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Creation Date: Wed, 31 Mar 2010 GMT

Education revolution leaves pupils in limbo

THE federal government's education building program has left hundreds of primary schools as building sites, with some losing their entire play area.

At schools with no outdoor facilities, ball sports have been replaced by board games, students eat lunch in the classroom and use nearby parks to play.

And the noise and disruption are likely to continue for the next six to 12 months, with all works under the stimulus program for primary schools due for completion in March next year.

There are already concerns about delays, with a report by the Commonwealth Co-ordinator-General released on Wednesday saying the school infrastructure program was ''slightly behind'' schedule.

However a spokesman for Education Minister Julia Gillard denied this, saying the work was on track for the program, which is part of the Building the Education Revolution scheme.

The multi-billion-dollar scheme has created a labour drain in some regions with one managing contractor bringing in workers from other areas to ensure work is completed on time. More than 1000 NSW primary schools have been affected by the construction work, which involves building classrooms, halls, covered learning areas and toilet blocks.

At Double Bay Public School parents and children returned to school to discover the entire play area had been cordoned off for building equipment while $2.6 million of work is under way. Children are escorted across the road to Steyne Park to play.

''We now have a war zone in the middle of the school with cranes and pile drivers, which are an unfortunate but necessary evil,'' school parent Michael Lloyd White said. ''I guess that our children this year may suffer for the benefit of having a new hall to serve the school for years to come.''

St Mary's Primary School in North Sydney is encased in scaffolding and wooden hoardings while new rooms are built in a $2.4 million project.

Principal Rosemary De Bono said the school's 215 children and staff were using the nearby church grounds for recess, playing tennis at the courts opposite the school and doing outdoor activities at nearby St Leonards Park.

''We don't have a playground at this point so we've had to think creatively with the space that we do have available,'' Ms De Bono said.

''We have a very good parent community which is happy to assist with taking the children over to the tennis courts and to the park.

''Children are very resilient. They are excited about about the new classrooms and we're excited about it too. When it's finished it will be wonderful.''

President of the Federation of Parents and Citizens Associations of NSW Dianne Giblin said parents have expressed concerns about the disruption for staff and pupils.

''I've heard a lot of comment from schools which have had to move the play area into the park over the road just because there is no space inside the school,'' she said.

''There is disruption and that's unfortunate but it's for a good end result.''

The NSW Department of Education acknowledged that many children would be forced off the school grounds while work was under way. ''Schools have adapted well to any short-term changes to the access and use of playground areas,'' a spokesman said.

''A number have interim arrangements for students to be supervised going to and using nearby alternatives such as public parks, playing fields or other open spaces.''

Ms Gillard's spokesman said: ''Some disruption is inevitable when schools are undergoing the largest building program in the history of Australian education.

''We understand that the building work will be disruptive for teachers, students and parents. That's why a huge amount of work was done over the school holidays to minimise the disruption.''

However, a number of school building sites remained idle over the seven-week summer school holiday period. One contractor, who did not wish to be named, said it had been difficult to juggle the demands of work that had to be carried out simultaneously at different sites.

Christopher Andrews, NSW program director for the Reed Group, one of the seven managing contractors working on the program for primary schools, said there had been a labour shortage over the Christmas period.

The Reed Group is the managing contractor for the North Coast and New England regions of NSW administering work worth $367 million on 335 schools.

Mr Andrews said local contractors in those regions were at capacity due to other stimulus programs in housing, healthcare and Catholic schools.

''We have had to start bringing in resources to assist our projects to get them over the line,'' he said. ''We have been drawing upon Queensland and Sydney for contractors.''

However, he said the Reed Group oversaw 55,000 working hours on primary schools in January and that all projects were on track.

Managing contractor for the Illawarra region, Richard Crookes Constructions, has already completed work on 14 schools and started work on a further 158 school projects.

''It's full steam ahead,'' managing stakeholder Caroline Chalmers said. ''We are trying our best to minimise the impact on school classes and local traffic.''

NSW shadow minister for education Adrian Piccoli said the work had been badly timed.

''The federal government has rushed this through to get the vast majority of projects completed before the federal election,'' he said. ''This has not been done for the convenience of schools or for the good of the economy.''

Sydney Morning Herald, 7th February 2010, written by Rachel Browne