SB 4156 32pp WEB

Case Study
The crucial role of buildings in education
We all know that the design of a building affect its occupants. Schools are no exception to this rule. Well-designed educational
buildings not only improve the health wellbeing of students, but also their performance. In spite of this, a large number of British
schools are in a state of neglect, falling into disrepair through nothing more than budgetary constraints. School Building
Magazine Editor Joe Bradbury discusses:
education, damp, leaky, outdated, asbestosridden
schools are still prevalent. Too many
pupils and teachers are struggling to learn
and teach in conditions damaging to their
health and education… and this needs to
change.
The Better Spaces for Learning report, which
is still as relevant today as it was when
published, revealed that the Government’s
current programme of building new schools
is inefficient – with a lack of flexibility to
make the best possible use of resources, and
little opportunity for school staff to input into
the design of their own new buildings. RIBA
continue to argue that the Government
programme must be improved to guarantee
better outcomes for our public money.
Alandmark study from RIBA two years
ago highlighted the urgent need for
school refurbishment throughout the
country. Using the largest ever analysis of
primary and secondary school buildings in
the UK, a nation-wide poll of teachers, and
extensive engagement with school buildings
experts, RIBA’s ‘Better Spaces for Learning’
report made the case for an urgent review of
the Government’s Education Funding
Agency’s current school building
programme. Alarmingly it revealed:
• 1 in 5 teachers have considered quitting
because of the wretched condition of the
school buildings they have to teach in
• The Government’s Education Funding
Agency’s new school building programme is
too rigid and is leading to waste and poor
value for tax payers
• Over 90% of teachers believe well-built and
designed schools improve educational
outcomes and pupil behaviour
• Over-engineered schools, with
Government-specified equipment that only
costly consultants know how to operate, is
costing £150 million per year which could
have been avoided if schools were designed
better.
RIBA identified that good school design can
reduce running and maintenance costs, in
some cases by more than several times a
teacher’s average salary a year; it could have
prevented the English school estate from
spending upwards of £150m annually on
unnecessary operation and maintenance
costs.
None of this came as a shock to The
Government, whose own research asserts
that a mere 5% of the 60,000+ school
buildings across the UK are performing as
intended and operating efficiently.
It seems that despite it now being universally
accepted that a well-designed and
maintained building is vital for a successful
Commenting on this, RIBA President Jane
Duncan said “This country is in the grip of the
worst shortage of school places in living
memory. Our report highlights the vital
importance of school design and how it
affects the general health and wellbeing of
their users, our children and their teachers. As
limited funding is available to deal with the
growing problem, every penny spent on
schools must deliver maximum value for
money. Award winning well-designed,
successful schools with happy pupils and
productive staff like Burntwood School in
London shouldn’t be the exception, they
should be the standard.
“How can we expect our children to compete
with the world’s best when too many of our
school buildings are substandard?
Educational improvements resulting from the
current programme of school building are
not reaching the basic standards that British
taxpayers and our economy expects. We
need to do better for all of our children and
their hardworking teachers. We urge the
Government to review its programme of
building new schools.”
In summary
The world is inherited by the young. In an
increasingly competitive environment, we
need to ensure we do everything within our
power to educate our youth to the best of
our ability – learning from our mistakes and
improving on our own childhood education
in the process. The built environment
influences society that occupies it, so let’s
make sure that influence is positive.
Winter 2019 4156 31