Fears of school grounds dominated by parking

Despite the standard of proposed new school buildings rapidly improving, the design of school grounds is lagging behind.

One of three schools visited by CABE in January 2010. Photo by James Whitaker.

Car parking dominates many proposals which CABE’s schools design panel reviews. Play areas are often uninspiring and do not recognise the varying needs and ages of different pupils.  Some grounds are designed to face north, and others could become narrow wind tunnels.

Often the grounds appear to have been designed in isolation from the buildings. In one case a performance courtyard had no direct links to the hall or drama studios.

School grounds should provide attractive space not only for exercising but also for socialising and learning. When properly designed, the grounds can enhance the quality of the whole school environment for relatively little cost.

The best designs go beyond conventional exercise spaces, such as pitches and courts. One impressive scheme had a pond and habitat section with a ‘dig and delve’ area. CABE has published six best practice case studies including the American School in London where extensive consultation with staff and students has led to well-designed outdoor spaces.

A recent conference, hosted by Learning through Landscapes, brought together industry leaders, students and teachers to debate the issues around transforming learning spaces for education. Richard Simmons, chief executive of CABE, warned delegates that if some of the designs that we are seeing are built out, then teachers and pupils face the prospect of spending breaks in the car park. He said: ‘A school is judged by the whole site and not just the buildings, but many school grounds display a failure of imagination.’

School grounds are one of the 10 criteria used by CABE to assess design quality in the Building Schools for the Future programme. The design of school grounds also relates to other criteria such as sustainability, making best use of the site and feeling safe.