Building Policy and Entitlements
Under the Victoria Schools Plan, the Building Futures policy provides a framework for school communities and Regional Offices to plan the delivery of education in their locality.
All capital investment proposals must support improved student outcomes related to learning, engagement and well-being, as well as pathways and transitions. Proposals are considered against a set of assessment criteria which ensure that investment is informed by educational need.
Building Futures is the framework that guides all capital investment in government school infrastructure in Victoria.
Building Futures ensures that the educational needs of every student informs the planning and development of school infrastructure. School design must:
- promote individualised learning
- create settings for innovative teaching
- incorporate new technology
- be environmentally sustainable, and
- support community involvement.
Building Futures is supported by a series of tools and other materials, including:
- Guidelines describing the six Building Futures stages
- Assessment Criteria, and
- Key documents to be completed at different stages of development.
Building Futures process
The Guidelines and Templates for Stages 1-2 of the Building Futures process (project identification and educational rationale) are made available to schools included in Building Futures by Regional Offices.
| Building Futures Stage 1 Project identification | The demand for capital projects is driven by a combination of factors including demographic pressures and enrolment growth, the poor condition of some existing facilities, and a learning and teaching environment that requires purpose-built and state-of-the-art infrastructure. |
|---|---|
| Building Futures Stage 2 Educational rationale | Schools identified by the Department for capital development must next prepare a detailed educational rationale which shows how the school improvement strategy, including its proposed capital investment, will address educational needs. |
| Building Futures Stage 3 Master Planning | The Educational need is presented to the architects who then develop viable and sustainable options for the school. This provides the framework for future planning and subsequent capital works. |
| Building Futures Stage 4 Prioritisation and approval | Schools develop detailed designs and plans for the recommended facility option determined in the master plan stage. The Department then prioritises proposals on a statewide basis for inclusion in its State Budget submission. |
| Building Futures Stage 5 Implementation | Following funding approval, schools develop a procurement strategy which covers tendering and the selection of firms to undertake construction, landscaping and other physical works. Implementation necessarily focuses on achieving a school’s improvement strategy. |
| Building Futures Stage 6 Evaluation | Project evaluation monitors the effectiveness of the implementation process, and measures the long-term success of projects in achieving their educational goals. |
Facilities Schedules
The Department’s facilities schedules itemise a mix of room types and area requirements essential to the delivery of curricula offered by typical schools. Each schedule details a base level of entitlement with respect to permanent and relocatable facilities for teaching, administration, non-teaching and amenity purposes.
Facilities schedules provide an essential reference to the planners of new schools. They also offer a logistical benchmark when assessing the infrastructure needs of existing schools.
Public-private partnerships
The Victorian Government is also delivering eleven new schools in the growing communities of Melbourne through a public-private partnership arrangement. For more information, see Partnerships Victoria in Schools.
More information
For more information, see: