Lessons from school building projects

A new toolkit has been launched to help teachers maximise the learning opportunities created by a school building or refurbishment project.

Our school building matters is the first teaching resource specifically designed to support all the government’s capital expenditure on schools - from Building Schools for the Future to the Primary Capital Programme. It is also recommended in the recent Zero Carbon Task Force report.

It has been written by CABE in partnership with the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust. Designed to support schools undertaking projects to rebuild or refurbish their building or grounds, it identifies curriculum-specific ways to involve teachers and students in the process.

The toolkit covers all core curriculum subjects and contains activities for key stages 1-4. It is organised around five stages that every school will go through with any new build or refurbishment:

• ‘Getting started’ – involving the whole school community in the process long term
• ‘Looking closely’ – understanding current school buildings to inform decisions
• ‘Development and design’ – helping students to have a say in the design
• ‘Construction’ – developing knowledge of construction and related careers
• ‘Moving in’ – finding creative ways to use the completed building or refurbishment

Matt Bell, CABE’s director of education, said:  ‘We know headteachers struggle to cope with the pressures of procurement, let alone use a building project to inspire learning. This resource is designed so that schools really can do both.’

Chris Montacute, strategic director: partnership and performance networks, Specialist Schools and Academies Trust, said: ‘Engaging students in the design and development of their learning environment will help them to invest more fully both in their education and in the community to which they belong.  All schools will, at some time, undergo a building or refurbishment project. Our school building matters will help teachers make the most of the real-life learning opportunities presented throughout this process.’

Our school building matters ncludes a ‘crash course’ in architecture for pupils. The project involves site analysis, thinking about transport connections, the sunpath and soil conditions; and learning about sustainability by carrying out energy audits. Some of the activities have already been tried out by Bure Valley School in Aylsham, Norfolk, which is going through the Primary Capital Programme. Year six pupils looked at the architectural character of Aylsham, and back in the classroom debated whether or not contemporary design would suit the area.

Wayne Hemingway, of Hemingway Design, said: ‘Pupils and teachers spend as much time in school as they do at home, so why wouldn’t they be just as interested in the design of the classrooms as the look of their bedroom or house?’

Our school building matters has been endorsed by National Primary Headteachers (NPH).

Notes to editors

• Download Our school building matters
• CABE is the government’s advisor on architecture, urban design and public space. As a public body, we encourage policymakers to create places that work for people. We help local planners apply national design policy and offer expert advice to developers and architects. We show public sector clients how to commission buildings that meet the needs of their users. And we seek to inspire the public to demand more from their buildings and spaces. Advising, influencing and inspiring, we work to create well-designed, welcoming places.
• The Specialist Schools and Academies Trust (SSAT) is a leading national body for secondary education in England. The SSAT seeks to give more young people access to a good secondary education by building networks, sharing practice and supporting schools. The SSAT’s way of      working is based on the principle 'by schools for schools'. There are over 5,400 schools, nationally and internationally, affiliated to the SSAT             including primary, secondary and special schools and academies. Further information on the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust can be found at www.ssatrust.org.uk
• National Primary Headteachers (NPH) links primary headteachers throughout England with the aim of improving primary education. We are led by serving primary headteachers and membership is open to headteachers of all schools with primary-aged children. We are not, and do not seek to be, a union, but represent the needs and entitlements of primary children at the very highest levels. www.primaryheads.org.uk