As the Building the Education Revolution (BER) program nears completion, schools who have held their official BER openings are advised to remove their erected BER sign. It is up to the school community how they would like to use the sign in the future.
DET remains committed in delivering value for money to every Queensland school and welcomes the release of the Taskforce's latest report into the implementation of the Building the Education Revolution (BER), released on July 8, 2011.
The Taskforce has recognised that the Queensland Government has achieved value for money in the implementation of BER in our schools.
This supports the findings from no less than six previous reviews from PricewaterhouseCoopers, the Queensland Audit Office and the two previous Taskforce reports.
Schools across the state are appreciative of these new facilities which can significantly improve educational outcomes for schools which they may have never believed possible.
The Taskforce also visited schools which have achieved outstanding results across the country. Coorparoo State School's BER facilities were singled out as delivering excellent functional learning spaces as well as enhancing the school environment through the design.
Queensland was also featured in the report as the only state with a full range of public works expertise and this state can also claim to have all the attributes of an informed buyer of capital works projects.
This shows also we had the capacity and flexibility within our works industry to achieve success in the roll out of this program in a time of economic hardship in a simple and prompt manner.
Previously, DET has successfully delivered infrastructure for the implementation of Prep, new schools procured by Public Private Partnership and the innovative State Schools of Tomorrow program in our state schools. The BER program has proven we have delivered modern facilities for our state and secondary schools, bringing them into the 21st century to meet the needs of Queensland schools.
With the Taskforce recognising this expertise in delivering capital works projects in Queensland, communities can be confident that when Year 7 transitions into high school, the move will be smooth and the best possible outcome for Queensland students.
The Australian Government allocated funding for nearly 4500 projects under the BER program totaling $2.1 billion for over 1200 Queensland state schools.
Building Education Revolution Implementation Taskforce report website 
Parkhurst State School in Rockhampton has won prestigious honours for their Building the Education Revolution (BER) funded Learning Centre. The Learning Centre was awarded the J.W Williams Building of the Year Award at the Queensland Regional Architecture Awards earlier this month.
The modern facility endorses the school's vision and beliefs around 21st century learning.
The Learning Centre features a cinema/theatre, two seminar rooms, 32 computers networked with the internet as well as a modern library.
School Principal Lyle Walker said the Learning Centre was a future oriented space creating a hive of activity with children and their teachers.
Mr Walker said more than 140 local tradesmen were employed throughout the building process from bricklayers, to plumbers, electricians, carpet layers and landscapers.
Under the BER funding the school also received major refurbishments to old school buildings and a new tuckshop.
The Department of Education and Training is fully committed to transparency in the implementation of the Australian Government's Building the Education Revolution (BER) program, welcoming the release of PricewaterhouseCoopers Supplementary Report, following their report number two in July 2010.
At the Minister's request, the Department of Education and Training commissioned an independent examination to determine the effectiveness of the State Government's delivery of the Building the Education Revolution (BER) school infrastructure program.
This is the third time that PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), as independent examiners have found that effective management processes and cost controls are in place, helping to achieve value for money across the overall BER program in Queensland.
PwC has examined two BER projects in Queensland, Mt Crosby State School and Glenore Grove State School, reviewing DET's implementation of the BER guidelines.
The examination also reviewed the Department's implementation of the BER program in school communities where the school was identified for temporary closure and investigated complaints and concerns from two private citizens about the overall BER program.
The review found that overall, the program was delivering value for money and providing modern education facilities for Queensland schools and communities and the program continues to have a positive impact on the state's economy through job creation in the construction industry.
The Department has applied the BER Guidelines equitably to all schools.
The needs of the local school community are balanced against the funding priorities of the Australian Government.
The Department's implementation of the BER Guidelines in the cases of Mount Crosby State School and Glenore Grove State School were carried out equitably with all other Queensland state schools.
The PwC report found that the Department of Education and Training (DET) had complied with the BER Guidelines in relation to small schools undergoing consultation for potential temporary closure.
PwC also found high levels of compliance with BER Guidelines by DET.
DET continuously strives for ongoing improvement to program delivery.
113k 188k 148kEducation and Training Minister Geoff Wilson has welcomed today's release of the BER Implementation Taskforce's report into of the Building Education Revolution (BER) program.
Mr Wilson said the report confirmed many key points already highlighted in the interim review, the two independent PricewaterhouseCoopers reports commissioned by the Queensland Government, the Queensland Audit Office report.
"This is the fifth Independent review of BER and we can be assured that Queensland has stimulated the economy and met the needs of school communities with infrastructure they had previously only dreamt of," Mr Wilson said.
"On the whole, Queensland's approach was singled out as strategic, flexible and representing value for money my department's implementation of this unprecedented program.
"The taskforce received only 23 complaints about the BER roll out in Queensland and this only represents half a per cent of all projects, with over half of the complaints already resolved."
"The Queensland Government schools are also identified as presenting a high consideration of economic impact to the full building industry and demonstrating high cost transparency to stakeholders."
"The BER has provided work for businesses, jobs for local workers and apprentices and an unprecedented investment in quality infrastructure for our schools."
"Supply chains to the building industry, including local building supply retailers and service industries such as the local corner store have also benefited from the BER process."
Mr Wilson said that working with the Department of Public Works has been very effective, as using our project coordinators as the principals' representative allowing our school principals to carry on with their day to day core business of teaching and learning.
"The use of construction managers allowed smaller business companies to receive work that these workers would not have previously had the opportunity to enjoy."
"Queensland was also shown we have the most flexible approach for our school communities by offering various designs to meet the visions of our school principals and P&C's within the budget provided".
On Wednesday 27 of October, the Auditor-General of Queensland tabled the Report on expenditure under the Nation Building - Economic Stimulus Plan.
The report also recognised that the Queensland model for the Building the Education Revolution is demonstrating very high consideration of the economic impact on the full building industry.
The report supports feedback that DET has received about the implementation of BER in Queensland from the BER Taskforce report released in August this year and the PricewaterhouseCoopers independent examinations.
The Queensland Audit Office (QAO) recommended the Department should periodically review the capital works management process in accordance with the Capital Works Management Framework for future planning and investment and continue to monitor the timely completion of the program.
DET will work with the QAO to follow the recommendations as a matter of priority.
The Department of Education and Training (DET) is committed to transparency and welcomes the release of the BER Taskforce's Interim Report .
On the whole, the report supports feedback DET had already received from the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) report released in August which indicated the program is delivering value for money and the majority of principals and communities are happy with their new facilities.
The Taskforce also recognised the Queensland model as demonstrating very high consideration of the economic impact to the full building industry.
DET's implementation of the BER program is achieving its objectives of creating and maintaining employment in the construction industry throughout Queensland, while providing students and the community with access to modern education facilities. Supply chains to the building industry, including local building supply retailers and service industries, have also benefited from the BER process.
DET always works to deliver satisfaction to school communities and while Queensland is reported as having the highest number of projects where construction has not commenced, we are committed to striving for value for money and working with schools to ensure their satisfaction-even if this takes longer when compared with other jurisdictions.
The Queensland state school system has the second largest number of P21 projects (1,592), yet the Taskforce has received a lower number of complaints when compared to other state school systems. This shows Queensland is committed to delivering quality projects for our students, teachers and future generations.
Principals and parents views have been carefully considered in our project decisions, and the department's flexible approach while still complying to the BER Program Guidelines, schools have secured better quality outcomes.
We acknowledge there is always room for improvement and will work with the Taskforce to follow the recommendations as a matter of priority.
To uphold the Queensland Government's commitment to transparency, DET will publish school specific project cost data related to BER P21 projects when all tenders are finalised.
PricewaterhouseCoopers have released their second review 2.2M of the Department of Education and Training's implementation of the BER program in Queensland state schools. The review examined a sample of BER projects in detail, the implementation of the BER guidelines and investigated any concerns raised by schools, school communities and members of the public.
The terms of reference for this report are available for download.
PricewaterhouseCoopers first report 1.4M, released in September 2009, is also available for information.
On 9 September 2009, the Australian Senate requested the Senate Education, Employment and Workplace Relations Committee inquire into various aspects of the Primary Schools for the 21st Century (P21) element of the Federal Government's Building the Education Revolution program.
The Queensland Government has made a submission to the Senate inquiry .
In what is another significant milestone for the BER program in Queensland, Australia's first Science and Language Centres for 21st Century Secondary Schools (SLC) project has been completed at Innisfail State College. Earlier last year, the Australian Government approved $720,000 for a land and sea management centre at Innisfail State College - a lead centre for aquaculture in Queensland. The funding has helped establish aquaculture and science laboratories, and horticulture and aquaculture workshops at the College.
It has been determined that all Nation Building - Economic Stimulus Plan (NB-ESP) signs require authorisation to ensure they meet the requirements under the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918. All signs currently installed will need to have an authorisation sticker added as soon as possible. DEEWR has distributed stickers with the following message: 'Authorised by the Australian Government, Capital Hill, Canberra 2600. Printed by Styleprint, 144 Canterbury Rd, Kilsyth, Melbourne 3137'. The stickers have been sent directly to schools, along with a letter and appropriate instructions. Schools that have yet to install their BER signs should do so ASAP and apply the stickers as required.
Schools requiring assistance to install stickers should contact their Project Coordinator.
Where a school is a polling booth, and the NB-ESP sign is situated within schools grounds or less then six metres from any entrance to the grounds, the sign will need to be securely covered on polling day. DEEWR will work with the Australian Electoral Commission to ensure that signs are covered on polling day during a federal election or by-election. Where state or territory electoral laws specify that NB-ESP signs be covered for local elections, DEEWR will work with relevant State/Territory electoral offices to meet this requirement.
The following applies to schools which are polling booths.
This page was last reviewed on 29 Aug 2011 at 04:28PM
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