Schools
Whether you’re building a new school or refurbishing an existing one, it’s vital to get the most out of investment.
Elm Court School, Lambeth: new building and refurbishment have combined to create an excellent school environment. Copyright www.clivesherlock.com.
A well-designed school makes students feel valued and boosts educational attainment. Teachers will want to work there, making it easier for you to attract and retain the best staff. It will be built with the future in mind. And it will act as a catalyst for change and regeneration in the wider community. So good design can deliver more than just value for money.
What you can do about school design
- Get involved in planning decisions on new or refurbished school buildings and/or managing their procurement – ask how they fit in with wider development plans for the area
- Go and see well-designed primary and secondary schools and ask staff and professionals what makes them work well
- Don’t assume good design is all about large scale investment: improving school grounds can boost the quality of a school without costing a great deal.
How do you know if a proposal is any good? Use our seven principles of good urban design to help.
Resources for school design
CABE schools information and resources
Starting point for all CABE’s web resources
CABE school design publications
CABE’s guides and other publications.
Creating excellent primary schools
CABE’s guide for primary schools on how to get the best from the process of building and procurement.
Creating excellent secondary schools
CABE guide for clients that are building and refurbishing secondary schools.
CABE design review panel
Results of CABE's assessment of the quality of new schemes
School design case studies
Knowsley: centres for learning
During 13 years as cabinet member for children’s services Cllr Larry Nolan’s leadership was vital in the authority’s eventual delivery of seven new centres for learning within a year. He sadly died before his vision for education in Knowsley could be realised.
The problem: Knowsley had 11 secondary schools that needed replacing or refurbishing and, as in authorities around the country, student numbers were falling. The rising number of surplus places meant it made sense to consolidate education in fewer schools.
The response: Knowsley secured £150 million of PFI funding to replace the existing 11 secondary schools with seven new learning centres. These would be more than just schools but part of a wider vision for transforming education, integrating with children’s services and helping to revitalise communities too. The designs include the replacement of traditional corridors with learning streets where students can choose to study or socialise at comfortable seats and coffee tables and the replacement or traditional entrances with large open spaces. They are also open longer, often until 10pm, and at weekends and in the holidays and can be used for wider community activities.
The result: Cllr Nolan died in 2006, aged 76, but his vision was realised by February 2010 with the opening of the seventh centre for learning as Knowsley became the first authority in the country to complete its Building Schools for the Future programme. The centres have won a string of awards and the British Council for School Environments held its 2009 annual conference at the Halewood Centre for Learning.
Jewish Community Secondary School, Barnet: the honest broker role
Ward councillor Robert Rams helped bridge the gap between local residents and the developers of a new school in the London Borough of Barnet.
The problem: The council wanted to consolidate East Barnet School on one site. It approached the promoters of the new Jewish Community Secondary School (JCoSS) with the idea of developing the site occupied by its upper school. It successfully persuaded the government to bring forward funding for the project. However, local residents were opposed to the idea of a bigger school on the site and opposition focused on planning requirements for a new access road running along the edge of a green belt area.
The response: Cllr Rams represented the views of local residents and spoke against the road but in favour of the school at the planning committee meeting. However, he was also able to act as an honest broker respected by both sides. He explained the concerns of the objectors to the developer and helped to influence the scheme in ways that would make it more acceptable to residents. He took up issues such as the exact route of the road, tree planting and community access. Planners told the committee that the school could not go ahead without the new road and that members had to balance the environmental impact against the social benefit of the new school.
The result: Planning permission was granted and Cllr Rams was instrumental in helping to build a continuing relationship between residents and the school ahead of opening in 2010. He became the local authority representative on the governing body.