Nova Scotia’s multi-year School Capital Plan is building new schools, growing and maintaining current schools, and ensuring we are ready to meet the demands of population growth.
 

• Schools in Nova Scotia
• Building new schools
• New school projects
• Modular classrooms
• School maintenance and repairs
• Special projects
• Latest updates
   

Schools in Nova Scotia

About schools in Nova Scotia:

• More than 370 schools are currently operating across the province, occupied by more than 133,000 students and 20,000 school staff
• Five new schools opened in the 2024-25 school year, including two French-first language schools
• 19 new schools are moving through the school capital process, including three French-first language schools and 12 serving Halifax Regional Municipality
• Every year, more than 50 schools get major capital upgrades
• Schools are operated by one of seven Regional Centres for Education or the Conseil scolaire acadien provincial (CSAP)
   

Building new schools

Through our five-stage school capital process, we add new schools, replace or expand existing schools and carry out ongoing maintenance and repairs.

• The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development oversees the prioritization, planning and approval of new school projects.
• The Department of Public Works oversees site work, design and construction.
• Once schools are ready for students, they are handed over to a Regional Centre for Education (RCE) or the Conseil scolaire acadien provincial (CSAP) to operate and maintain.

Planning

• School communities, including principals and School Advisory Councils, work with their region or conseil scolaire to identify capital needs.
• Regions and the CSAP consider school community input, look at enrollment growth, future development around schools and the condition of school buildings to update their list of capital project priorities.
• Regions and the CSAP share their list of priorities with the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development for consideration. Projects are evaluated by government and selected to move forward.

Site Selection

• Once a new or replacement school project is identified, the Department of Public Works – which is responsible for government real estate and infrastructure projects – starts looking at where the new school can be built.
• Public Works evaluates potential sites, with the existing school site considered first, and makes a recommendation.
• They consider technical site details to ensure the site is appropriate, such as access to power, water, sewage, transportation, proximity to the community it will serve and other criteria.
• The Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development reviews the recommendation, considering the needs of the school community, and confirms a site for the new school.

Design

• After a site is selected, the Department of Public Works follows government procurement processes to select a consultant and contractor to design and build the new school.
• The Departments of Public Works and Education and Early Childhood Development and the region or CSAP creates a School Steering Team made up of parents, community members and school staff to provide input on design of the new school.

Construction

• Construction starts on the new school once the site has been prepared. The construction work takes up to three years, depending on the complexity of the project. These timelines can be affected by the availability of materials, workers, weather and other factors.
• Throughout construction, regular updates are shared with the school community and posted to the school’s region or conseil scolaire website.

Operation

• Once construction is complete, the region or CSAP takes over the building and prepares to welcome school staff and students.
• The school is monitored for any maintenance or repair needs on an ongoing basis.

New school projects

Modular Classrooms

School maintenance and repairs

Regional Centres for Education and the Conseil scolaire acadien provincial work with schools to carryout routine maintenance as needed. 

Nova Scotia invests more than $30 million annually in major upgrades to school buildings. Through this funding, more than 50 schools receive major upgrades every year. These projects – called tangible capital asset or “TCA” projects – include things like new heating and ventilation systems, new roofs and windows, pavement of large areas, and electrical or water system upgrades. 

Regions and the conseil scolaire lead TCA projects and are responsible for sharing details with school communities. Many of the projects are carried out over the summer to avoid disrupting learning. 

School maintenance and upgrade contracts are tendered on the Government of Nova Scotia. Information on procurement is available on the Government’s Procurement webpage.
 

Special projects

Skilled trades centres

Nova Scotia needs more skilled tradespeople.

One way we are working to meet this need is investing in skilled trade centres within schools that give students a taste of construction, transportation, manufacturing and other in-demand careers through hands-on learning.

More than 30 schools in Nova Scotia have a skilled trades centre and nearly 40 others have space to offer dedicated skilled trades courses.

Outdoor learning spaces

Nearly two thirds of Nova Scotia schools have outdoor learning spaces.

These spaces benefit students’ mental, emotional and social development by encouraging physical activity and enabling connections with one another and the natural environment.

Throughout the 2023-24 school year, joint federal and provincial funding of $1.2 million supported more building or enhancing more than 100 outdoor learning spaces. The projects ranged from building outdoor classrooms to starting community gardens to creating picnic spaces and games areas.

Integrated child care centres

Nova Scotia is transforming the province’s child care system to make care more available, affordable and inclusive.

One part of this transformation is adding 9,500 new child care spaces.

To help reach Nova Scotia’s child care space needs, integrated child care centres are considered within every new school project. Most schools currently moving through the capital process will have a child care centre on site.

School Advisory Council (SAC) Innovation Fund Grants

The SAC Innovation Fund provides grants up to $10,000 to School Advisory Councils (SACs) for selected projects that support student achievement and well-being.

SACs have used these grants for capital projects like building outdoor learning spaces, installing gardens, updating shared school spaces like libraries and creating areas for sports.
 

Latest updates

• Three New Replacement Schools in HRM – October 2024
• Progress on new Halifax Schools – September 2024
• Outdoor Learning Spaces Enrich Student Life – March 2024
• New School for West Hants – June 2023
• Province Creates New School in Historic Acadian Community / La Province crée une nouvelle école dans une communauté acadienne historique – June 2023
• New School for Pictou County – June 2023
• School Capital Plan Addresses Growth, Invests in New and Existing Schools Across Nova Scotia / Le plan d'investissement dans les écoles aborde la croissance de la population, investit dans les écoles à l'échelle de la Nouvelle-Écosse – June 2023
• New Francophone School for Eastern Shore / Nouvelle école francophone pour la Côte Est – May 2023