Official Opening Protocols for P21 and SLC components of Building the Education Revolution

Requirements

Recognition/opening ceremonies must be held for all projects funded under the Primary Schools for the 21^st Century (P21) and Science and Language Centres for 21^st Century Schools (SLC) elements of the Australian Government's Building the Education Revolution program.

Official opening ceremonies must be held within three months of the completion of P21 and SLC funded facilities. Completion is considered to be when the facility is ready for use.

Once a school's P21 or SLC projects reaches 65% completion, the Department of Education, Training and Employment (DETE) BER project team will send to the school a BER Opening registration form. Please note: you don't have to wait until your P21 or SLC projects are/is 100% completed before sending in your BER Opening registration form, with your proposed opening dates. If you are unsure as to when your projects will be completed, contact your Project Coordinator.

Schools then return the completed BER openings registration form to the BER project team.

The BER project team then sends the form to the school's Project Coordinator to ensure the project descriptions are correct.

Once the BER project team receives the registration form back from the Project Coordinator the form is then forwarded to DEEWR.

The Deputy Prime Minister and the Queensland Minister for Education, Training and Employment must be invited to all openings. The Deputy Prime Minister is invited automatically once a confirmed BER opening date has been arranged.

At least two months notice of proposed openings must be provided to DEEWR via the DEEWR BER Opening Recognition Event registration form.

The school nominates three possible dates for a ceremony, suitable to the school and the Regional Executive Director or their representative.

Openings should not be scheduled for days when either the Australian or state parliaments are sitting.

Once a school has received confirmation of their opening dates, it is up to the school to organise their Recognition Event in consultation with the department and DEEWR, including catering and the invitation list. A Recognition Event information kit is available from the DEEWR BER site.

The BER project team can provide assistance/feedback on all aspects of event preparations, including run sheets and recommendations regarding invitees to openings. A list of recommended invitees can be found below.

The BER project team notifies the region and Minister's office of the confirmed date for the BER Recognition event.

Schools are required to provide a draft of the run sheet to the BER project team to ensure the Minister has the opportunity to speak (if attending the event) or his representative, and that correct protocols are followed.

A recognition plaque will be provided by the Australian Government to each school with completed P21 or SLC projects. Joint recognition of financial contributions will be acknowledged where appropriate. As per the Australian Government's BER guidelines, the plaque should be affixed to the new/refurbished facilities; or if not suitable, placed in a prominent place such as the school's front office. The plaques are 297mm x 210mm in size and approximately 1.6mm thick.

Contact: DETE BER Project Director's office
Denise Mellare
Phone: (07) 3237 0032
Email: denise.mellare@dete.qld.gov.au

This page was last reviewed on 07 Sep 2012