Metro schools another option to address inner city growth
Metro schools another option to address inner city growth
Metro schools will be considered as
another option to meet future education needs in high-growth
urban centres such as Auckland, Education Minister Nikki
Kaye announced today.
“A metro school is an innovative
model that responds to the need to provide education in
intensified urban areas, where the large areas of land
associated with a traditional school may be hard to
acquire,” says Ms Kaye.
Features of a metro school can
include:
• it is located on a more compact site, which
may be leased rather than purchased
• it uses community
amenities such as fields and gym facilities, rather than
having its own
• it can draw on its location to enrich
the educational experience for students, eg through access
to museums and libraries, and connections with local
businesses which can lead to work placements
• it
provides opportunities at a planning level to better align
school and urban design, so that as well as schools having
access to community facilities, the community can also
benefit from access to school facilities - an arrangement
potentially enhanced if schools adopt more flexible hours of
operation.
“Traditional policy levers have served us
well, and we’re making good progress delivering extra
capacity in Auckland. By 2019, we will have delivered an
extra 17,000 new student places in the city, through new
schools as well as extra classrooms at existing schools,”
says Ms Kaye.
“The Ministry of Education is also taking
a more strategic approach to acquiring land for schools,
looking further ahead with planning and identifying where
land may be needed 20 to 30 years from now.
“However,
with parts of New Zealand, especially Auckland, becoming
increasingly urbanised and intensified, we need to challenge
the way we think about procuring infrastructure and
delivering education in these areas.
“We began looking
more closely at the metro school model, which is already
used in a number of countries, last year.
“As part of
this, we’ve taken a keen interest in Ao Tawhiti Unlimited
Discovery, a special character school in Christchurch which
reflects key principles of a metro school.
“Ao Tawhiti
Unlimited Discovery’s vision incorporates family-like
relationships between the school, parents, whanau and the
wider community, who are all heavily involved in school life
and delivering the curriculum.
“An inner city location
is a big part of their vision, because it enables the school
to fully utilise all the amenities and experiences that the
city offers.
“Looking ahead, the advice I’ve received
is that at this stage, there may only be a handful of metro
schools required over the next couple of decades.
“The
Government has mapped out a set of principles to guide
possible investment in metro schools in New
Zealand.
“We’re committed to ensuring that New
Zealand has the school infrastructure it needs to support
children to achieve to the best of their
potential.
“This is reflected in our investment of more
than $5 billion in new and upgraded schools and classrooms,
significantly more than any previous
government.
“Having the metro school model as another
option up our sleeves means we’re even better placed to
ensure we keep meeting communities’ needs in the
future.”
Notes
Metro school
investment principles
• High density
urban areas – Metro schools will be considered in
areas that are highly utilised and lack affordable green
space.
• Student outcomes – Metro
schools will continue to provide the infrastructure required
to deliver a 21st Century curriculum, promote innovation and
support all students to achieve educational
success.
• Partnership and shared
facilities – Planning and design of the school
will be completed in partnership with the local council.
This will ensure the school will have required access to
community amenities to teach core aspects of the curriculum.
The sharing of facilities will be confirmed through the
appropriate mechanism.
• Flexible
space – Schools will have innovative learning
environments to support 21st Century teaching and
learning.
• Appropriate size – An
appropriate site size range will be used to ensure the
school will receive teaching space
entitlement.
• Connection to transport
– The school’s placement will be considered a transport
hub with ease of access for students and parents/caregivers
on their way to and from work or
home.
• Connection to schooling
network – The school will not be isolated from
the local schooling network. It will be able to form part of
a Community of Learning and be able to work collectively and
cooperatively with surrounding
schools.
• Pathways to future
education – Educational pathways and transitions
between stages of education will be considered. Access to
tertiary education and work placement opportunities with
local businesses will be a key focus.
• A hub
for the community – The school can establish
community connections and act as a hub. It will allow the
community access to its 21st Century learning environment
through flexible hours of operation, and facilitate the
establishment and utilisation of online learning
hubs.
• Student safety will be the highest
priority – Location of the school will take into
consideration the risks presented by surrounding businesses.
Ground floor planning requirements will ensure students are
able to safely enter and exit the building at all
times.
• Use of additional space –
There will be the opportunity for community or commercial
lease of space if the school does not utilise the whole
area.