The new Government’s key priorities for its first few months in office include a commitment to raising standards in children’s education
Announced in the King’s Speech in July, the Children’s Wellbeing Bill and Skills England Bill will focus on making the school system fairer for all children and address skills shortages affecting the education sector.
Improving children’s education infrastructure
This also brings an opportunity to turbocharge efforts to improve the quality and sustainability of education infrastructure. With many schools juggling student absences, net zero targets and a growing population of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), physical learning environments could help to ease some of this pressure: it’s just a matter of closer collaboration.
Funding and collaboration opportunities
Alongside large multi-academy trusts, dioceses and other sizeable voluntary aided school groups, local authorities are eligible for funding from central government to maintain and improve the condition of their schools.
Over the 2024-25 period, £1.8 billion has been allocated for this purpose, £1.15 billion of which is distributed under the Schools Condition Allocations (SCA). For local authorities responsible for investing in the infrastructure of certain schools, this funding is an opportunity to work closely with contractors and suppliers to develop learning environments that meet current and future needs.
Lessons from the RAAC Crisis
Last year’s RAAC crisis demonstrated the benefits of this closer collaboration. The actions of numerous local authorities and their coordination with third parties ensured affected schools could continue delivering educational services with minimal disruption to students. In several cases, council representatives commissioned suppliers to provide temporary building solutions to accommodate the school population during demolition or renovation works. These full-turnkey solutions were turned around in just a few weeks, providing schools with safe, hire buildings with no compromise on quality.
Addressing the growing SEND population
Moving forward, it’s important this level of coordination is replicated across future school building projects. The population of pupils with SEND in England rose to over 1.2 million this year – an increase of more than 100,000 compared to 2023. This means more students require tailored education that accommodates their learning needs and has created a growing demand for classrooms and other facilities to be adapted accordingly. For example, a mainstream school catering for pupils with sensory sensitivities would benefit from introducing therapy rooms or specialist sensory spaces that provide respite from busy corridors or classrooms.
Importance of early coordination
Due in part to growing student numbers, places in schools dedicated to educating pupils with SEND are becoming more competitive. This means early coordination between the school, main contractor, third party suppliers and commissioning local authority is important to maximise the accessibility of new building programmes wherever feasible.
Procurement support from local authorities
From a local authority perspective, this might include providing support to schools in the procurement phase. There are many methods of construction but choosing one that offers speed and minimised site disruption, such as offsite construction, is often the most rewarding for schools. Manufacturing building components in a factory means that the time spent on site is limited to installation and fit out processes – the latter of which can occur offsite too – minimising pupils’ exposure to noise pollution and reducing interference with learning activities. These are clear benefits for pupils with SEND who might find the activities of a live construction site cause emotional or physical discomfort. Often, the installation and completion of offsite solutions are timed with the school holidays to limit the disruptive impact of construction activities too.
There is also an opportunity for stakeholders to develop more bespoke building designs; for example, adapting internal acoustics to filter out distracting or anxiety-inducing background noises. Controlling the performance and quality of sound inside a building can help to reduce aural hypersensitivity using materials such as fiberglass or stone wool insulation, which act as an absorptive blanket.
Flexible building design for SEND
Developing flexible building designs where spaces can be adapted for different purposes would also prove useful. For instance, a room could have removable, soft finishes to walls and an open area of padded surfaces for movement therapy to manage sensory overload. It could also contain an area for use as a therapy room or individual intervention space, as well as a space for physical therapy if required. Working with suppliers that consider government guidelines, such as Building Bulletins 102 and 104 (BB102 and BB104), for developing SEND facilities is crucial in this regard. For example, BB104 recommends separating noisy or busy areas from quiet or sheltered spaces and increasing the total area of classrooms to accommodate students who need extensive support.
The push for sustainable school buildings
As schools face mounting pressure to decarbonise, it’s also important for relevant stakeholders to focus on cutting the embodied and operational carbon associated with new buildings where possible. This could involve commissioning authorities and schools working with the main contractor to ensure clean technologies, such as solar panels, are introduced into new facilities.
Solar technology and rainwater harvesting systems are becoming more readily adopted and can help schools to rely on more sustainable energy and water sources whilst reducing utility bills. Choosing suppliers that can provide a fabric-first building solution manufactured in quality-controlled factory conditions will also support the building’s energy efficiency. In turn, this can also afford greater internal temperature regulation that provides better thermal comfort for students and staff alike.
Conclusion: A collaborative approach to the future
Bringing children’s education and the UK’s next generation of learning environments up to scratch should be on the radar of all key stakeholders, from contractors to councils. A truly collaborative team effort will be essential to ensuring new school facilities are designed with pupil needs in mind.
