Episode 29: Introduction to state school property

As tumuaki, and as part of the board, you have a key role in managing school property, but no one expects you to be the expert. As principal, you’ll need to build and maintain strong working relationships with your Ministry of Education property adviser, consultants and project managers, so you’ll know where to go for help and recognise when you need it. Today, we’ll give you an introduction to property administration, funding and planning in state schools, including a key document  - your ten year property plan, which includes your five year agreement or 5YA.

Note: a 10YPP contains:
- a property assessment
- a 10 year maintenance plan for the school (including a cyclical maintenance schedule for things like repainting) and 
- a 10 year capital works plan - split into a current 5YA and a proposed future 5YA.

 

My guests are:

• De Thomson, Ministry of Education Infrastructure manager Otago/Southland
• Blair Dravitski, principal of Lemonwood Grove School
• John Prestidge, tumuaki of Motueka High School

 

This podcast was produced for the Ministry of Education as part of Te Ara Tīmatanga mō ngā Tumuaki - The Beginning Pathway for Principals.

 

You can learn more about this topic by accessing Te Ara Tīmatanga mō ngā Tumuaki - The Beginning Pathway for Principals e-learning modules on the Education LMS: https://training.education.govt.nz

 

Episode themes:

• Role and responsibilities of Ministry in school property
• Principal’s role and responsibilities in school property
• Who to talk to for help with property

 

Additional information

• Ministry of Education property portal https://property.education.govt.nz
• Facilities and operations https://www.education.govt.nz/education-professionals/schools-year-0-13/facilities-and-operations

 

Questions

2:20 [De] What’s the Ministry’s role and responsibilities when it comes to an individual school?

 

2:52 [De] What’s a school principal’s role and responsibilities when it comes to property at their state school?

 

3:13 [De] Who should be a principal’s go-to people for help with property?

 

4:14 [De] What does the Ministry expect of tumuaki when it comes to property?

 

6:14 [Blair] Had you had any experience with property management when you first started as principal?

 

6:31 [Blair] How did you get your head around the school’s property and what you needed to know?

 

7:35 [John] And had you had any property experience before you became a principal?

 

8:44 [De] John mentioned there the five year plan and the ten year property plan. De can you explain more about the ten year property plan and the 5YA?

 

10:34 [De] You mentioned there funding for property, and there's all sorts of different pots of funding. Can you explain, what are the different forms of funding that a school gets for its property?

 

11:38 [De] Is there an easy place that tumuaki can go to access funding information about their school property?

 

12:40 [John then Blair] What do you think some of the key terms that a new tumuaki should get their head around when it comes to property would be?

 

20:26 [John] You mentioned before that you had a property manager, is that who takes responsibility for the property in your school?

 

23:26 [Blair] Who looks after property in your kura?

 

25:40 [All]  What’s your advice for new tumuaki trying to understand their new responsibilities for property?