Building The Education Revolution for the North Coast and New England Schools of NSW
December 2009 update from Christopher Andrews
Program Director for BER NSW Works for The Reed Group
Chris Andrews
23rd December 2009: Welcome to The Reed Group’s webpage about Building the Education Revolution (BER), a $16.2 billion national investment from the Australian Government in schools across the country as part of the Nation Building Economic Stimulus Plan.
This investment aims to build learning environments to help children, families and communities participate in activities that will support achievement, develop learning potential and bring communities together.
It is just over 8 months since The Reed Group was announced as Managing Contractor for the New England and North Coast regions of NSW on April 16 this year and we are now well into the rollout with works having commenced at 202 of the 335 schools The Reed Group has responsibility for so as you can imagine it has been an extremely busy time for the team.
Completed COLA at Tulloona Public School
With school now in recess for the summer break and Christmas upon us we will not be stopping work and by the time school returns on Wednesday 27th January, all round one schools with funding less than $865,000 will return to new facilities with round two schools set to be complete by the end of February.
As Program Director I can assure you that my extremely capable and enthusiastic team has and is continuing to work around the clock with School Principals and their communities including P&C representatives, local councils, planners, a range of experienced local consultants, the IPO and the Taskforce in Sydney to ensure that the rollout continues smoothly in 2010.
Our primary focus in these first eight months has been the awarding of works for small schools and in terms of the highlights for this year The Reed Group was very pleased to be the first Managing Contractor to complete a school in NSW. I know that Katrina Sangster and her school community at Ebor are thoroughly enjoying their new COLA, covered walkway and internal refurbishments to their library and administration area and we wish the entire Ebor community a very Merry Christmas!
The very first contract we awarded on the North Coast to Port Macquarie based local builder Garry Bannister Constructions in July for the construction of a 14 Core Hall and Covered Outdoor Learning Area (COLA) is approaching completion and tracking to be the first hall completed in NSW as well. Garry and his family have since gone on to tender and win works at 6 other schools and they are a great example of the opportunities that are available for regionally based building companies with this program of works.
Principal Peggy Eather & Harwood Island school community
Local engagement has been a priority for The Reed Group from day one and we have actively engaged in excess of 100 consulting firms this year and it is and remains our firm intention to continue down this path as we roll out the rest of the works.
We are focussed on keeping our communities and stakeholders as up to date as possible so you can bookmark this page and come back to it as a primary source of current and relevant information for your area.
I would encourage you to send us an email to berenquiry@reedgroup.com.au or call us at 1800 187333 if there is any query you have that we can assist with.
Ebor Public School
On behalf of The Reed Group Management and my team, I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank everyone involved with this program for their ongoing efforts and wish all our communities across the North Coast and New England a very Merry Christmas and a safe and restful summer break.
Sincerely,
Christopher Andrews
Program Director - BER NSW
Associated PDF Press Release Documents
The Reed Group announces first successful tenderer for the New England region Read more
Posted date: 21 July 2009
The Reed Group announces first successful tenderer for the North Coast Region Read more
Posted date: 21 July 2009
Information Forum Presentation for local suppliers and subcontractors Read more
Posted date: 16 July 2009
Managing Contractors for the New England and North Coast regions the Reed Group announce works on building the Education Revolution moving closer to a start date Read more
Posted date: 16 June 2009
