent schools, many of which are already developing master plans for the next 10 years, the need for additional early learning spaces must be considered now. Schools and early learning centres need to create the infrastructure to welcome more children in the coming years. This infrastructure includes accessible spaces for play based learning. Our design team works with educational providers to ensure children of all ages have play spaces that cater to a diversity of activities and abilities, while promoting safety and accessibility.

With more early learning centres needed across Victoria, it’s a good time for providers to consider the next evolution in early learning play spaces. Using evidence Evidence-based research, will help to achieve best practice when it comes to designing spaces for children.