Information for infrastructure suppliers

This page provides information for Infrastructure suppliers on school property planning, project management, design standards, ICT infrastructure and school transport.

Level of compliance Main audience Other

Inform

  • Infrastructure suppliers
  • Contractors

School property

About the property portfolio

New Zealand’s school property portfolio is a significant Crown asset. The Ministry of Education is responsible for managing the $28.7 billion (replacement value as at 30 June 2018) property estate of around 2,100 state schools, more than 15,000 school buildings and 8,000 hectares of land.

Property planning

The 10 Year Property Plan (10YPP) is the main planning tool for school property. It sets a 10 year schedule of property work and ensures that school buildings are maintained and can support twenty-first century teaching and learning. A 10YPP must be prepared by a Ministry-trained 10YPP Consultant.

Information for 10YPP consultants on preparing a 10YPP

Construction project pipeline

Property projects

Approximately 70% of property projects are led by the Ministry, who is the client and buyer of services. The remaining projects are led by schools, where services are engaged by a board and managed by a Project Manager appointed by the school.

Types of projects led by schools and by the Ministry

Information for project managers on the Ministry’s project management requirements 

Design Review Panel

We have a Design Review Panel (DRP) which undertakes independent, high-level quality assurance reviews of school development projects at various design stages. These reviews assist the Ministry in the process of ensuring that designs meet the national standards and guidelines for school property design.

The review process is undertaken for all new schools and school redevelopments costing more than $3 million.

Information about our Design Review Process

An overview of the review process [PDF, 1.5 MB]

Design standards

All school building projects must comply with legal and Ministry design standards and should follow best practice standards.

The Design Guidance documents set out the Ministry’s requirements and guidelines for designing infrastructure on school sites. Using these documents will ensure that our schools are fit for purpose and flexible enough to be adapted to meet future needs.

The Designing Schools in Aotearoa NZ (DSNZ) Standards document sets out the broader design requirements for the school environment.

Detailed information for designers and consultants on school property design standards

Weathertightness remediation

This programme addresses state school buildings that have been subject to destructive testing reports as part of the Ministry’s national survey of buildings with weathertightness issues, but are yet to have remedial work completed.

Information for suppliers involved in the weathertightness remediation programme

Weathertightness requirements for new schools

Our Weathertightness Requirements for New Schools document provides designers with the weathertightness requirements for the design of the external envelope of new school buildings.

Information on weathertightness for architects, designers and others designing new school buildings.

Performance management of construction suppliers

If you are a supplier, you will be required to undergo performance reviews with us. Performance reviews are arranged between the Ministry and the supplier based on the current construction stage, with a minimum requirement of one review per year. Performance reviews enable the Ministry to understand how our suppliers are performing and how we can improve our processes and systems as Ministry.

Performance management of construction suppliers

Health and safety incident reporting on Ministry-led construction projects

This page outlines the Ministry of Education’s incident reporting requirements on Ministry-led construction projects.

Health and safety incident reporting on Ministry-led construction projects

ICT infrastructure

The Te Mana Tūhono programme provides state and state-integrated schools with upgraded network equipment and ongoing network maintenance and support. This service is delivered by Network for Learning (N4L) in partnership with the Ministry.

The Te Mana Tūhono programme does not include support for other ICT or related infrastructure, such as servers and CCTV, or any onsite ICT support, which can be provided by independent ICT contractors.

All maintenance of an ICT network, including installing and supplying structured cabling and integrating wireless services, must be done by an approved ICT contractor and follow Ministry ICT standards. If a school is participating in the Te Mana Tūhono programme, approval must be obtained from N4L before making any changes to the school network.

Te Mana Tūhono

Responsibilities of an ICT contractor

Supplier panels

The Ministry has established a range of supplier panels to make the tender process faster and easier, and to reward high performing suppliers with more opportunities.

Information on supplier panels

Our contracts

View contract templates and guidance for school-led and Ministry-led construction projects, and school-led maintenance projects:

Contracts for school-led property projects and maintenance

Contracts for Ministry-led property projects

Transport

About school transport assistance

While the responsibility of getting students to and from school sits with caregivers, the Ministry offers assistance for students where distance is a barrier to education.

The Ministry works with various organisations, businesses and individuals to provide school transport services. The following pages provide information to support these service providers.

School bus procurement

Managing accidents or incidents

Safety and behaviour

Construction Sector Accord 

As one of the largest buyers of non-residential vertical infrastructure we are proud to be a part of the Accord’s shared commitment between government and industry to transform the construction sector. 

Construction Sector Accord(external link)

Infrastructure News

You can keep up to date with news and updates for suppliers.

Subscribe to Infrastructure News(external link)

Past issues are available in the online archive.

Infrastructure News Archive(external link)

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