Following February’s APPG for Education meeting on the impact of the classroom learning environment on educational attainment, the Group’s chair, Danny Kinahan MP, has tabled a series of written Parliamentary Questions on the topic. The first few of these questions have now been answered, and you can read them below:
Danny Kinahan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of the built environment on learning progress in schools.
Nick Gibb: The Department’s approach to the built environment is informed by a range of expert research.
The James Review of Education Capital, published in 2011 recommended the implementation of standardised designs for schools that could be continually improved upon and deliver buildings that ‘act as manageable tools for those delivering outstanding education to our children.’ In response to this the Education Funding Agency (EFA) developed ‘Baseline Designs’, which help to ensure that the Department’s funding goes further and that as many pupils as possible benefit from improved school buildings.
Alongside this, the Department recognises the importance of factors such as daylight, temperature and air-quality and offers guidance to schools, contractors and designers through EFA Building Bulletins and the requirements in EFA’s Facilities Output Specification, used in procuring new school buildings.
Danny Kinahan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the implications for her Department’s policies on the design of new schools of the study entitled, The impact of classroom design on pupils’ learning, by Professor Barrett of Salford University, published in July 2015.
Danny Kinahan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has taken steps to disseminate the findings of the study, The impact of classroom design on pupils’ learning, by Professor Barrett of Salford University, published in July 2015, to (a) primary schools, (b) secondary schools and (c) sixth form colleges.
Nick Gibb: The Department continuously monitors literature published on the built environment as it relates to schools. Where relevant, the findings from this literature inform the development of the Department’s guidance on design and maintenance. The Department uses this guidance to communicate with contractors, designers, schools and sixth form colleges about the standards in class room design.
Professor Barrett has met with officials from the department to discuss the findings of his research. Professor Barrett’s recommendations regarding daylight, temperature and air-quality in schools reinforce those already made in the Education Funding Agency’s (EFA) Building Bulletins and the requirements in EFA’s Facilities Output Specification, used in procuring many new school buildings.