More funding for NSW schools to meet enrolment surge

The NSW Government will start building or upgrading more than 120 schools and complete work on another 33 over the next four years.

A budget of $4.2 billion was announced over the next four years on capital expenditure to cater for surging enrolments. There is expected to be enrolment growth of 164,000 more students in government schools by 2031.

This is the biggest NSW Government investment in education infrastructure in history.

The 120 new and upgraded schools will create 32,000 more student places and 1500 new classrooms across NSW.

Kent Road Public School in Marsfield will get more than 20 classrooms, and upgrades to the existing school hall, library and student amenities.

Education Minister Rob Stokes said a newly created specialist school delivery unit, called School Infrastructure NSW, has been tasked with responsibility for planning, delivering and maintaining the expanded program of capital works and consulting with communities.

Stokes also said the NSW Government was also spending $747 million over the next four years on school backlog maintenance.

New or upgraded high schools or major rebuilds of existing high schools include locations at Picton, Sydney Olympic Park, and Oran Park, while new or upgraded primary schools are set to be delivered at locations right across the State including at Catherine Fields, North Kellyville, Penshurst, Schofields and Ryde.

The new projects are additional to projects previously announced such as the new high-rise Inner Sydney high school at Surry Hills, the high rise Arthur Phillip High School at Parramatta and Ballina High School.

Other initiatives funded in the 2017-18 Budget include:

• around 1000 more teachers
• $6.1 million over three years to support an updated anti-bullying strategy and resources for teachers, students and parents
• Funding of $88 million in 2017-18 as part of the $224 million for teacher professional development through the Quality Teaching, Successful Students initiative
• Funding of $50 million in 2017-18 on student counselling and wellbeing services as part of the $167 million Supported Students, Successful Students program
• $149 million on education standards for provision of services related to school curriculum assessment, teaching and regulatory standards in NSW schools

The 2017-18 Budget also provides $1.2 billion in funding support for non-government schools, including increasing the Building Grants Assistance Scheme to support enrolment growth.

More details of the new school projects can be found on the new School Infrastructure NSW website.