Learning Spaces

Safe Sustainable Refurb Futures

revolution

Paul Clarke shows how school “pop-up farms� bring about urban renewal Making thecan most of the school you've got

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Editorial

Safe sustainable futures Graham Handscomb reflects on how sustainable, innovative development can be affordable.

W

elcome to this issue of Learning Spaces which looks in particular at the topic of sustainability, as well as developments in health and safety. How do we ensure that sustainability is built into the learning spaces that we are designing to meet the needs of our young people? Perhaps the biggest challenge in the future development of school environments is the how to address the tension between a triangle of competing demands posed by: sustainability; transformation and innovation; and affordability. Many of the contributions in this publication seek to meet this challenge and show that one does not have to be sacrificed in order to deliver the others.

The first two news items, written by myself and Christopher French respectively, look at the fall-out from the demise of the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme. They argue that austerity does not have to mean a decline in the standards of design or that innovative, creative school developments have to be a thing of the past because we live in an era of cuts.

Paul Clarke begins our feature articles with a radical call to rethink schools and their relationship to the natural environment and the fundamental implications this has for transforming schools and their catalyst role within urban settings. His concept of the Pop-Up Farm within school and urban settings will be a challenge to many planners and developers. John Lyall then champions the cause of good design and insists that this does not have to be a casualty of the plug being pulled on BSF. The feature articles which follow deal with crucial health and safety concerns, the first tackling the need for safe automatic school gates and the second

with improving fire evacuation procedures, focussing particularly on the need for robust policy evaluation which ensures the needs of disabled young people are met. Jon Glenn then shows how innovation and affordability come together in a scheme which brings swimming pools to schools and their communities.

Our case studies exemplify a range of innovative sustainability developments and design excellence.

Jane Whitham shows how creative use of the natural environment is fundamental to the quality of learning and play. In the Archbishop McGrath school case study we are shown how sustainability, inclusion, and creative learning all come together through affordable design, whilst the Thamesview school project demonstrates how innovative design can meet the very practical demands of fire and safety requirements. The sustainability banner is flown high by Hugh McNish who shows how the design of innovative play areas has helped to transform learning for children in an urban Glasgow primary school. Similarly our concluding case study from Hartlepool demonstrates how a combination of design and new technology can directly bring about positive changes to teaching.

There is a danger that the Government’s current school building policy will lead to a pedestrian approach of one size fits all and that size will be small and “bog standard” to meet only basic needs. It doesn’t have to be like this. Even in an age of austerity if designers, builders and educationalists come together we can ensure the creative sustainable learning environments that future generations of young people deserve. graham@handscomb-consultancy.co.uk

VOL 1:2

Contents Vol 1:2

Learning Spaces is an independent magazine. The views expressed in signed articles do not necessarily represent those of the magazine. The magazine cannot accept any responsibility for products and services advertised within it.

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Editorial Office

Editorial

Howard Sharron

Learning Spaces is published by Imaginative Minds Ltd, 215-219 The Green House, Gibb Street, Birmingham, B9 4AA Tel: 0121 224 7599 Fax: 0121 224 7598 Email: howard@imaginativeminds.co.uk

News Could do better – the Government’s new school building programme

Editor Graham Handscomb Graham Handscomb has held a number of senior management roles in schools and local authorities. This has included leading school improvement and standards in one of the largest education authorities, leading the establishment of schools of the future, and pioneering innovative approaches to professional development. Graham is currently an independent consultant and director. He was primary, secondary and special trained, taught for eighteen years and has been a secondary deputy headteacher.

2 Learning Spaces Vol 1:2

PRODUCTION EDITOR: Sally Connolly DESIGN: Yunus Motala FOR ADVERTISING: Head Office 0121 224 7599 © Imaginative Minds 2011 ISSN 2043-6904 No part of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted in any form or by any means without the express permission of the publisher.

Safe sustainable futures

Graham Handscomb gives a cool response to the Government’s new Priority School Building Programme

Beware of cutting too far! Lessons from the past Christopher French says lessons need to be learnt from past recessions

Subscription details How to get the best resources in the field

Featured Articles

Case studies:

Sustainable cities, sustainable minds, sustainable schools

Learning through green spaces

Paul Clarke argues that schools can provide the lead in achieving urban renewal

Good design can survive in a cold climate John Lyall asks that good design is not abandoned following the demise of BSF

Gate Safe – It’s a matter of educating schools Preventing tragedy! How to improve safety at the school gates

The fire next time Improving evacuation procedures for all, including those most at risk

British Gas 4 Pools – bringing swimming to the masses Jon Glenn reports on a scheme to bring portable swimming pools to schools and their communities

Jane Whitham describes how use of the natural environment is integral to learning and play

Intelligence starts with design The Archbishop McGrath School case study shows how to deliver sustainability whilst creating inclusive environments for everyone

Thamesview School – a case study of fire and access strategies How innovative design can meet fire and accessibility requirements

Learning in the Urban Jungle!

Hugh McNish shows how innovative play areas transformed learning and behaviour in a Glasgow primary school

Space to Learn – a new era for Hartlepool New school design and technology of the future challenges conventional teaching

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News Could do better – the Government’s new school building programme Graham Handscomb looks at the Government’s new building programme and suggests that this may fuel further disappointment for many schools.

schools which show sufficient long term pupil demand will be considered for inclusion in the programme.”

PFI lives on!

The Government has announced the outline details of its Priority School Building Programme (PSBP). This has been long anticipated, given the announcement in the summer last year to abandon the previous Government’s Building Schools for the Future (BSF) initiative and the subsequent phasing out of the primary Capital Programme.

The PSBP initiative is governed by two fundamental principles:

Prioritising the worst condition schools

So PFI is still to be at the heart of Government school building policy. Suitability for Public Private Procurement will involve factors like:

The new PSBP will be a privately financed programme to provide school facilities. It will be limited to only those schools in the worse condition. Ministers will also take into account pressing cases of “basic needs”, i.e. the requirement for additional spaces and “other ministerial priorities” (DfE.2011).

The size of the programme The announcement provided just initial information and the full scale of the programme is still to be finalised but we understand that it will cover the equivalent of building or re-building approximately 100 secondary schools over time. The whole programme is likely to include a mix of primary, secondary and special schools, together with sixth form colleges and alternative provision. It could potentially cover between 100-300 schools in total. 20% of the total programme is expected to be delivered each year with the first schools scheduled to be open in the academic year of 2014-2015. The schools included in the initial group will therefore commence procurement during the second quarter of 2012.

A limited programme Although poor condition is the main criteria for eligibility it is likely that not all schools in this situation will be approved – even if they fully meet the criteria. So because the Government funding for PSBP is so limited the condition of each eligible school will be compared with others to determine those with the very worst condition. The DfE has also made it clear that “only

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It is intended to address the needs of those schools in the very worst conditions and these schools also must be suitable for funding through a privately financed initiative.

Land ownership – there will need to be certainty that the local authority (LA) or school holds the title to the land required by the start of the procurement and that the school holds the long term lease.

New build proportion – it is unlikely that PFI would be value for money if the refurbishment element of a school build is more than 30% of the gross internal floor area.

Listed status – any part of the school which has listed status will have to be to be refurbished rather than rebuilt, and if therefore this exceeds 30% of the total then this would jeopardise approval of a scheme.

Value for money – the procurement will be tested for value for money at various points during the process.

The procedure Local authorities will be responsible for coordinating and submitting applications for all maintained schools (including VA and VC and foundation schools without a religious character) in their area. Diocese and other faith bodies may submit their own applications for individual schools. Similarly academies can also choose to be included in their LA’s submission or may alternately apply on their own behalf. Academy chains may also apply on behalf of their schools, and individual sixth form colleges must make their own application.

News Implications and concerns The announcement of this school building programme is a mixture of good news and some significant causes for concern. Given the shocking reverberations in the wake of the BSF cancellation and the on/off speculation surrounding both the timing of and the reaction to the James Report, any definite commitment to a school building programme will be welcomed. However for some what is being proposed will be seen as pretty meagre fair, even in the context of these austere times.

Many of the schools who had their expectations raised through the BSF and PCP programmes will find little solace in the limiting criteria of the new PSBP initiative.

It is very understandable that the Government will focus on schools whose buildings are in the worst condition. However, to make the funding so limited that not even all the schools in such states of dilapidation will be addressed, will fuel further disappointment. As the implications of the scheme’s criteria are digested other concerns will also rise. Amongst these is the effect of the PFI stipulation that any project must not have an excess of 30% refurbishment. The effect of this will be to rule out a great number of schools in considerable need. The bar has been set so high that so many schools have no hope of qualifying but will still be in a pretty parlous state regarding the condition of their buildings.

In all of this there is also the rueful regret of the lost opportunity to ensure the building of school environments links directly with improved educational experience of the young people we are all there to serve. Yes, there is considerable sympathy with the Government’s view that BSF got bogged down in a bureaucracy (ironically fashioned by Partnership for Schools which continues to be the agency delivering the new PSBP). However, there is a strong sense of the baby being thrown out with the bathwater. At its best, particularly in some LA areas, the BSF scheme was ensuring that new physical and virtual learning environments were education led, and providing world class education opportunities. The tidal reaction to BSF’s red tape excesses has tended to be “let’s revert to box shaped spaces and let’s make them small.”

So overall, although at least having an announcement of a building programme is welcomed, it will be seen as a drop in the ocean. We can only hope that future generations of young people will not stand in judgement on a possible missed opportunity to make a lasting difference to our school estate.

Graham Handscomb, graham@handscomb-consultancy.co.uk

Beware of cutting too far! Lessons from the past In this opinion piece Christopher French looks to past recessions and warns against selling our schools and young people short of space As politicians and programme managers struggle with cutting investment in school buildings they should remember that we have been this way before and learn from the mistakes of the past.

I was fortunate to be able to study the design and construction of 150 primary schools, built within a conservative controlled shire county, over a period of 20 years starting in 1973 as part of my PhD thesis thirteen years ago. Although not a huge sample, it does contain some lessons relevant to the current financial climate and was repeated all over the country.

Learning Spaces Vol 1:2

During this period Great Britain went through two recessions and not surprisingly both recessions had a dramatic, recordable effect on the space and quality of schools built during this period. I was able to record the effect these down turns had on the space and quality of new schools which mirrored the decrease in public expenditure almost exactly.

Slow recovery Initially standards dropped at the same rate as the reductions in public expenditure but surprisingly it carried on dropping after the recession had bottomed out and did not recover at the same rate as the increase in public expenditure. In fact it took nearly 2 or 3 more years for school standards to get back to where they had

News been before the recession.

I think this was because the parsimonious habit persevered for too long with lower, unacceptable standards becoming permanently built into budgets.

Space standards in new schools were severely squeezed so that classrooms could hardly cater for the number of children or activities intended. Inadequate storage, tiny cloakrooms and lack of specialist spaces resulted and many tight, open plan arrangements left no room for circulation. Teachers are still coping with undersize teaching accommodation today. School layouts became very compact with deep, low ceiling plans often creating poor quality teaching spaces with a lack of natural daylight, natural ventilation and poor acoustics.

Scrooge attitudes affects quality Quality standards also suffered with the use of poor quality materials such as softwood joinery, emulsion painted plasterboard and 3 layer felt roofs creating massive maintenance problems. Money for buildings was also siphoned off from external works and furniture budgets resulting in very poor external and internal learning environments.

My research also revealed some particularly alarming trends amongst politicians and programme managers, responsible for the school estate, who took on the role of scrooge with a little too much relish. One very senior LA architect was heard to say, as he removed spotlights and pin boards from a new school prior to a visit by elected

members, “I don’t care how much these things cost as long as the school looks cheap.” These same characters really believed that you could get more for less and were unaware of the damage they were doing.

Protecting future generations I am sure there are headteachers out there who are still struggling with an undersize school of poor quality, built during times of recession. They have probably wasted large parts of their meagre budgets maintaining their poor quality buildings or have seen their Local Authority waste money correcting the mistakes of the past. It would be good if these Heads made their views known to our current government.

My message to the present Government, as they grapple with the current financial crisis, is that we all appreciate that investment in schools cannot continue at the present rate. However, as you cut investment in school buildings you should remember the lessons of the past and not let space or quality standards fall too far as this might have a dramatic effect on generations of children far beyond this particular period of financial difficulty.

Aboout the Author Chris French is an architect with a research degree in school design. He has built up a wealth of experience in school design and advises Government and Local Government departments and other public bodies. He now works with the consortium ‘architects4education’.

Professional Development Today Professional Development Today, the sister publication to School Leadership Today, is designed for those involved in the personal and professional development of all teaching staff. The aim of the publication is to improve school practice of CPD, which is all too often an ad hoc affair, by supporting the CPD Coordinator and school leadership team with articles, research and ‘how to’ guides on what works.

To subscribe to Professional Development Today: Call the Subscriptions Orderline 0121 224 7578 or email sandie@imaginativeminds.co.uk

Subscribe online at: http://www.teachingtimes.com/ publications/professional-development-today.htm

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Recent Professional Development Today articles have included: Educating tomorrow’s teachers Future schools – The professional development challenge ■ From self-evaluation to school improvement – The role of staff ■ Performance Management or Performance Coaching?

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Recent ‘How to’ guides: How to…lead and support innovative professional development ■ How to…develop and support school mentors ■ How to…foster collaborative professional development ■

Up and coming: ■ ■

Developing the enquiring/researching teacher Sustainability – for professional learning and change

A River Child by Dr. Sue Lyle

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Understanding Global Citizenship Through Thinking Skills

How does the life of your children compare to the life of a river child in Gashaka, West Africa?

A River Child offers an exciting way forward for schools by using a Geography-led, thematic approach to promoting literacy across the curriculum.

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Research shows that the pack demonstrates its power to motivate and inspire pupils as well as having a very positive impact on literacy, geographical understanding and student motivation.

Using a common needs approach and many innovative teaching ideas children find out about the life of Mohamed and his family. They discover how his family’s lives depend on the natural world. Pupils discover the threats made to Gashaka in 1993 and how people from all over Nigeria worked together to prevent disaster. From this children can learn ecological lessons about threats to the natural systems of Africa, which can be applied globally to other at-risk areas. Pupils also find out about ‘Gashaka-Gumti National Park’ as an example of turning a potential environmental disaster into a success story.

“At a time when stories of environmental degradation and destruction are the stuff of everyday news for children, it is important they hear ‘good news’ stories and realise that things can get better if we all work together.” - Sue Lyle

Cross-Curricular links: Geography, Science, Design & Technology, English, Drama, ICT and Religion.

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Sustainable cities, sustainable minds, sustainable schools Paul Clarke sees rethinking schools through the Pop-Up Farm concept as the basis for urban renewal Thorough sanitary and remedial action in the houses that we have; and then the building of more, strongly, beautifully, and in groups of limited extent, kept in proportion to their streams and walled round, so that there may be no festering and wretched suburb anywhere, but clean and busy street within and the open country without, with a belt of beautiful garden and orchard round the walls, so that from any part of the city perfectly fresh air and grass and sight of far horizon might be reachable in a few minutes’ walk. This is the final aim.

JOHN RUSKIN, Sesame and Lillies.1865

Establishing the idea of a learning hub for the urban mind.

John Ruskin spoke to an age that was in the formative stages of urbanising, and successfully established an illusion of the relationship between nature and ourselves which remains to this day. Whilst he foresaw and forewarned many of the potential challenges that humankind would face as a result of urban life, nothing could have prepared him for the current challenge we face at the start of the 21st century, and the environmental crisis we are watching unfold. We need to connect the rural and the urban, conceptually and practically – a Pop-UpFarm perhaps? In this think piece I explore what this can mean in terms of the school as the centre of a sustainable community where we visualise differently urban space and school space, and generate a new outlook on learning.

I have argued throughout my recent work (Clarke, 2012 forthcoming) that if society is to remediate the catastrophic ecological crisis situation we

Learning Spaces Volume 1:2

find ourselves in, we need to modify our ways of living and learn a different set of skills that lead to new behaviour and subsequently a different kind of future, one that is both sustainable and environmentally conscious. Part of the big picture we need to urgently comprehend, because civic society depends upon it, is to re-imagine the urban mind and establish the conditions for urban space as a source of sustainable practice.

A new conception of the school One such mode of progressing this practice comes through the growing of more of our food in the urban setting. A good location for this is the school – a natural source of community life, and a potential hub for new thinking about how to re-imagine the urban space. This is needed to establish both a more sustainable mechanism of food production that does not result in ever increasing oil miles, but

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also and perhaps more importantly to embed a natural dynamic within the urban space that is the foundation of our learning, the new school, a school founded on principles and practices of sustainable living. This implies a conceptual break from the consensual view that the urban and the rural are two different environments, and that schools are there to service an economic model based upon consumerism and endless industrial growth with no consequences. The point being that we can and should intervene. We ‘garden’, we manipulate space to serve a new goal, and what we have at present is in fact, simply a differently manipulated setting, in the main manipulated by ourselves for our benefit, whether the natural environment has a future place remains to be seen.

Connecting rural and urban On face value, there is one hugely important agenda which day to day most of us barely consider, how we might feed ourselves in the next couple of decades as the price of oil rises and therefore costs of food production become ever greater. This small but important issue permeates every aspect of contemporary life. It specifically raises questions of the need for food security, focuses us upon the challenge to improve the quality of the environment we find ourselves building in our urban homesteads, to ensure safety of food supply and an educated population who can cope with an emerging global crisis. But the challenge is also perhaps more fundamental. It is to radically rethink the artificiality that comes in a distinction between urban and rural, something we continue to teach our young people in school, and consequently perpetuate as a myth that separates us from understanding our place as part of a natural system. This is a concern that has considerable practical importance. Can we go on thinking that the city is where we do business and the countryside is where we grow the food to feed us? What does that distinction in relationship do to the collective consciousness, particularly in regard to our relationship with life-sustaining eco-systems?

(Stirling, 2001)

Schools – seed beds of hope Historically our urban spaces were also food spaces, but industrialisation has changed this relationship.

We might ask if this is now due for a rethink; where can we develop from an industrial, linear system, and embed food back into the urban setting? That is the rationale for what we might call a Pop-Up-Farm for cities. We could use and manipulate the idea of a farm but not as we know them. To facilitate this, we can play with the school site as a forum for new learning about the new urbanism. Farming traditionally concerns itself with growing and yields. I suggest we

use the metaphor to grow sustainable places and this is why schools are significant; they retain a place of importance in the popular imagination as places of possibility and hope. We expect a lot from our schools as the seed-beds of hope for the next generation; so schools of sustainability can become important strategic indicators, of both community and societal progress in response to the ecological challenge.

Whatever we choose to capture and develop it is clear that concepts and resources will have to be available to all, as an inclusive and socially networked facility.

They will be ideas for and of the urban space, with connecting technology, open source sustainability know-how and social networking locked perhaps into the school setting as a feature of urban learning. They become the learning hub for the new urban mind.

Education for eco-urbanism An awareness of the need to design space for human existence which is comprehensible and not alienating to the general population, brings with it a need for clarity and coherence. The clarity comes through the insights that can be drawn from real-time experiences, where people are responding to the

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sustainable learning skills, and available, as a socially held resource for all. This implies that there needs to be a form of sharing what we learn across diverse and contextually different environments, and utilising the strengths of human ingenuity and creativity to devise solutions to suit the many places we adopt as our home.

Tapping and reviewing existing solutions I think that a form of open-source modelling is the key to this response. A methodology that can capture, study and disseminate the learning. The notion is not particularly new, it is a form of thinking that has been evolving within the information technology community for some considerable time. The transfer of the open-source concept to practical physical activity offers great opportunity for people to mimic and revise existing solutions and gain from earlier models and ideas. This has been a regular feature of the lexicon of designers and urban planners for more than a century (Howard, 1902) and more recently has been reconceived in the form of pattern technology (Alexander, 1977) and is beginning to show itself in the work of smart cities or eco-cities (Lim and Liu, 2010) However, urban planners and architects are not the only engineers of human action. Educators also contribute to the intellectual condition within which new generations entertain how to learn to live in an urban space. As such, we have a role to play in establishing the first principles of an understanding of what it means to live in a sustainable manner. ecological challenges they encounter with new and innovative solutions. Urban growing schemes are now a widespread feature of most city landscapes, tucked away on rooftops, stealing a patch on a street corner or a derelict site. As evidence of these small, inventive and imaginatively conceived projects grow, it is becoming clearer that there are recurring patterns of activity that are being adopted by people in different geographical locations. We are very much in the emergent stages of what might be called a new urban food paradigm, and we do not know as yet if all or any of these solutions will work (for example: in generating sufficient food of sufficient quantity to make any substantive contribution to the food security issue). However, what is clear is that there is a place for capturing, studying and disseminating the new thinking and learning for wider social benefit and adoption, and perhaps the place to connect these practices within a community is school.

If such action were to happen in schools, then what school becomes is a knowledge generating and knowledge using resource, focused on

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Developing smart eco-cities Part of that engagement as educated citizens comes through the examination of what we mean by quality, particularly the sustainable quality of life that such environments might be able to offer.

Simply adding an ‘eco’ prefix to cities is not sufficient to ensure that the lifestyle on offer is capable of meeting the nuances of individual need whilst ensuring the permanence of the wider system. The smart eco-city that is envisaged recognises the need for intelligent responses to contemporary environmental challenges, whilst not ignoring the possibilities of technological advances. It has to be rooted in the practicalities of both ambition and action: to achieve leanness and low-tech thinking.

It also needs to be embedded in the achievable, where the methods, tools, and equipment are cheap and easy to access, are suitable for small scale application but can be accessible across entire systems, and maintain our need for creativity and innovation (Schumacher, 1973). A similar approach to education enables learners to engage in curricula which are responsive to identified needs.

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Start with the school Perhaps it is easiest to think about this in terms of scale, and again we have a solution embedded directly in our existing communities. To learn to live sustainably we do not need to think at the scale of a megacity development, nor an entire education system; we think of school. To illustrate this we can draw from the experience of our work in the Incredible Edible Project.

This is a community food growing project which has experimented with growing food in public urban spaces to draw attention to the need to think about how we might live our lives within our communities in more connected, active and responsive ways rather than waiting for political leaders and such like to guide and inform the course of our community life (see www.school-of-sustainability.com and Clarke, 2012, forthcoming). Our experience suggests we look to the immediate and the practical, at a scale people can personally comprehend and most important act upon. So whilst a backyard, a window ledge, a wall, a street all become legitimate territory for action, they do not necessarily have the communicative carrying capacity that a centre of education, such as a school of sustainability or the urban learning farm might hold. So extend this one stage further and we begin to consider the public space, the health centre, or indeed, the schoolyard and school base. This has been the locus of change for the Incredible Edible project and many others like it. We start with serious change at the micro, we establish them as workable schemes, and we begin to connect them together to form an interdependent technology – a renaissance for the urban mind, a learning hub.

Zero is the measure of our collective action So what is the measure of our collective action to be as we move forward with this agenda? We have grown accustomed to the metric of large-scale as a good, in terms of growth, and progress and development in terms of scale and size. Our new defining characteristics of success might better be thought of as being the achievement of zero! So, to aim for zero: ■ ■ ■ ■

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Zero carbon Zero waste Zero growth (if that growth means the exploitation of the finite planetary resources) Zero environmental impact, or indeed zero plus in that we begin to enhance and improve upon earlier circumstances Zero forced extinctions Zero climate damage Zero soil degradation Zero pollution Zero net greenhouse gas emissions Zero encroachment on nature

We can begin to fashion the schema of our new metric which in turn enables us to report in a new way the success of our school systems. We need to establish new ways of thinking and to understand the cityscapes we increasingly find ourselves living in as zero environments. This is clearly of great interest and potential as our existing solutions are failing to rectify past, growth-focused failure.

When we talk of eco-cities and smart cities we run the danger of revisiting the utopian dreams of yester-year, where the old idea of masterplans for cities generated what Mark Jazombek calls an ‘illusion’ of the city. ‘A place where social and economic problems, and politics have all been photo-shopped away’ (Jarzombek,2010). The danger of the masterplan is the elimination of the day-to-day realities. The great advantage of the micro change approach is the day-to-day realities are the drawing board for contact and connection; they define the sustainability contextually. Instead of establishing conditions for sustainability, we use these microplans that arise from urban growing projects, with all of their nuanced and sensitive solutions to the small locales they operate within as the foundations of an eco-revolution. This is the real-politik as it is based upon existing failed infrastructure, failed political

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alliances, undocumented citizens, and short-term greenscape-fixes. That is why from an educational perspective we must begin in the places we currently use, our schoolyards, our public spaces, our health centres, parks and derelict sites. There is vast potential for revision and experimentation, but it has to form into something of overarching purpose, and this is where the focus on food provides a significant opportunity for new thinking.

What happens in those places is becoming a movement of people reclaiming the city for themselves. They are generating the data sets for our new urban learning hubs, the fertile growing spaces created in schoolyards are an extension of just such schemes, what may look like an innocent raised bed is actually the representation of a radical realignment of human thinking about the urban space as the knowledge of how, why and where emerges.

School of Sustainability as the new urban farm In our schools which are exploring the numerous ways in which they can use their schoolyards as part of an open-source sustainability concept, we begin to see the possibilities of the zero option, where a pattern of activity leads to measureable effects and deeper insights against critical sustainability themes. Our interest is not on the growing of a few vegetables, but instead, on the ways in which the focus on growing food can stimulate a whole set of

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relationships across a school site to inform and guide community learning about urban sustainability.

The more we have done this the more we begin to understand, that the marginal activity such as a vegetable or flower bed, can function below the policy radar, but can be used as a Trojan horse, to establish a starting point of action through which people can begin to think and act radically through education for the world we occupy. This is a foundation to influence the world we might be moving towards.

In the case of Incredible Edible for example, we have already seen how this has extended across an entire community. Our interest was a change in the social behaviour, and a challenge to the practical choices we make as we go about daily life. As yet this work remains in the early stages of development, but important pointers are nevertheless emerging of how to facilitate change.

A flowering of projects Instead of a masterplan, there are a multitude of micro-projects underway (from backyard eggs, to hydroponics, bread making, orchard planting, cheese making, plant growing and bee-keeping) which can be examined in terms of yield potential. Soil fertility and management sciences, uses of vertical growing spaces, design and development of micro schemes for walls and rooftops, water capture processes, passive solar gain projects all serve as templates

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for providing people with the types of solutions that they require. In particular, they challenge the myth of sustainability and that industrialised view of nature and people not mixing. In growing in the urban space, and establishing a new paradigm for that growing and including learning as a central feature of the work in progress, we begin to see the prospect of a new form of urban life, based around day-to-day capabilities, not some utopian design but a curriculum for life, and of life.

Schools in the vanguard of change By taking the environmentalism out of the urban mix, the experimental projects are starting to get beyond the implausibility of ‘nature as happy, green and friendly’, to a simple practical relationship of convenience. This takes us out of the predictable frameworks through the integration of urban and rural by bringing a new form of learning to the townscape. It has to be noted that this also has little to do with generating ‘local’ produce, which perpetuates a particular form of market-trading promoting elite foods, distinct from all other foods. Instead, by growing food inside city space experiments with the urban idea, it represents a way of responding to the food security crisis, first symbolically, and perhaps at a later stage, as an embedded feature of the urban landscape and mindscape.

That is why the potential gains of using schoolyards as the new urban farm are so attractive, as they connect a number of important elements together.

School is a point of contact for a community of people. There is a shared interest in making the learning context real and provocative and purposeful for the participants involved. There is great interest in how we might ensure that school has relevance to young people, and the existing fragmentation of enterprise and education can be overcome as the produce arising from the schemes can be developed commercially, thereby enabling further projects to be funded without needing to be externally funded.

A school of sustainability So I think that the school of sustainability is not a school at all in the traditional sense. Instead it represents the attitude of sustainability in practice, a way of providing a design through which community food security can being to become a feature of a new curriculum for urban life. This would be a curriculum that sees growing, and experimentation of growing in the urban setting, as part of a vast, urban opensource programme.

To achieve this I have designed a project called ‘Pop-Up- Farm’ to illustrate this school of sustainability in action. The basic idea is that Pop-Up challenges us in unexpected ways and in unexpected places, showing us how easy it is to make little changes that

make a big difference, so that we change our habits and behaviour and tread more gently on the planet.

What is Pop-Up? Pop-Up-Farm brings sustainability education into schools and the wider community, both in the UK and overseas. It combines the basic elements of water, waste, energy, food and growing to demonstrate different ways people can change their lives to the mutual benefit of communities and the planet.

The heart of the Pop-Up farm is the Plotting Shed.

This can be an existing physical structure, a real shed or any other building deemed suitable. The other elements of the Pop-Up farm will lead out from the shed. In the shed will be cushions and bean-bags (or chairs), boards and chalk, paper and pens –The purpose of the plotting shed is to encourage people to share ideas, suggestions and thoughts. The series of images accompanying this article illustrate both the concept of the Pop Up initiative.

How does Pop-Up work?

Pop-Up will focus on three key areas: ■ ■ ■

Schools – primary and secondary Communities – churches, town squares, supermarket car-parks International – Commonwealth countries, both developed and developing.

Schools Starting with Burnley, Pop-Up is working in conjunction with Start (an initiative of The Prince of Wales to show people how simple steps can lead to a more sustainable future), The Prince’s Charities (especially BITC), the council and, of course, the 38 primary schools of Burnley. The focus of this primary school project is to educate children on the basics of sustainability in a fun and engaging manner. As a key partner of Start, Asda will be at the heart of the project supporting Pop-Up with sheds, water butts, tools and other inputs as required.

Communities Starting with Manchester, Pop-Up is planning to work in conjunction with the city council, to introduce a Pop-Up presence in the heart of the city, focusing on the employment elements of sustainability by establishing a commercially operating seasonal farm, whilst demonstrating and educating people on how they can not only save money, but also enhance their lives by adopting a more sustainable approach to life.

International Starting with Uganda, Pop-Up is working in conjunction with Seeds for Development (a charity

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supporting Ugandan farmers) in 4 schools, which also play an important role within their communities.

Pop-Up will demonstrate basic farming techniques to children and local farmers/residents and highlight the importance of water harvesting, soil management and creating viable community held businesses.

Summary In his Reith Lectures of 1995, Cities for a small planet, Richard Rodgers presented some startling data that illustrated the effect that the car had made to the urban designed space. ‘An efficient parking standard requires twenty square meters for a single car. Even supposing that only one in five inhabitants owns a car, then, a city of ten million (i.e., London) needs an area about ten times the size of the City of London just to park cars’(Rogers, 1997). The streets, corners, and design of everything from signage to lamp-posts are all driven by the needs of the motorist. It is an interesting observation of the way that our small choices dictate how we live. In a recent publicity project, we drew attention to the space the car takes by ‘renting’ a car parking space for an entire day and laying a vegetable patch, complete with plants on the parking bay of a city high street. The resulting interest from the people who passed by was startling. Quite what such actions lead to we do not know. However, it helps people to imagine what a city might look like

if there were no cars. Radicalising the urban mind is not difficult; it is examples that people need, and once they get them, they do the rest themselves.

So a new space emerges, and into that space emerge new opportunities. Such in the present issue with schools and sustainable education, a glimmer of possibility lies ahead as we reconsider the appropriacy of the school for the ecological age.

It is as significant a moment as that which began compulsory schooling more than a hundred and fifty years ago, a moment when we can imagine again the Scale – planetary, Scope – centuries, and Stakes – civilization’s needs for the 21st century, and take a risk.

Ruskin’s imaginative leap to the garden city was formed at a time before the pervasive effect of the car; it served to inform a view of ourselves and nature that has persisted until now. It is time for us to step beyond that romanticised industrial mind, to put industrialism away and to see cities as our new natural places, and use that as the basis of a practical food inspired revolution. That revolution will begin to redefine the artifice of natural and urban, with the school as the pivotal place to model this new learning. Through that redefinition we might be able to see what the new urban mind could become. That may well be the final story in the education book, how we undertake our great work.

References Alexander, C. (1977) A Pattern Language. Oxford University Press. Oxford Clarke, P. (2012, in press) Education for Sustainability: Becoming Naturally Smart. Routledge London Howard, E. (1902) Garden Cities of To-morrow. Sonnenschein & Co. London.

Jarzombek, M (2010) Post–sustainability. In Lim, C.J and Liu, E. (2010) Smart Cities and Eco Warriors.

Routledge. London Lim, C.J and Liu, E. (2010) Smart-Cities and Eco-Warriors. Routledge. London Rogers, R. (1997) Cities for a Small Planet. Faber and Faber. London.

Schumacher, E.F. (1973) Small is Beautiful. A Study of Economics As If People Mattered. Harper and Row. London.

Sterling, S (2001) Sustainable Education – Re-Visioning Learning and Change, Schumacher Society Briefing no. 6, Green Books, Dartington. www.school-of-sustainability.co.uk

14 Learning Spaces Volume 1:2

Using art to develop creative and critical thinking

“This is a very interesting and well constructed pack, designed to extend children’s thinking skills when responding to Art in such a way that it could be as useful to a teacher of English as to one of Art. The speaking and listening skills encouraged would enhance any English classroom”.

Are these two pictures about the same subject?

The components of Learning Without Limits - the book, CD and laminated images have been designed as a practical coaching manual that helps teachers and children understand and apply the core principles of critical and creative thinking to lessons they have already planned, within and beyond the National Curriculum.

Learning Without Limits 1 How to challenge and involve pupils of all abilities by teaching the key skills of critical and creative thinking through paintings, pictures and prints.

The materials in this pack will help all teachers to: ■ ■ ■

■ ■ ■

■

■

Connect children directly with a picture or painting Give children a personalised starting point for learning Get children asking authentic questions (the questions they really want to ask and answer) Encourage exploratory talking and thinking Start the processes of critical and creative thinking Build confidence in making judgements, taking decisions and making choices Explore six techniques in detail and learn how to apply these to lessons they have already planned Refine and adapt the techniques to meet the needs of specific groups of pupils including able learners

Price: £65.00 inc vat includes whole school licence so you can place it on your virtual learning environment Learning Without Limits 1 “… is a good compliment to much of the work that has been done in the Philosophy for Schools (P4C), devised by Matthew Lipman, who coined the term ‘aesthetic enquiry’ - a term which is particularly pertinent to this pack”.

“…the structured nature of the pack allows a teacher to interact with the resource in a scaffolded way – a ‘safe’ approach and one which can be managed on a ‘dip in’ as required way”.

Order Hotline: 0121 224 7599 or visit www.thinkingonlinecatalogue.co.uk

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Good design can survive in a cold climate School stakeholders who respond to reduced funding with poor design quality risk making a mistake that can take years to correct. John Lyall believes the lessons learnt from the BSF show how good design does not necessarily cost more, but is priceless to society.

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advocates for the importance of design quality, and Local Authorities who had taken on independent Client Design Advisors were clearly getting the message about “good design/good value”, because it was on their agenda through the CDA. Along with the launch of the Blair government’s BSF programme, the Prime Minister’s new “Better Public Buildings Award,” was also a significant catalyst for good design of schools.

However, over the past few years, BSF hasn’t been the only game in town. We have seen school procurement through local frameworks via competing contractors and the rise of a plethora of academies and their sponsors. Whether good design won through has been a hit-and-miss affair. However, more new schools were winning design awards, and even being short-listed for the RIBA’s Stirling Prize, (DSDHA’s excellent Christ’s College in Guildford and DRMM’s Clapham Manor Primary School last year.)

As well as Design Review, the CABE “Enabling” system was created to help Education Authorities through the PFI and BSF procurement complexities, ensuring, at the earliest concept stage, that high quality design could be achievable. This was a key part of CABE’s mission to enlighten better-informed clients, so that ultimately they would demand, and get, better designed public buildings. While Design Review has been and will continue as the “core” activity and purpose of CABE, ten years of work by talented, hardworking architects and schools specialists, has created a lasting legacy of how to achieve better design in an environment where tight finance and political expedience often dominate the procurement process. Enabling was hard work, and did not always achieve the good result intended.

However it has left a legacy of some excellent schools and a wide range of teachers, headteachers, governors and local authority officers who are now better armed to pursue good design for a client.

T

he demise of the BSF programme at the hands of the current government is unfortunate in its timing. Anyone who has played a part in the process will recognise that BSF was cumbersome, long-winded, bureaucratic and wasteful of both talent and money (public and private). However, in many areas we were just beginning to see real transformative design improvements in schools. This was because the crusade to get better architecture in schools was beginning to bear fruit. Bidding consortia were at last taking on more imaginative architects and more creative designs were helping to win competitions.

Thankfully “design” was being taken more seriously and had become more valued in the scoring agenda when competing bids were assessed. Bodies such as CABE and Partnerships for Schools were persuasive

A break-through.

In fact early on in CABE’s life, the publication “Creating Excellent Buildings” was produced to drive home the 10 “Keys to being a successful client”: ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Provide strong client leadership.

Give enough time, at the right time.

Learn from your own and other successful projects.

Develop and communicate a clear brief.

Make a realistic financial commitment from the outset.

Adopt integrated processes.

Find the right person for the job.

Respond and contribute to the context.

Commit to sustainability.

Sign off all key stages.

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A great and positive-break though was the promotion and adoption of the 10 CABE Design Criteria. As Partnerships for Schools took this system to heart and made it an essential part of the competitive assessment of designs and criteria for granting funding.

More time was taken by contractors agonising over design issues in their schemes, as some of them realised that their usual consultants were not creative enough, and they needed to find better quality architects.

On the assessment side, carried out by panels populated by school heads, governors, advisers and local authority staff, the 10 CABE criteria became a clear and easily understood method of assessing the design merits of competing bids. It created more knowledgeable, more confident clients.

It is worth briefly reminding ourselves of these 10 criteria ( see Box 1), because these thresholds are still very valuable when assessing any design. While some bidding contractors may have felt panicked by having to pass the design test, architects and engineers generally seemed to welcome the system because the criteria helped set down guidance on how to present their school designs to a majority of lay people on a judging panel.

Very sensible, and one would think, very obvious points which would result in good design; but most of them were notoriously lacking in schools before CABE were asked to help. So, while the work of CABE, PFS and the RIBA has been crucial to ensuring that design quality has become a justifiably important part in the public procurement of new schools, this arose in an era of huge expenditure and transformation by government. New schools were planned to come thick and fast.

Change and evolution The sobering change of approach last summer by the new government has caused schools and architects to look afresh at the design of schools, knowing that the money is not there for so much radical new school building. Extensions and refurbishments are more likely given much smaller amounts of cash.

Such projects need far greater design ingenuity by clever architects to achieve a step-change for the current cohorts of primary and secondary education.

The fall-out from the anger and disappointment at the cessation of BSF, has also seen the role of the architect criticised in some quarters as not being relevant in terms of learning “outcomes�. Such a cavalier attitude displayed by Toby Young in playing down the role of design in his Free School misses the point.

18 Learning Spaces Volume 1:2

It is surely the mark of an evolving, civilised society that we all strive to create better environments in which to live, work and learn.

A comfortable, adaptable, well-designed school will have a positive psychological effect, which will last with students for years. The exciting work carried out by Sir John Sorrell with his Sorrell Foundation has illustrated how informed, articulate and responsible school children can be, given a chance to work with designers and architects to change their school environment.

Fortunately, some lucky Local Authorities have taken this work seriously and embodied the thoughts of these young learners in their own BSF process.

All this is vital to keep in mind as the nation moves forward with a diminished series of school building changes over the coming years. To use much-reduced funding as a reason to sideline

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damage they were doing.”

While even politicians will not wish the design of school buildings to regress back to those “dark ages”, it is important for clever, accomplished architects and their clients to stress that good design does not necessarily cost more money, and reducing standards will have a negative long-lasting effect on education.

In touching on some of the positive drives of the past decade, I am keen that, as a society, we do not lose the momentum for achieving better designed schools, and we do not forget the lessons learned. I am optimistic that the desire to achieve better architecture will continue for a number of reasons: ■

There are now a host of more talented architects out there able to design better schools.

■

Schools, authorities and contractors have become better informed and confident in how to achieve good design, even on tight budgets.

■

Design Review will continue to be alive and kicking, especially at a local level, following the fantastic groundwork laid down by CABE.

■

The RIBA Schools Client Forum continues to grow in strength and influence.

The work of CABE on all schools projects, including design review, enabling, design criteria and standards is now achieved in a live website as a resource for future guidance and debate. (It must not be forgotten!)

■

good design will happen at our peril; it can take many years to recover back to a high quality position after a recession.

My colleague Chris French, who is a partner in our consortium Architects 4 Education, has researched the impact of economic downturns on school building.

In his paper, ‘Cuts in the School Building Programme – Lessons from the Past’, his anecdote is telling of current attitudes and their perils: “My research also revealed some particularly alarming trends amongst politicians and programme managers, responsible for the school estate, who took on the role of scrooge with a little too much relish.

One very senior LA architect was heard to say, as he removed spotlights and pin boards from a new school prior to a visit by elected members, “I don’t care how much these things cost as long as the school looks cheap.” These same characters really believed that you could get more for less and were unaware of the

■

The “movers and shakers” of the schools design renaissance (you know who you are!) will happily continue to be vocal about better education buildings, I’m sure of that.

John Lyall established his reputation as an innovative young architect in the 1980’s with a number of landmark projects at home and abroad. Trained at the Architectural Association, for most of his professional career he has combined running an award-winning practice with contributions to the education of architects by teaching and examining all over the world. For more information visit http://www. johnlyallarchitects.commore information visit http://www.johnlyallarchitects.com

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CABE - The 10 assessment criteria 01. Identity and context: Making a school the students and community can be proud of School ethos and identity Is the educational vision successfully manifested in the design?

Is the school design inviting to the local community?

Does the design respond and contribute positively to its locality?

Relationship with neighbourhood Does the design respond and contribute positively to its locality?

Civic character Does the scheme establish an appropriate civic presence for the school in the neighbourhood?

Will the design strengthen the image of education locally?

02. Site plan: Making best use of the site Enhancing the character of the site Does the design foster a sense of place?

Working with existing site constraints and opportunities How well does the design deal with site-specific constraints and opportunities?

Strategic site organisation Are the buildings, grounds and facilities arranged well on the site?

Does the configuration of buildings create positive internal and external spaces?

Are the external circulation routes clear and do they balance the needs of different users?

03. School grounds: Making assets of the outdoor spaces Relationship between the grounds and the buildings Do the grounds and planting contribute to creating a sense of place?

Does the design respond to the existing topography, climate and ecology of the site?

Social spaces and play Are outdoor spaces provided for a variety of different student social activities, interest ranges and group sizes?

Outdoor learning Are there provisions for outdoor learning?

Physical activity Are there opportunities for a wide range of physical activities?

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04. Organisation: Creating a clear diagram for the buildings Accommodating the educational agenda Is this successfully accommodated in the internal arrangement of spaces?

Is there a clear understanding of the school’s educational agenda and its organisational implications?

Spatial organisation Is there a clear spatial diagram for the building?

Are the learning spaces arranged well across the school?

Movement routes Is there a clear hierarchy of circulation routes?

Are links between indoor and outdoor spaces optimised?

05. Buildings: Making form, massing and appearance work together Concept Is there a coherent design idea that relates plans, sections and elevations?

Form and massing Are the building’s form and massing appropriate to the site?

Does the building create well proportioned internal and external spaces?

Appearance Do the elevations reflect the design concept to create an inspiring building?

Is the building good architecture in its own right?

Construction and materials Do the materials contribute positively to the quality of the scheme?

Will the fabric of the buildings be durable and easy to maintain?

06. Interiors: Creating excellent spaces for learning and teaching Variety and delight Will occupants experience variety and delight as they move around the school?

Are circulation and social areas inviting to students?

High quality Will the internal environment help students and staff feel valued and motivated?

Are learning spaces well proportioned and pleasant?

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The building in use Will the building work well in full use?

Have the acoustic requirements of different spaces been dealt with?

07. Resources: Deploying convincing environmental strategies Orientation Has the optimum orientation for different types of spaces been considered?

Does the design of the elevations respond to different orientations?

Ventilation Does the ventilation strategy provide a comfortable environment in which to learn in all seasons?

Where possible, are spaces naturally ventilated?

Daylighting Are key spaces day lit for most of the year?

Is there an imaginative use of daylight to create uplifting spaces?

Energy and services strategies Does the whole design help to minimise energy use and carbon emissions?

Is any on-site energy generation appropriate and meaningful?

Will the design provide an environment with a comfortable temperature for learning throughout the year?

organisational structures or pedagogies over time?

How well does the design allow for future expansion of the school?

Furniture and equipment Can a good range of layouts be made using the proposed furniture?

10. Successful whole: Making a design that works in the round Appropriateness Does this design as a whole offer a thoughtful, coherent and convincing response to the key issues of the site and brief?

Does the whole design add up to more than a sum of its parts?

Delight Will it be a pleasure to work, eat, learn, play, teach and socialise in this school?

Timelessness Is this school set to become a cherished part of its locality?

Fulfilling user intentions Does the architectural approach successfully meet the aspirations of the client and community?

Will the school’s design help to deliver educational transformation?

08. Feeling safe: Creating a secure and welcoming place External environment Are external routes and boundaries clear and well defined?

Is the security strategy balanced with openness?

Internal environment Are there opportunities for passive surveillance throughout the school?

Does the design of toilets, staircases and circulation areas allow for visibility so users feel safe?

09. Long life, loose fit: Creating a school that can adapt and evolve in the future Day to day flexibility Does the design provide day to day flexibility for different types of learning and teaching?

Adaptability Is the building able to accommodate different

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Gate Safe – It’s a matter of educating schools 22 Learning Spaces Volume 1:2

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R

egardless of the industry you are involved in, no one can have failed to note the level of media interest in the subject of automated gate safety following the tragic deaths of two young children in 2010. What many are perhaps unaware of is, that there were in fact five reported accidents relating to gate safety in the UK that year, but thankfully only two of those resulted in fatalities.

Equally worrying is the confirmation that one of those reported incidents involved a three year old boy whose head was trapped between an electric security gate and the gate post at a Bournemouth primary school.

Given the heightened awareness of the need to improve school security there is now an enhanced appreciation of the basic responsibility to safely contain children during school hours, keeping them protected from unwanted intruders and away from any danger within the confines of the grounds. As a result, a growing number of schools have elected to upgrade their perimeter security to include automated gates which in light of last year’s accidents, means there is a strong duty of care to ensure that the gates that have been fitted are compliant with current UK standards. But understanding what constitutes a safe automated gate – and correctly interpreting the current legal requirements remains a minefield of misunderstanding. Hot on the heels of the tragic turn of events the other year, an action group, Gate Safe - was set up to challenge the current status quo and lobby for change. Established by Jacksons Fencing, a leading designer and manufacturer of timber and steel fencing / gates, Gate Safe has always had one over-riding clear objective, to improve the standards in gate automation – to prevent any further tragedies occurring.

Gate Safe – the launch

In 2010, two young children were tragically killed by the very gates that were designed to protect them.

Carla Wessel describes the often-ignored safety measures needed to protect from this hidden danger.

Gate Safe was launched in September, at the inaugural national Gate Safety Summit, which was held at the Institute of Directors in London. The event represented for the first time, a direct effort, to unite the various professionals from a broad cross section of companies and generic trade and safety organisation who each have a role to play in calling for the introduction of tighter guidelines and legislation pertaining to automated gate safety. The HSE was invited to attend the Summit meeting but declined due to other commitments.

The Summit successfully identified a number of actions to follow through to raise the profile of automated gate safety and the resulting Gate Safe campaign has already tackled a number of these. This included the hand delivery of a petition to Downing Street, a letter to the education authorities in the UK and Wales urging them to check gates in their schools, the creation of a Gate Safe Steering Group

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to interrogate the current guidelines and legislation to identify possible loopholes, the development of a comprehensive Gate Safe web site, logo and the mounting of an awareness campaign amongst media and trade professionals.

Time bomb ticking…

One of Gate Safe’s biggest concerns is the potential ‘time bomb’ that exists in relation to the number of potentially unsafe automated gate installations which remain in use. Jacksons has been involved in two random gate audits in Kent and in Wales. Of the 67 gates audited in Kent, 0% were fully compliant.

Of the 20 gates audited in Wales (for BBC Wales’ Week In, Week Out* documentary on automated gate safety which was screened last November), only 10% were fully compliant. These small-scale samples demonstrate the possible magnitude of the problem.

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Gate Safe in schools This situation clearly has serious implications for schools on a number of levels. Firstly it is onerous to note, that from the letters that were issued to local education authorities late last year, to date only six responses have been received, and one of those claims that within the entire education authority, not a single automated gate exists!

Secondly, schools whose premises feature an automated gate installation need to be vigilant in their risk assessment checks to ensure the gate has been fitted with all the recommended safety measures and remains compliant with current standards. Failure to do this could result in an investigation by the HSE or Local Authority and far worse, a serious accident on site.

Thirdly, there is perhaps a call for schools to flex their educational muscle to roll out a Gate Safe safety campaign for their pupils, to enable an

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enhanced understanding of the potential dangers associated with an automated gates.

Finally, it could be suggested that automated gate safety and the associated required compliance protocol should be included as part of the Ofsted review procedure.

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HSE commends Gate Safe

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In January 2011 the Gate Safe initiative ran its first Gate Safe Steering Group meeting, which was attended by a representative from the Health & Safety Executive. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents and the Institution of Occupational Safety & Health were also amongst the trade / industry bodies represented at the event.

Gate Safe has always insisted that the only way to prevent further accidents occurring is to gather delegates from a cross section of companies and organisations, with the aim of initiating a unique 3600 awareness / education programme which targets EVERYONE (from the specifier, manufacturer, constructor / contractor and installer) involved in the installation of an automated gate. The Health & Safety Executive congratulated the members of the Gate Safe Steering Group on their efforts to date and agreed that the issue of automated gate safety is a complex matter which requires the collective force of an industry wide group of representatives to take the lead in initiating change.

The Gate Safe Steering Group (GSSG), will now meet on a quarterly basis, and has agreed: ■

the need to raise awareness / educate all parties involved in the design, construction, installation and maintenance of automated gates of the

■

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current legislation and guidelines pertaining to gate safety. The meeting agreed that the existing standards have some shortcomings and are not properly understood, and a strategy needs to be devised to address this to strengthen GSSG’s voice by inviting trade organisations to join the team to try and initiate a dialogue with the insurance industry in a bid to put in place measures to police existing gates and those fitted retrospectively to the current regulations the launch of a Gate Safe safety training programme which will target anyone and everyone involved in the supply chain associated with an automated gate installation longer term, the roll out of an awareness campaign which educates members of the general public, especially parents on the rudimentary requirements for automated gate safety

Commenting on the progress made at the first Gate Safe Steering Group meeting, chairman Richard Jackson says “We are feeling very positive and motivated following our first round table discussion on how to move this important issue forward.

Having the Health & Safety Executive at the meeting was extremely beneficial, and in particular it was gratifying to note that our efforts to date have been acknowledged as the right strategy to encourage an industry wide more informed and safety aware approach to gate automation. Our next meeting is scheduled to take place in early April and we are confident that in that time frame, we will have made further steps to reducing the risk of any further automated gate accidents”.

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Jacksons Fencing Gate Safety Check List Semi automatic operation: This is a gate that will only operate when it receives a signal, i.e. a push button being held down.

Check: √ That the operator of the gate has a clear and unobstructed view of the gate, which extends to all of its operation. Remember that when opening a sliding gate, the trailing edge of the gate has the potential to create a trap point √ That the control cabinet is housed in a weatherproof enclosure that is lockable √ That pedestrians have an alternative method of entry and exit (wherever possible pedestrians should not use a vehicular gate) giving alternative access in the event of the gate failing √ That there are clearly visible signs advising that the gate is an automated device √ That trained operatives regularly maintain the gate and that full servicing records are kept √ That the gate was originally manufactured and installed as an automated device and has not simply been modified to offer automation features Fully automatic operation: This is a gate that is activated by a device (intercom, radio control, etc) and the gate will open and close within a pre determined time Check: √ That the gate features the necessary safety devices to protect the user and other pedestrians from any potential trap points √ That the gate is operating with the correct force as stated by the regulations (this should be the minimum required to enable the gate to operate) √ That the person responsible for the gate has been trained in the safe operation of the gate and its maintenance requirements √ That the control cabinet is housed in a weatherproof enclosure that is lockable √ That pedestrians have an alternative method of entry and exit (wherever possible pedestrians should not use a vehicular gate) giving alternative access in the event of the gate failing √ That there are clearly visible signs advising that the gate is an automated device √ That trained operatives regularly maintain the gate and that full servicing records are kept The above list of safety measures is for guidance only and a site-specific risk assessment should always be carried out. Contact Jacksons Fencing on 01233 750 393 / www.jacksonsfencing.co.uk.

Latest guidance from HSE in relation to Powered Perimeter Gates ■ ■ ■

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Check the gate is being maintained by a reputable company who regularly test the safety features of the gate to ensure they are set up and working correctly Ask the gate maintenance to show you how to release the gate in an emergency Ask them to show you the safety features including: o Any safety edges o Light beams to detect a person or object in the way of the closing gate o Fixed guards at other areas e.g. where the vertical bars of a gate slide close to the vertical bars of a fence If purchasing a new gate, check that the installer can show the features as explained above and that they will CE mark the gate and issue a Declaration of Conformity.

www.hse.gov.uk/safetybulletins/poweredgates.htm for more details.

Further updates on the Gate Safety initiative will be posted on the web site at www.gate-safe.co.uk.

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Education update for technology and learning The list of requirements for schools regarding the utilisation of technology evolves each year. This monthly e-magazine helps both primary and secondary school leaders and teachers understand the issues, products, problems and the possibilities associated with technology in schools, such as VLE’s, web-based learning, white boards, video-conferencing, online assessment and mobile learning.

To subscribe to e-Learning Update: Call the Subscriptions Orderline 0121 224 7578 or email sandie@imaginativeminds.co.uk

Recent e-Learning Update articles have included: • Creating a 21st century learning environment on limited budgets • Introducing ICT in the early years • Using computer games to help people with learning difficulties • Making maths more engaging with technology Up and coming: • Investing in cloud computing for your school • New products and technology updates • Mobile interactive curriculum • Assistive Music Technology

Subscribe online at: www.teachingtimes.com/publications/e-learningupdate.htm

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In the event of an emergency or fire hazard, quick evacuation is key.

However, for those with disabilities, the fire hazard itself is not the only barrier blocking their exit. Jane Simpson and Jonny Joinson discuss the fundamental issues that need to be considered when reviewing an evacuation plan.

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The fire next time

he safe evacuation of building occupants is the fundamental objective that all other aspects of fire safety are put in place to achieve. The aim is simple; to enable occupants to move away from a fire and escape to a place of safety that ultimately leads to the exterior of the building. This can either be through their own efforts, or with the assistance of other occupants within the building, but should never rely on rescue by the Fire Service.

Guidance for the design of escape routes within buildings has developed in a piecemeal fashion in response to particular disasters. However, for several

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decades the typical place of safety within multi-storey buildings has been the escape stair, protected with fire resisting walls and doors. This continues to form the basis of safe escape route design within the current guidance document, Approved Document B (ADB), to Part B of the Building Regulations produced by the Department for Communities.

The challenge for disabled persons For the majority of people, the use of escape stairs offers little additional challenge compared to level access routes. In contrast, an escape stair for

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disabled persons can represent a barrier that cannot be overcome alone. In the event of a fire, disabled persons should be provided with an equal standard of escape route as other persons within the building.

However, this is often not the case, due to the need to ensure a robust and reliable route, safe from the effects of fire.

The minimum standard outlined within ADB and therefore considered acceptable in many instances under the Building Regulations, is for a safe area of refuge that is either within, or connected to, a protected escape stair. This provision will ensure the

aforementioned robustness, although it is reliant on the management within the building during its operational life and is often incorporated within a building design without sufficient engagement with the end user. The reliability therefore remains questionable until an adequate management plan is in place on occupation.

On occupation there is a legal requirement on the end user, under the Regulatory Reform [Fire safety] Order 2005 (RRO), to ensure that any disabled persons can be safely evacuated to a place of ultimate safety, typically the exterior of the building. Consequently,

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it is not legally acceptable to leave disabled persons within a safe area of refuge without a management plan being in place to ensure their continued evacuation. Unless the evacuation management plan has been appropriately considered during design or construction, it is likely that the methods available to the end user will be limited and heavily reliant on physically demanding staff intervention.

This disconnect, between the minimum acceptable ‘structural’ provisions under the Building Regulations and the need for a management plan under the RRO, becomes much greater within schools where the number of disabled students, in particular wheelchair users, can be significant. A concentration of wheelchair users above ground floor, in the event of fire, can easily overwhelm a design incorporating the minimum refuge provision, as well as provide a huge physical burden on staff.

The latest offering for the fire safety design of buildings from the British Standards Institute, BS 9999 , incorporates fire safety engineering principles.

Therefore, whilst this standard does echo the minimum standards for disabled evacuation from ADB, with an onus placed on the building management, it does provide some basic guidance on approaches that can alleviate the burden on staff.

An holistic approach to disabled evacuation using fire safety engineering at design stage, can lead to the development of a strategy that will enable the end user to have a flexible response to different evacuation situations. Such an approach can include the use of standard lifts in combination with strategic fire compartmentation and sprinklers, both of which may have been necessary for other aspects of the fire safety design, or evacuation lifts. The suitability of an approach is very much dependent upon the building, the occupants and the physical ability of staff.

Evacuation management plan Regardless of the type of approach adopted, an evacuation management plan remains a requirement to ensure that the responsibility of the end user under the RRO, for the safety of occupants within the building, has been adequately discharged. This plan must also be supported with the necessary minimum training for the appropriate number of individuals, coupled with regular practice drills to give the best chance of safe evacuation.

The safe evacuation of disabled people has been dealt with over a large number of years in a very haphazard way. There is anti discrimination legislation, such as the Disability Discrimination Act 2005 (1995) recently replaced by the Equality Act 2010, which requires that disabled people are treated in an equal manner. Historically, many people have been under the misapprehension that the fire service should evacuate disabled people. This is not the

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Disabled people should not be considered as a single homogenous group but as individuals within the full spectrum of disabilities case and has never been so. The responsibility has always been with the operators of the building. The Regulatory Reform Order [Fire Safety] 2005 has reaffirmed that the responsibility for fire safety is with the building operators, yet many schools still seem unclear as to what this means for them.

Meeting a spectrum of needs The legislation requires that the building operators risk assess and plan for the evacuation of all their occupants, including those with disabilities. So who are disabled people? There are acknowledged to be over 11 million people covered under the discrimination legislation, although many would argue that the number is potentially much higher than this. For example, the RNID suggest that there may be as many as nine million people with hearing impairments.

Disabled people should not be considered as a single homogenous group but as individuals

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within the full spectrum of disabilities; all people are individual with a complex mixture of needs and wants. Disability is generally understood to be divided into the following major categories; mobility and dexterity, sensory and learning or cognitive disabilities. Each of these can then be broken down further and many people may have more than one disability; this is particularly pertinent within schools.

Due to medical advances many more children are surviving childbirth, often with multiple disabilities.

Level playing field The Equality Act 2010 (EA) along with the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001 (SENDA) requires that a level playing field is provided for all children with disabilities or a special educational need (SEN). Building Bulletin 102 identifies these children differently, the classifications cover, those with sensory and/or physical, cognition and learning, behavioural, emotional and social development and communication and interaction.

A level playing field will require consideration of emergency egress for disabled individuals, whether pupils, staff, visitors or third party users.

To understand the requirements it would be wise to consider the RRO’s supplementary guidance, Means of Escape for Disabled People. This document identifies the following disabilities; mobility impaired

people, wheelchair users, hearing impaired and deaf people, visually impaired and blind people and people with cognitive disabilities. It can be found at, http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/fire/ firesafetyassessmentmeans, and gives guidance on evacuation strategies for the full range of disabled people.

The guidance makes it clear that all people prefer to be in control of their own escape. The fire strategy will require mechanisms to suit the individual; this is why a PEEP (Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan) for all known individuals and for unknown visitors is required.

Features of the school building We have explained the school’s management responsibilities, but how could a school building impact on a disabled person’s evacuation?

There is a necessity, often for insurance reasons, to provide sprinklers. This allows larger fire compartments, which has its advantages.

However, the disadvantage is a reduced potential for horizontal evacuation. Manual vertical evacuation can be challenging for many people with disabilities and should only be used as a last resort. Fire compartments should be planned so that lifts can be used for evacuation. Fire doors are heavier than 30N, therefore, any corridor doors on a compartment

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line should be held back during normal opening hours. Also, ensure that security doors are not on a compartment line as they will be difficult to open due to the weight and may require automation.

Further problematic design areas are atriums, often favoured to create the hub of a school and provide a suitable meeting place with dining and other activities; again, this interrupts horizontal evacuation.

Care should be taken to consider evacuation routes, fire zones, and refuges at the inception of any design.

Combined with this, is the need for adequate refuge space/s. The regulations require a minimum of one refuge per upper floor at each fire escape stair; however, there is the requirement to provide refuges to suit anticipated user numbers that may exceed this. All too often disabled people have been refused entry because of the lack of refuge spaces.

A fire compartment could potentially be a refuge, careful placing of the communication system would be required.

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Stairs are often the only means of escape. Therefore, factors that affect the evacuation potential are: ■ the design of the risers and goings ■ can they support wheelchair evacuation ■ the correct handrails ■ tonally contrasting nosings ■ adequate lighting Another aspect is that people, particularly those with learning or behavioural difficulties and visual impairments, may automatically head for the stair from which they arrived. This is why it is always preferable to use circulation stairs for evacuation. Where this is not the case, training and practice evacuations will be essential.

Wheelchair users Wheelchair users are possibly the most challenging when considering evacuation from a non-level entry floor. Ideally, evacuation by lift or horizontal evacuation to level external space is the preferred option. BS9999

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suggests risk assessments should be completed to enable the use of standard lifts for evacuation.

Power supply routes and a zoned detection system would assist in this. See, http://www.communities. gov.uk/publications/planningandbuilding/ guidanceemergencylifts Where this is not possible, there are a number of options, including, people walking down the stairs themselves with or without assistance; many wheelchair users can walk but it is either painful or time limited. Other options include, the use of an ‘evac chair’, however, these are not suitable for all and require training and servicing on a regular basis.

Carry down is another solution, which requires a stair width of 1600mm for those being carried down in their own chair, sometimes you can use an office chair, or, for those who cannot be transferred out of their wheelchair, some form of mechanical assistance. The equipment to achieve this, are bulky and require space to turn corners on stairs, so straight flights or deeper landings may be required. All of these options will require staff training and risk assessment.

Other impairments People with hearing impairments may need a variety of interventions, including, flashing beacons, the use of a paging system or loop and in residential situations, and vibrating pillows. Flashing beacons are required wherever someone could be in relative isolation; toilets, stores and possibly offices. They are also needed in noisy environments.

Another aspect to consider is emergency lighting.

How effective is it? Research at the BRE on emergency lighting and way finding systems for visually impaired people identified that a combined use of tactile surfaces and lower mounted systems were more effective than overhead emergency fluorescent lighting.

Refuge systems should contain two-way communication systems, often sounders are placed directly above refuge spaces which can make communication difficult, ensure that any sounder is placed at a distance from refuges. An alternative would be to replace sounders within refuge spaces with a flashing beacon. The communication systems should be able to go back not just to reception, which is likely to be evacuated but also to a mobile phone or similar.

All final exits should have level access. This is similar to the ADM which does not allow single steps, they are a trip hazard, particularly in an emergency situation.

One of the concerns in some schools is the potential for false alarms and the cost of fire service call outs.

Where a school may have pupils with autism or BESD it 1.

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may be wise to have a double knock system. This could be supplemented with a pager system to silently alert teachers and staff on the first knock to an impending evacuation.

Reviewing procedures In summary, when you are reviewing evacuation procedures for an existing building, all the elements above should be interrogated for the anticipated users of the building. A dedicated PEEP should be drawn up for all known individuals who require assistance with evacuation and one for visitors. Disabled pupils should be able to access the whole of the curriculum and take part in social activities. Where some of these functions are undertaken on non-level exit floors, evacuation procedures should ensure safe egress for the numbers of anticipated users.

When considering the design of a new school, understanding the school demographics is essential.

It should be anticipated that a new school may have users in motorised wheelchairs, hearing and visually impaired individuals and people with cognitive or learning disabilities.

Top tips are: 1. Plan for all disabled users evacuations (PEEPS) 2. Plan fire zones to provide horizontal evacuation 3. Provide adequate refuge/s for anticipated numbers 4. Ensure lifts can be used for evacuation 5. Review stair design to accommodate, carry down and future mechanical equipment use 6. Use circulation stairs for evacuation 7. Review the existing or new school design and consider evacuation, this may require evacuation in opposing routes 8. Review policies based on users throughout the day and night 9. Train staff in evacuation procedures and equipment use Jane Simpson is an Architect and NRAC Consultant. She has over 18 years‘ experience in Access Consultancy and is a Director at Jane Simpson Access Ltd, www.janesimpsonaccess. com and can be contacted at jane@janesimpsonaccess.com.

Jonny Joinson is a Chartered Fire Engineer.

He has over 10 years‘ experience in fire safety engineering and is a Director at Design Fire Consultants, www.DesignFireConsultants.co.uk, and can be contacted at Jonny@DesignFireConsultants.co.uk

Approved Document B ‘Fire safety’ – Volume 2 ‘Buildings other than dwelling houses’, 2006 The Building Regulations 2010 The Regulatory Reform [Fire Safety] Order 2005 BS 9999, ‘Code of practice for fire safety in the design, management and use of buildings’, 2008

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ationally, one in five children leaves primary school unable to swim. This could be down to a number of factors including local pool closure or general lack of facilities, the cost of transport to the pool being too high or swimming not being seen as a priority by a particular community.

This statistic has implications for both the safety and wellbeing of primary school children; knowing how to swim is a skill that could ultimately save a child’s life

not to mention bring them much enjoyment.

The British Gas Pools 4 Schools programme, which is supported by British Gas and Speedo is a highly innovative programme aiming to combat this issue.

The scheme is run by Total Swimming, in collaboration with the Amateur Swimming Association (ASA), the English National Governing Body for Swimming and takes temporary pools across England to areas where schools have limited access to swimming.

British Gas Pools 4 Schools

– bringing swimming to the masses Lack of access to a swimming pool? No problem! Jon Glenn describes a scheme which literally brings pools to schools and their communities to get the nation swimming!

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Olympian vision Total Swimming was set up in 2005 by Olympians Adrian Turner and Steve Parry who, following the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens recognised that their love for swimming was shaped from great teachers and great coaches. Their vision is to make the ‘aquatic journey’ as enjoyable and rewarding for everyone else as it was for them. Olympic bronze medallist and Total Swimming director Steve Parry is the brains behind British Gas Pools 4 Schools, he said: “I’m really excited that this scheme is able to provide free swimming lessons to school children all over the country, and hope that local communities will also enjoy using the pools.

“Our mission is to teach children to swim and equip them with confidence and skills in the water.

This will hopefully allow them to enjoy swimming for the rest of their lives.”

This aspiration is endorsed by the government; the National Curriculum states that children in key Stage 2 must be able to swim unaided for a sustained period of time, over a distance of at least 25m. The ASA also wholly supports this target, stating that “everybody has the opportunity to learn to swim.” In this context The British Gas Pools 4 Schools programme is revolutionising the way swimming is delivered in schools. By constructing temporary pools in school buildings (gyms, halls and play grounds), the scheme aims to bring swimming right to where it is needed tackling government and ASA targets head on.

The programme The aim of the programme is to teach as many primary school children as possible in each area to swim. Each pool is typically in place for six weeks, which allows five hours of quality teaching time for every child as he or she works towards their National Curriculum requirements. To ensure high quality tuition, swimming lessons are delivered using three ASA Level 2 qualified teachers per class. British Gas Pools 4 Schools is available in seven of the eight ASA regions across England, the only exception being London, where a similar programme called Make a Splash operates.

The scheme not only provides swimming lessons for school children but also reaches out to the wider community by making the pool available for other sessions out of school hours. Each community programme is tailored to the needs of the local area and sessions typically include adult learn to swim lessons, aqua fitness classes, multi aquatics and lifeguard training. In some areas sessions have also included single sex and Mother and Toddler sessions. The goal is to get as many people as possible in the water enjoying swimming and other aquatic activities.

School to school pool The latest technology is used to enable the swimming pools to be erected in almost any space. For this programme, the pool is a steel tank which measures 12 metres by 6 metres and is 1 metre deep. This is the optimum size for teaching a primary school class to swim and can be built within three days and de-rigged within two. The pool can then be transported from school to school nationwide. All health and safety provisions and maintenance of the pool is dealt with

by Total Swimming experts who also have a 24hr emergency line to provide complete peace of mind for the hosts.

With a whole community being able to use the pool the benefits of swimming will be maximised including the vital contribution to safety as swimming has the potential to save lives. Over 400 people drown in the UK every year and it is the third most common cause of accidental death in children. Offering children and adults the chance to learn to swim and feel confident in the water directly reduces the risk of drowning.

Swimming of course has tremendous health benefits.

It is a great way to complete the recommended weekly amount of exercise, an hour a day for children and 30 minutes, five times a week for adults. Even a gentle swim can burn up to 350 calories in half an hour and a

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fast front crawl can burn as many calories as an 8mph run. Studies have also shown swimming improves psychological well being, female swimmers in particular have been shown to experience significantly less tension, depression and anger after exercising than before.

Regardless of age, weight and physical ability, swimming and water-based activities can provide a person with a workout. Swimming can support up to 90% of the body’s weight in the water so it is ideal for those wishing to lose weight or who might have an injury. Swimming is a sport people can start at any age, and can do for life – there is even a category for people who want to race in events over the age of 100!

Knowing how to swim opens up opportunities to participate in a whole range of other water-based sports and activities such as snorkelling, scuba diving, canoeing and sailing. Participants could even take swimming itself to a competitive level by joining a club and starting a training programme.

The potential to reach everyone Being such an inclusive sport, the health and social benefits of swimming have the potential to reach everyone if they have the opportunity to give it a go.

British Gas Pools 4 Schools and the ASA strive to make this possible.

Since its launch in 2009, British Gas Pools 4 Schools has been a huge success and has taught more than 30,000 children to swim. This equates to an 80 per cent success rate against the National Curriculum requirements. Some of the children that have taken part in the programme had previously never been into a swimming pool and would probably not have been given a chance to if it wasn’t for British Gas Pools 4 Schools. The fact that such children have gained confidence in the water and had fun in the pool is a wonderful achievement for everyone involved.

So far Pools 4 Schools has visited Ashington, Birmingham, Bristol, Colchester, Coventry, Gosport,

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Luton, Plymouth, Preston, Redcar, St Helens and Salford.

The most recent launch of the scheme took place in Birmingham in November where Olympic swimming hopeful and Commonwealth Games medallist Grant Turner joined children in the pool and announced that they would have the chance to swim at the London Aquatics Centre next year. The children who came along on the day and the rest of their classmates will also receive tickets to watch a session at the British Gas Swimming Championships to cheer home our Olympic hopefuls and be inspired by the stars of 2012. When asked about his visit to the area and his involvement with the scheme Grant said: “Nationally, one in five children leave primary school unable to swim, and in communities with limited pool access this figure can be as high as four out of five. The British Gas Pools 4 Schools programme ensures children have the opportunity to learn a vital life skill, improve their fitness and have fun in the water. I’m really pleased to be supporting such a revolutionary scheme.” In addition to Grant Turner the scheme has been supported by a host of other International athletes including Mark Foster, Adam Whitehead and the current golden girl of swimming, Rebecca Addlington.

The Aston experience One example of the difference the programme has made is in Aston, Birmingham. Previously participation in all sports in the Aston area has been poor and swimming in particular schools in the area achieved only 2% of children swimming 25 metres against the national target of 80%. After four visits by the scheme to this site 4,000 children have been given the opportunity to learn to swim – a great achievement given the starting point.

In addition to school children, the wider community has also benefited from using the pool with classes arranged outside school hours. Alex Smith, School Games Organiser at King Edward VI School Sports Partnership is managing the project in Aston. Smith

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Making a Big Splash!

The long term motivation behind the British Gas Pools 4 Schools programme is a legacy of a lifetime of enjoyment in swimming, in particular learning a vital skill that can save lives. The temporary pools have been used to introduce whole communities to swimming, ensuring people of all ages get active and enjoy a healthier lifestyle.

With 2012 around the corner, schemes like this are helping to get our nation back into the pool. A national campaign called the Big Splash was launched this year to inspire people to swim. It is backed by British Swimming and the BBC and aims to be the world’s largest celebration of swimming.

The purpose of the campaign, which will feature many famous BBC faces, is to encourage new people into the pool and help those who already swim to have more fun, more often. Those who sign up for the Big Splash will be able to take part in swimming events across the country, find out what their local pool has to offer, benefit from fantastic, money saving swimming

offers and win some great prizes.

The Big Splash campaign is also joining forces with Swimathon, the world’s biggest fundraising swim to offer the Big Splash Mile for Sport Relief which runs from 27-29 April. The event, along with 2.5k and 5k challenges in aid of Marie Curie Cancer Care will be hosted in 600 pools across the country with the hope of raising thousands of pounds for charity. Those who register will be given personalised coaching through British Gas Swimfit, a free online and poolside training guide, to ensure they are fully prepared for what is hoped to be the most successful Swimathon weekend ever. More information can be found about the Big Splash campaign and Big Splash Mile for Sport Relief at www.swimming.org/bigsplash This is an exciting time for sport in general; swimming can bring benefits galore for those with the opportunity to get in the pool, learn a life skill and have a great time while doing it. Working in partnership British Gas, Total Swimming, Speedo and the ASA are implementing Pools 4 Schools as a highly credible and effective solution for getting more people, especially in disadvantaged areas, into a pool and enjoying the nation’s most popular participation sport.

Jon Glenn, Head of Learn to Swim & Young People Contact: Phone: 07771943006 Email: jon.glenn@swimming.org.

Making the Every Child Matters agenda work on the ground

everychild

Journal

said, “The project has had a massive impact on the local community. As well as thousands of school children learning to swim, many adults in the area have never learnt to swim, and having the pool here has meant we have taught people of all ages to swim and be confident in water”.

The need to co-ordinate the service response to vulnerable children has never been greater. Every Child Journal is a unique practice journal for professionals working in this field, providing solutions across the education, health and care sectors, to help practitioners improve the life outcomes of disadvantaged and vulnerable children.

By subscribing to this bi-monthly journal you will receive: ■ Advice on recognising learning, care and physical problems and conditions ■ Evidence of effective interventions ■ Co-operative good practice between agencies ■ Legal advice on such things as information sharing and safeguarding ■ Research that can help professionals support individual children at risk ■ Monthly email briefings on policy, research reports and practice developments

Recent Every Child Journal articles have included: ■ The ABC of neglect ■ Empowering the bullied child ■ Early intervention, not emergency intervention ■ How to make a ‘bad’ school better Up and coming: ■ Recognising, referring and diagnosing autism ■ Working with the new framework

To subscribe to Every Child Journal: Call the Subscriptions Orderline 0121 224 7578 or email sandie@imaginativeminds.co.uk Subscribe online at: www.teachingtimes.com/publications/every-child-journal_1.htm

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Learning through

green spaces Children and nature . . . a winning combination, whether it’s pond dipping, squirrel watching, digging in the mud to plant spring bulbs or just scrabbling through autumn leaves and cones to make models and collages. But creating the right environment isn’t always child’s play writes Jane Whitham from environmental charity BTCV.

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cross the UK, environmental volunteering charity BTCV has been championing children’s rights to green space and the benefits of outdoor education for decades.

Last year alone, BTCV gave 21,000 children from all corners of Britain the opportunity to get close to nature, providing them with practical knowledge and experience of the natural environment through various projects and environmental schemes.In recent years as schools have begun to embrace outdoor learning and taken more responsibility for land management, BTCV’s schools work has increased.

Raising environmental awareness In Leeds, BTCV now has a dedicated schools project comprising two paid BTCV staff members and a team of volunteers. Together the group works in primary schools five days a week, creating nature gardens and educational outdoor spaces. The volunteers work with

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school staff to help increase environmental awareness by creating nature gardens, vegetable plots, sensory gardens and willow tunnels.

BTCV Project Officer, Phil Reddell, who designs and creates the gardens and then supervises the volunteer, explains: “The volunteers come from a wide range of backgrounds – they could be unemployed, retired, students or recovering from illness. Some volunteer because they are passionate about the environment and nature while others are simply looking for a way of getting fit, meeting new people or putting something back into their community.” Schools fund the work in their grounds but only pay for materials.

BTCV organises and runs environmental volunteering projects across the UK from dry stone walling in the Lake District to beachsweeps in coastal communities attracting more than 500,000 people each year.

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The charity is vocal about rights to green space and that everyone should have access to nature. The environment, says BTCV, should be a fundamental part of our learning experience: “Using the outdoors as a classroom to help teach everything from maths and science to art and brings the curriculum alive,” added Phil, who recently picked up a BTCV Green Hero Award for the Schools Team’s efforts.

Growing spaces John Thompson, another BTCV project officer based in Sheffield, has also worked with many Yorkshire schools to improve their outdoor areas. His team of volunteers have created vegetable gardens and wildlife zones.

“Even schools with very little outdoor space can grow climbers like beans up an existing fence or put up a few pots and baskets to grow things like strawberries and lettuces,” explained John. “Garages often give away old tyres, which make superb planters and can be painted up by pupils to look more attractive.”

Volunteers often include parents, grandparents and friends who often turn up in their wellies, especially at school projects where they are happy to spend give their skills and time.

Their involvement means links between school and home get strengthened which benefits the school and wider community. Quite often school gardening groups continue to build the links with parents and grandparents invited to growing sessions or after school gardening clubs. Over the years volunteers have built everything from full sized allotments to wildlife and biodiversity areas. They’ve even created outdoor classrooms complete with willow structures, seating and shelters. BTCV’s groups work closely with teachers to ensure that the spaces created outdoors can be used as effectively, if not more so, as the indoor learning areas. By teaching children how to look after their own local environment it is encouraging them to act locally, while giving them the space to learn about global issues through outdoor lessons and natural play. The Leeds team, for example, works with local volunteers in schools within the Leeds area to build a strong sense of ownership over each of the projects. Getting volunteers to work within their own community means they are thinking about their local area and the environmental changes they could make. The team also encourages global thinking by highlighting the issues that are important on a worldwide scale and noting the impact that even a small act of environmental conservation can have to the bigger picture.

The Brentford experience BTCV project officer Anna Doeser has just completed an exciting project at Brentford High School for Girls.

Anna met the school’s science teacher at a meeting at broadcasting company Sky whose headquarters

at based at nearby Hounslow. The meeting brought together representatives from local schools who had worked with or were interested in working with Sky. One of Sky’s departments ran a scheme called Project Green Sky and this project worked with schools to improve their sustainability through recycling fun days and garden improvements..The teachers were keen to get some technical/practical knowledge on various things from bees, compost bins to vegetable gardens. BTCV had been brought in to facilitate Sky’s volunteer teams to do a professional job with all tools and equipment. It engaged with the schools’ ideas and how these might be facilitated through what Sky and BTCV might be able to offer. Following this the teachers formed a local schools’ environmental network to share ideas and resources.

In the weeks after the meeting, the science teacher at Brenford contacted Anna to discuss using a group of Sky employees who had registered for a corporate volunteering day. The teacher wanted to create a vegetable garden for the school’s Eco Council. Anna visited the school and looked at a site which the teacher had in mind. “Finding a site which the head agreed with was difficult,” explained Anna, “Although there was no shortage of odd useless patches around the school, we had to work around an existing but small garden group, existing planting and fears and concerns that the garden area would lapse with reduced interest and would be an eyesore. In the end we settled on a tucked away space.”

Anna soon had the Sky volunteers on site and the team was given roles such as resource manager, blogger, team leader, health and safety representative.

The brief was to create five growing spaces for each of the school’s Houses using decking material but

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leaving enough space for easy access to the beds and surrounding building exits. Anna ordered the materials, including compost and timber and the supplier invoiced the school. The total cost was just under £400, and as the project was undertaken by volunteers there was no labour charge. The school found the money without any need to fundraise.

A few weeks later after the work was carried out Anna returned to the school to arrange a formal opening in which parents and future year seven pupils planted new vegetation. “It acted as the formal opening and we even had the local paper along. The vegetable garden is now in use and feedback from the school and pupils is very positive”.

The Big Tree Plant!

In the past year BTCV has been working closely with 1000 schools which have Keep Britain Tidy’s Eco Schools status as part of the government’s Big Tree Plant. The Big Tree Plant was launched in December 2010 and brings together a number of organisations including BTCV and Keep Britain Tidy. The aim is to plant one million native broadleaf trees and hedging species in urban and residential areas over the next four years. In the first year, the Big Tree Plant has seen school children and community groups planting thousands of trees across England to create a green legacy for future generations.In order to promote this work further BTCV has made an to deliver a programme to support the Big Tree Plant for the next four years and is hopeful this type of green space work with schools will continue.

A similar partnership with Asda has also been launched this year. BTCV has been giving away 200 free hedging packs to schools as part of an initiative to encourage children to connect with

40 Learning Spaces Volume 1:2

their environments.The species chosen - field maple, dogwood, hornbeam, hazel and crab apple - were selected as they’re well suited for use in school grounds, are hardy and attractive to birds and wildlife.

The giveaway was funded through Asda’s Christmas card recycling scheme which the supermarket is running again this year.

All this work and commitment has taken place in the conviction that green spaces and outdoor learning has the potential to help children and young people connect with their environment, transform their learning and foster future citizens who have a deep understanding of their relationship with natural world and the responsibilities this brings.

For more information about BTCV and its schools work visit www.btcv.org

Who’s Running the Country?

A major cross-curricular project for Citizenship on politics, democracy and power.

By Kerrie Sharron

KS2-KS3

The Arab Spring is an ideal hook to start children thinking about power and democracy.

This Democracy Project is a KS2-3 citizenship scheme of work introducing students to different forms of government and the values underlying them. It introduces pupils to the ‘big’ themes of politics through an experiential, talk-based approach.

The final project involves students creating their own ‘ideal’ government and gives the opportunity for them to apply their learning about values, processes and concepts from previous lessons and develop their own beliefs.

The project is structured around the class creating its own country.

The class then live a story of events that happen to their country and through newspaper articles and leaflets, they are part of an evolving story of change. Students must use their imaginations to be part of this world – and to participate in the changes happening to them.

This pack is successful in its simplicity. By focusing only on basic concepts students can take away firmer and deeper understandings of meanings. Creative thought is critical to the unit!

The pack comprises of:

Using debate, scenario-based role-play and problem solving, students empathise with the experience of different types of government. This process helps them to develop the necessary tools to debate issues arising in the political sphere.

Teacher’s Manual.

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CD of Powerpoint slides to accompany the lesson plans detailed in the manual, plus other resources.

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Case Study www.teachingtimes.com

Intelligence starts with design Contractors face the challenge of designing and building schools that meet sustainability and carbon reduction guidelines, as well as providing a secure environment in which to educate young people and ensure inclusion for all. Rob Bradley looks at how contractors can overcome these challenges whilst creating modern, safe and comfortable learning environments

The ground floor plan highlights the extent of open plan teaching areas and the lack of corridors.

[Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios]

42 Learning Spaces Volume 1:2

Case Study www.teachingtimes.com

A

s with many schools in the UK, an increase in pupil numbers and the gradual deterioration of fabricated buildings meant that a new solution was required so that the Governors of Archbishop McGrath Catholic High School in Bridgend could secure the best learning environment for their pupils. The Leadbitter Group was appointed as sole contractor to help relocate the school and ensure that the pupils and the surrounding community were provided with excellent educational facilities for years to come.

The secondary school, which has 750 students aged 11-18, was located in Tondu to the north of Bridgend.

It became clear that this building could no longer meet the needs of a pupil population that had doubled in the past 20 years, and therefore, the decision was taken to relocate. In conjunction with architects HLM, Leadbitter fulfilled the challenging design and construction of a new 21st century learning centre on behalf of the Archdiocese of Cardiff, the Welsh Assembly Government and Bridgend County Borough Council.

Leadbitter commenced work on the three storey landmark building, to be situated in the more accessible area of Brackla, near the centre of the town, in February 2010.

A modern approach The new Archbishop McGrath Catholic High School is designed to meet the needs of the changing education agenda, as well as the school’s requirements for flexible space to accommodate its wide range of activities— including an emphasis on the performing arts—and the need to ‘knit’ the school into the local community.

The meeting of these challenges is reflected in a modern design delivering state-of-the-art facilities which are available for both pupils and the surrounding community.

The design itself boasts a spectacular triple height atrium entrance, from which the rest of the facilities extend. Aiming to create an ideal learning environment for children, the design maximises the intake of natural light into each room, as well as ensuring they are well ventilated. Central to this ethos was the inclusion of sky lights, roof ventilation, large opening windows and curtain walling throughout.

Dramatic facilities!

As the schools specialism is ‘performance’, HLM designed the main hall to work as a performance stage with excellent lighting and control. A contemporary tiered seating arrangement accommodates enough spectators to ensure that the pupils’ shows can be staged within the school, which was not possible in the old school. HLM also developed an external teaching and learning environment by providing an amphitheatre for performing arts and an allotment area to be managed by the pupils.

The striking atrium at the heart of the school visually connects all floors and provides a dramatic circulation and seating space. Connected off the atrium is the Chapel, Reception, Senior Management Offices, Main Hall, Dining Hall, first and second floor circulation and some classrooms.

Core educational and social activities drive the connection between classroom areas: spaces such as the main entrance foyer, sports hall, main hall and canteen tie the teaching spaces together. Traditional “corridors” have been replaced by activity spaces, encouraging a contemporary way of learning and teaching, enabling easy reconfiguration throughout the school day, and aiding passive supervision.

Flexible spaces for flexible learning Enviable sports facilities, such as an all-weather 3G sports pitch, grass pitches, a multi-use sports ground, dance activity studio, first class changing facilities and a multi court gymnasium, are all included.

New education strategies are constantly being developed and so flexible spaces were incorporated by designing large steelwork spans so that internal walls could be remodelled and folding walls have also been provided for short-term flexibility. The option of providing different teaching methods has also been

Volume 1:2 Learning Spaces 43

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encouraged by including breakout spaces outside of the traditional classroom. Flexible classrooms and workspaces accommodate different class sizes and a range of teaching practices.

The design meets Secured by Design standards. It provides options for active and passive supervision, in addition to the mix of indoor and outdoor learning environments. Glazed screens adjacent to classroom doors provide passive supervision and toilets have been designed to minimise bullying.

For Archbishop McGrath School’s all-important productions, a feature seating and circulation solution was designed, which during the regular running of the school can be used as a teaching space, breakout space and inclement weather area. This can be transformed when required, by folding away the main hall wall and opening the hall space out onto the feature seating area.

Also, to ensure the school has the flexibility to meet the needs of local people, the leisure provision has its own community ‘front door’ and car parking provision, along with its own hours of operation.

The new building has been well received by the teaching staff. Headteacher, the Rev Dr Philip Manghan, said: “In all aspects of preparation, planning and design for our new school, the design and build teams displayed the highest standards of commitment and professionalism. HLM and Leadbitter listened to our hopes and aspirations regarding our new school, involved us at every stage of the project ensuring our fundamental vision and mission for the school was integrated to the final outcome”.

The headteacher also reflected on the importance of effective partnership working in helping to ensure this

44 Learning Spaces Volume 1:2

building was such an innovative success: “Archbishop McGrath Catholic School is grateful to the project team for delivering a school design that is welcoming, inclusive, innovative and at the cutting edge of educational provision in the 21st Century. Moving into our new school has been a fantastic experience. The design and standard of workmanship is exceptional.

We are very proud of what we have achieved with Leadbitter, HLM, the Archdiocese of Cardiff, the Welsh Government, Bridgend County Borough Council and the rest of the project team. The new school allows us to build on our record academic achievements this year and provide one of the best teaching environments in Wales.”

The challenges However, the build was not without its challenges.

The site in Brackla presented a number of difficulties, which had to be addressed prior to the build – not least the fact that the building site was situated on a significantly steep gradient of around three metres.

A lengthy process of design consultation and project management was undertaken at the design phase of the project to ensure that the build of the new Archbishop McGrath School would follow the profile of the land.

During the relocation, it became clear that the site of the new sporting facility at the school would pose a significant architectural challenge as it would have to be built on the sloping part of the site. The result of the works is a striking, split-level building that rises around 2.5m from one end to the other and is built into the hill. The structure works with the natural landscape,

Case Study www.teachingtimes.com

room where residents could drop in to ask questions about any aspect of the construction process.

With the use of intelligent design and sustainable construction techniques, Leadbitter and HLM overcame the architectural and structural issues that were presented prior to the start of this project. The result is an exceptional, inspiring and exciting building that fits seamlessly into the wider community, delivering a state-of-the-art, sustainable learning environment and community leisure facility that creates a clear identity for Archbishop McGrath Catholic High School.

Rob Bradley is Regional Director of Leadbitter Group’s Western Construction division,The Leadbitter Group has four operating regions in the UK: ■ ■ ■ ■

South West and Wales Region, based in Bristol, Cardiff and Plymouth Central Region, based in Oxford and Coventry Southern Region based in Southampton Eastern Region based in Sittingbourne and London

For more information, please visit http://www.leadbitter.co.uk. incorporating original features such as interior sloping walls, exterior slanting brickwork and vertical doors set within sloping glazing. The centre is also entirely wheelchair accessible.

Commitment to sustainability and the community Great care was taken to meet key environmental objectives during the construction of the new school.

Rock excavated from the new building’s footprint was crushed and re-used in the construction, whilst the majority of the materials used in the school’s structural work, hard landscaping, roofing and external framework were also from recycled sources.

The new buildings benefit from solar thermal heating and a solar photovoltaic power source. An intelligent building management system also ensures that energy is conserved from power, lighting and heating throughout the school. Additionally, rainwater is captured and used to supply the WCs on-site, and there is a recycling waste station on each floor. As a result, the project achieved a BREEAM Excellent rating – the first school building to achieve the rating in Wales under the 2008 guidelines.

Delivering the goods Leadbitter and HLM took steps to ensure the new school would fit into the heart of the existing community.

Several community consultations were held to ensure that all parties were informed about the benefits of the new school and bi-monthly mail drops to local residents were undertaken. Leadbitter also created a community

Volume 1:2 Learning Spaces 45

Case Study www.teachingtimes.com

T

hamesview School is a secondary school for 830 pupils in Gravesend. It specialises in Business & Enterprise. The school has recently moved into a new building designed

by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, who partnered with engineering and design consultant Arup on the school’s fire and egress strategy and Jane Simpson Access on the school’s access strategy.

A mixture of spaces The new building has been specially equipped to accommodate pupils with physical disabilities. This has been taken into account in both the strategic building design and the detailed design of rooms, furniture and fixtures. All parts of the building not only meet building regulations, but also Kent County Council’s detailed accessibility requirements.

Thamesview School

– a case study of fire and access strategies

In this case study Tim den Dekker, Ian Taylor and Pierre Gaston show how an innovatively designed school incorporates its highly effective Fire and Access Strategy to serve more than one function.

West elevation showing external stairs leading from internal teaching spaces directly to the landscape.

Tim den Dekker, Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios

46 Learning Spaces Volume 1:2

Case Study www.teachingtimes.com

The ground floor plan highlights the extent of open plan teaching areas and the lack of corridors.

[Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios]

The building design responds to the transformational educational strategy of the Kent ‘Building Schools for the Future’ programme: ■ ■

■

The Heart Space, a central 2½-storey atrium, forms the focal point of the school.

The building is subdivided into four smaller school wings to house four 200-strong communities.

These school wings radiate off the Heart Space.

Each school wing is designed around two school core zones, one on each level. A core zone is an area for the school community to meet, with large glazed walls looking out to the landscape. Each core zone contains a large open plan learning area that can accommodate three full sized classes.

The core zones and Heart Space provide many areas for open plan teaching. Staff were initially wary of this pedagogical innovation, but are now pleased with the many benefits of having a mix of open plan rooms and traditional enclosed classrooms. The school is developing a new learning and teaching style to use these spaces optimally.

The proliferation of open plan teaching areas and the radial arrangement of the school wings around the Heart Space mean that there are only a few short corridors. Most of the circulation is provided by the Heart Space or around the light wells in each school wing. Pupils spend more time learning, as they need less time to walk between lessons.

Layout Toilets are not arranged in blocks, but are individually located directly off core zones. This layout reduces bullying in toilet areas, and diminishes the amount of time pupils are out of class during a trip to the toilet.

Every toilet in the school is provided as a single room containing a washbasin, mirror and handtowels. There are no urinals. There are always one unisex ambulant disabled and one unisex wheelchair accessible toilet adjacent to the other toilets. This strategy ensures that in overall appearance there is no distinction between the facilities used by disabled and non-disabled pupils.

The four school wings have similar plans, but distinct identities, driven by their location on the hill, orientation to the sun, the site and the Heart Space, and the nature of their external spaces. Each school wing also contains a specialist classroom, which is accessed from the Heart Space.

A fifth three storey wing adjacent to the Heart is a three storey space containing further specialist teaching rooms, a dining hall, a kitchen, and sports and activity halls. This wing can be used separately outside the core school hours for functions and community use. A sixth element in the building is a double height drama studio.

Each wing widens into the landscape, and narrows as it meets the Heart Space, allowing natural light to reach deep into the nucleus of the building.

The building’s location on the crest of a hill allows it to command impressive views: across the Green Belt to the Thames Estuary; and over Gravesend across to central London.

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Case Study www.teachingtimes.com

Fire and access strategy The shape and layout of the building proved beneficial from both fire and access perspectives.

Fire compartmentation and way finding are both uncomplicated and very little signage is needed.

Vertical and horizontal evacuation strategies and circulation are straightforward and generous.

In some cases we had to work hard to get certain building features to meet fire and accessibility requirements, such as for the large hold-open doors to each wing, and the provision of mobile inclined wheelchair evacuation platform lifts for the profoundly disabled.

Building fabric durability and prevention of vandalism is essential in school environments, and below we examine this briefly in the context of ceiling heights and concealed sprinklers. We found in some instances that to ensure sufficient colour contrast we had to resort to some unconventional tactics.

Fire Strategy Comment In order to maintain the open plan design aspirations for the building, the floor area of central Compartment 5 is extended approximately 10% beyond the 2000m² recommendation of the design guide BB100.

Our approach maintains a robust standard of life safety for the occupants of the building by taking a holistic account of the active and passive fire safety measures.

The fire detection system is provided to an L2 standard of coverage with a life safety category sprinkler system throughout the building. The nature of the compartment with large open areas with limited fire loading presents a reduced risk of rapid-fire propagation. The construction specification used materials that are inherently of limited combustibility, and walls of plasterboard with mineral wool insulation, which lend to the natural fire resistance of the building. Early means of warning and limitation of fire spread were satisfactorily achieved.

Compartmentation, wayfinding and signage The radial plan gives a sense of internal connectedness, intimacy, openness and views out from the building.

This plan requires five fire compartments with only 90 metres of internal partitions over two floors separating the compartments.

Minimal signage is needed in the school – instead the building’s geometry is the primary way finding mechanism. All wings radiate from Heart Space, which

Ground floor plan, showing fire compartments and fire exits [Arup]

48 Learning Spaces Volume 1:2

Case Study www.teachingtimes.com

The Heart Space is the key orientating device in the school. Image credit: Richard Battye, Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios

serves as the key-orientating device in the school, as it is clearly visible from each school wing. Each wing has a distinct individual feature colour that is used in the name sign of each school wing, the main entrance doors, the stairs and feature walls. Navigation within each school wing is simplified by the almost identical layout of every floor in every wing, and the fact that stairs in each wing make the wing self-contained for those people able to use the stairs.

Evacuation and circulation The building’s fire strategy is simplified by the short escape routes directly to the landscape. Evacuation through the atrium will happen only in exceptional circumstances.

The striking feature external staircases from the first floor of the building provide fire egress and an everyday route for pupils directly to the landscape from their floor. Internal circulation stairs can also be used for evacuation. These internal stairs are used on an everyday basis, and people will therefore default to using these in an emergency.

Fire Strategy Comment The external stair design followed the guidance of BB100 so that their vertical extent is only from first to ground floor. As these stairs are not greater than 6m in vertical extent, weather protection is not a necessity with internal alternative means of escape being provided.

Two lifts, both in the central fire compartment, provide vertical circulation but are not escape lifts.

External feature stairs with tactile paving and closed risers. Image credit: Š Amos Goldreich

Fire Strategy Comment The disabled evacuation strategy for this building is assisted by the compartmentation strategy. The building is separated into 5 compartments which act as independent places of refuge. If horizontal movement from the fire compartment to an unaffected area is not possible, then occupants can wait for assistance in refuge locations adjacent to the external stairs.

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Vertical evacuation of ‘pupils (people) with profound disabilities’ Because the school has no evacuation lift, a different provision had to be made for evacuating pupils who were so profoundly disabled that they could not be carried manually down the stairs without their health being put at risk.

We found that a mobile inclined wheelchair evacuation platform lift manufactured by Baronmead was an acceptable and suitable alternative for an evacuation lift. Stair landings were designed to be a minimum size and shape to ensure the device has sufficient room to operate in. The store for the device needs to be weather tight but can be unheated. It also needs a power supply for charging the device’s batteries. The storeroom was carefully located to be easily accessible in a fire, and able to evacuate a disabled user from the disabled refuge furthest away from the storeroom, in the maximum time allowed.

Light-wells in teaching wings aid way finding, bring natural light into the centres of the floor plates and naturally ventilate the school. Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios

Most circulation areas are at least 2000mm wide, which greatly benefits wheelchair users. Most of the circulation is provided by the Heart Space or as wide casual gathering spaces or balconies around the light-wells in each school wing.

Clerestory windows and roof lights augment the windows to bring in daylight and naturally ventilate the school. The abundance of natural light and the overlap of the core school operating hours with hours of daylight means that in the event of a fire and power failure most escape routes have less of a reliance on the provided emergency lighting, as they are lit naturally.

Fire Strategy Comment Due to the building height and fire strategy design, compartment floors are not included in the school. As a result, the atrium spaces throughout the school do not pass through compartment floors and therefore do not need the additional and usual fire safety measures recommended by traditional guidance, such as in BS5588 Part 7 or BS9999. Due to the school’s design the clerestory windows provided for daylight and natural ventilation did not need to be interfaced with the fire alarm system on this basis, allowing a greater degree of design freedom and specification.

50 Learning Spaces Volume 1:2

Fire Strategy Comment The design brief was to enable the evacuation of the profoundly disabled who are unable to move from their wheel chairs. To achieve this, a stairbased evacuation utilising motorised evacuation platforms was adopted. This strategy resulted in space planning and commercial benefits, as a lift based strategy would require protected evacuation lifts by each escape stair, adding to the building footprint and an emergency backup power supply, typically a generator requiring fuel store and ongoing maintenance.

The remaining lifts within the building are not used for evacuation to maintain a consistent, confusion free and manageable strategy for the building.

Hold-open large fire doors on the ground and first floors form the entrances to every school wing. A bench under the staircase provides seating and the impact hazard protection required by legislation. Image credit: Alison Ho, Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios

Case Study www.teachingtimes.com

Doors, and in particular the large hold-open doors to each wing All internal corridor doors are held open during normal school hours, ensuring unimpeded passage throughout the school, and easy access to the lifts by those who need to use the lifts. These doors close automatically in the event of a fire where they form the fire compartment boundary.

Very large double fire doors serve as entrance doors to the teaching wings from the Heart Space. A number of challenges had to be overcome for these steel doors. We had to find a manufacturer able to supply these large - 1350mm per door leaf – double fire doors rated 60 minutes. The manufacturer (Laidlaw) had to supply doors with maximum opening force of no more than 30 Newton. In one of the wings, plan constraints meant that both leaves of the door couldn’t open outwards into an alcove off Heart Space, and had to be bi-directional. This was an added difficulty for the manufacturer, and we had to ensure that, even though the Heart Space was not the main route of escape, it would be clear which door to push open when they are both shut, as would happen in a fire alarm scenario.

Fire Strategy Comment The main access doors to each of the school compartments were significantly larger than standard, again due to the desired open visual connectivity throughout the building. Through consultation with the Approval Authorities and manufacturer it was possible to qualify the performance of the doors. This was on the basis of the door construction, adjacency to areas with relatively low fire load and protection of the building by automatic fire suppression.

Approved Document M requires all doors, where appropriate, to have vision panels. A number of key doors in the school are of the ‘leaf and a half’ type, to accommodate the movement of objects larger than the standard single door openings. The half door leaves were wider than 450mm, and would have needed vision panels under normal circumstances. However, we found that it was acceptable to omit the vision panels if the half leaves were kept latched shut. The half leaves could be kept shut because the main leaves were sufficient width for fire escape, and the clear width met the access requirements.

Prevention of vandalism A secondary school is an environment likely to be subject to extreme wear and tear, and unfortunately from time to time, vandalism. A design response to vandalism in schools obviously extends beyond specifying durable hard-wearing fittings and finishes.

For example, we specified the ceilings to be as high as possible, not only to enhance the proportions of the large open plan core zone teaching areas and to meet the minimum 3m floor to ceiling height requirements set by Kent County Council, but also to place the ceiling tiles out of reach of pupil tampering.

High ceilings meant shallower ceiling voids – in most cases these were less than 800mm – eliminating their need to be sprinklered.

In each school wing the stairwell is near the entrance, with stairs facing the landscape, away from the school wing entrance. To keep these entrance areas as spacious as possible on the ground floor, we did not enclose the spaces under the stairwells. The problem of people accidentally knocking their heads against the underside of the stairs was addressed with large seating platforms extending from under the stairs. Although not a statutory requirement, the school’s insurers required these residual spaces to be sprinklered: they were concerned about goods stored under the stairs catching fire. To prevent the sprinklers being tampered with – they are well within reach - tamper-proof concealed sprinklers were installed.

Fire Strategy Comment The client brief to include sprinklers and the additional requirements of specific fire strategy elements, such as compartment size, prescribed the need for a life safety category system.

However, due to the risk of vandalism and recent occurrences of malicious activation within the area, concealed heads were highly desirable.

Of course, this meant that the sprinkler system could not be certified as a life safety system. Through a process of consultation with the installers, insurers and building approval authorities the system was classified as an ‘enhanced property protection’ system with all life safety elements except for exposed heads.

This was qualified as achieving a performance for means of escape and fire containment suitable for the strategic aims of the fire strategy.

Colour contrasts Contrasting surfaces greatly help the visually impaired navigate and use the school. The most important visual contrast throughout the school is the contrast between doors, architraves and walls. We were able to use white architraves as these provided a sufficient visual contrast to the light grey base wall colour, as calculated using the Light Reflectance Values (LRV’s) provided by the paint manufacturers.

We could however not verify that the contrast between the carpets and the skirting boards was sufficient by simply subtracting their LRV’s. The carpet manufacturer does not provide LRV’s for their carpets.

Volume 1:2 Learning Spaces 51

Case Study www.teachingtimes.com

They explained that because carpet has a texture, it has a different colour tone depending on from which angle it is viewed and the location of the light source.

It can sometimes appear to strongly contrast to an adjacent smooth surface painted the same colour as the fabric dye. To check the carpet/wall contrast, we used the straightforward black and white photocopy test: photocopy the two surfaces together on a black and white photocopier and assess whether the difference between the two surfaces is easily discernible on the photocopy.

In the drama rooms, the school requested that black be used for ceilings, walls, skirting and carpets.

They understood the risk of deviating from BS8300 for colour contrasts, and as such the DDA Access Statement included a derogation for these specialist rooms.

Teaching wing lightwell. Image credit: © Amos Goldreich

Conclusion This case study shows that the Thamesview School’s plan shape greatly helps to simplify its fire and access strategy, its compartmentation, way-finding, circulation and escape routes. It also demonstrates that challenging building features such as vertical evacuation without lifts and large fire doors can be resolved satisfactorily through a collaborative and open-minded design approach, which engages with the building users and component manufacturers.

Creative Teaching & Learning

Recognised as the most cutting edge curriculum magazine in the country, Creative Teaching and Learning investigates innovations in the curriculum, exploring how thinking skills approaches can be embedded within learning environments through subject and project-based teaching.

Tim den Dekker and Ian Taylor at Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios. Fire strategy comments by Pierre Gaston at Arup.

Recent Creative Teaching and Learning articles have included: • Drama and Proud!

• Hands up, hands down! Who thinks they can teach music?

• I want to tell you a story • Excitement in Science Recent Cross-curriculum project plans: • Ocean environments • Making your own country Up and coming: • Cross-curriculum project plan: Contemporary Slavery A comprehensive and thought-provoking resource plan for use in the classroom with key stages 2 & 3.

Teachers at all levels will benefit from shared best practice, expert advice to make learning more imaginative and inspiring, and project resource plans in every issue, giving project work more pedagogic depth.

To subscribe to Creative Teaching & Learning: Call the Subscriptions Orderline 0121 224 7578 or email sandie@imaginativeminds.co.uk Subscribe online at: http://www.teachingtimes.com/publications/creative-teaching-and-learning.htm

52 Learning Spaces Volume 1:2

A Solution Focused Approach to

Anger Management With Children A group work manual for practitioners

by Berni Stringer & Madan Mall Based on solution focused brief therapy, this manual presents a range of exercises, which can be photocopied for use with groups or individuals. The exercises help children to explore their own knowledge and perception of their difficulties and emphasise their ability to do something about it. Sessions cover everything from setting up a group, establishing ground rules and assessing individual needs, to recording progress and celebrating success. ● Tried and tested exercises developed over recent years ● Highlights specific problems whilst offering practical solutions ● Encourages children to become aware of the effects of their actions, thoughts and behaviour ● Designed to be used by those with no prior knowledge of the technique

Price: £27.50 ● ISBN: 978-1898149-93-4 For Postage and Packing add: UK Delivery up to £90.00 + £5.00 p&p UK Delivery over £90.00 + £8.00 p&p / Overseas Delivery up to £90.00 + £12.00 p&p Overseas Delivery over £90.00 + £16.00 p&p

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Case Study www.teachingtimes.com

Learning in the Urban Jungle! I Hugh McNish describes how an innovative play area has helped to transform learning and behaviour in a Glasgow primary school

54 Learning Spaces Volume 1:2

n 2009, an innovative new natural play area was brought to a primary school in the South Side of Glasgow as the first of its kind in the UK. The joint project, which cost around £65k was predominately funded by the Forestry Commission Scotland (FCS) and Glasgow City Council. Partnering up with the newly rebuilt Merrylee Primary School in the South Side of Glasgow, it was seen as an innovative way to make a difference to the children’s well-being and learning. A new natural play space, also referred to as an Urban Jungle, was created at Merrylee, which has around 300 pupils, instead of the more traditional tarmac style of playground that is more commonly seen in schools.

Case Study www.teachingtimes.com

The impact of natural play Two years on, a study has unveiled statistics which show that the trial has been a remarkable success, with a 94% reduction in accidents and bullying since its introduction in 2009. The study, which was commissioned by FCS in conjunction with Dr Leslie Groves an independent researcher, gathered a series of data to assess the impact of the natural play development. It has shown that since moving away from the traditional tarmac playground to this natural space, there have been a string of positive results including: ■ ■ ■ ■

■

A dramatic reduction in physical injuries Increased opportunities for free, imaginative and creative play Enhanced opportunities for interacting with nature at playtime Enhanced social interaction between different groups of children, including between boys and girls and different age groups Enhanced options for solitude. For children who may not be interested in football/ tarmac based activities the natural play area helped to avoid being singled out and provided opportunities for these children to thrive and flourish.

Pupil designed The play space, which covers 1700m2, was designed with the help of the children, who formed a committee to agree on the design layout of the playground area.

Working with a landscape architect, the pupils drove the project to make their design aspiration become a reality. The space created incorporates hills, valleys, willow tunnels, a stepped meadow area, hollows, shrubs and trees, dead wood, a rope bridge and seating.

The study The study itself included the school children, their teachers, parents and playground support staff.

Evidence was collected in three ways. Initially, a literature review was carried out, and then a baseline study was conducted in 2008, before the new natural play area was installed. Finally a follow-up study was carried out in 2011 after the space was introduced which explored how the children were using the new natural play space and how they interacted within it.

Similar methods of gathering information were used in both 2008 and 2011 in order to ensure comparability of findings. These consisted of participant observation over a three day period, weekly reporting by teachers using photographic evidence, daily reporting forms completed by playground staff and physical activity monitoring. Focus groups were also run with the children, teachers, playground staff and parents.

The design of the new space allows free, informal, un-directed play where all age groups and interests can come together and children can play at will. The report reveals that the children were more likely to engage in creative play, using their imaginations and the unique topography of the site to their advantage.

Pedometers recorded the children’s steps and activity levels. The natural play space encouraged the pupils to increase their movement and consequently use a range of different muscle groups. Compared to the base line study, there was contrasting evidence that showed an increase in both the number of steps taken and also in the minutes of physical activity that both boys and girls, across all year groups, accumulated over the course of a day.

Improvements in learning and behaviour The report revealed that the natural play area had a positive impact on the children, which included a positive knock on effect on their learning as well as their physical and emotional wellbeing. There was clear evidence that, combined with the new schools setting, new buildings and changed curriculum, the Urban Jungle play area had contributed to definite improvements within the classroom at Merrylee.

After a session in the Urban Jungle, teachers reported pupils returned to class more promptly and had a higher level of concentration and attainment when settling back down to work. They also reported an increase in their positive interaction with each other and with teachers and a decrease in incidents involving difficult behaviour. Outcomes from the focus group discussions also suggest that there has been a drop in incidents such as bullying and fighting and not just a reduction in the number of incidents being reported.

Value for money From a funding point of view, the study found that the cost of the Urban Jungle was comparable to the traditional playground, but the benefits of the former far outstripping the latter. The detailed build cost for a traditional tarmac playground to be built on the same space was £63,784. The cost of upgrading to a gold standard natural play space was £65,512, which represents an increase of only £1,728.

The difference in monetary cost between a traditional playground and the natural play area is minimal but the difference in the children’s learning and well-being is much higher. The research report showed that the natural play area was instrumental in the consequent success of the pupils not only in the classroom but in their general well-being, too.

With marked improvements highlighted in the report in areas such as pupil interaction physical

Volume 1:2 Learning Spaces 55

Case Study www.teachingtimes.com

activity, there is confidence that this concept would be successful if implemented across Scotland and the UK. We would hope to encourage other schools to take on board the idea of natural play and hold Merrylee as the blueprint moving forward to give pupils across the country the opportunity to take advantage of the benefits of the great outdoors.

ideal project for us. It has given the children opportunities to play in a new way, which is great for those pupils who don’t enjoy football or tarmac based activities. The children now interact far more, which helps to break down barriers, and this has led to a marked decrease in bullying that is being reported.”

Hugh McNish, Forestry Commission

“I was thrilled to have the opportunity to be involved in developing the UK’s first natural play site within a school campus. With the new school being built, the timing was ideal and our whole community had the chance to be part of something that could revolutionise the way our children play and interact with each other. It’s been a real partnership approach with a whole range of stakeholders getting involved, including pupils, staff, parents, friends and the wider community. Their support and determination has made this possible and has resulted in the creation of a fantastic new space that all Merrylee pupils will be able to enjoy for years to come.”

Liz Mahindru, head teacher at Merrylee Primary school.

“Children get on better when the urban jungle is open. There are fewer arguments and they complain to us less often. There is less bickering and they play with each other better.”

A member of the playground staff

Reflections on the Urban Jungle “The urban jungle play space created at Merrylee Primary is a fantastic example of the way that trees and the natural environment can be adapted for the long term benefit of children. This project is the first of its kind in the United Kingdom and so the ultimate aim of the study is to inform future natural play developments in school grounds.”

As an organisation, we are keen to promote trees, woodlands and the great outdoors to young people and to showcase the benefits and the fun that can be had by exploring them and enjoying what they have to offer. This play area was an

56 Learning Spaces Volume 1:2

The urban jungle has also been a tremendous success in the eyes of the people who matter the most – the children who use it. One Year 3 pupil said:

“I like the urban jungle because there are lots of bumpy bits and hiding places. You can run up and down the bumpy bits.”

Primary Year 3 pupil

Hugh McNish is a health advisor from Forestry Commission Scotland’s Central Conservancy.

NE

W

Maths

Adventure E Games

By Alan Parr

KEY STAGE 2

Price: 17.99 each e The Housill H e th on

ALAN PARR A numeracy adventure for upper KS2 children and an INSET activity for staff

❖ Enhances problem solving skills ❖ Fully photocopiable ❖ Easy to administer - no special equipment needed ❖ Includes answer grids and certificate of achievement

ach book draws on the creative and interactive features of adventure games, and applies them to a series of exciting and imaginative learning exercises, based on a common theme or challenge.

Children have to undertake a number of maths tasks to complete the games. The fun challenges are easy, straightforward and ideal for children at KS2 who find maths difficult and represent good practice as encouraged by Non-statutory Guidance, HMI, ofsted inspectors, etc.

Completing the adventures takes a total of perhaps three hours, but many additional ideas are included for follow-up work. Suggestions are included for using the adventures as staff development exercises for teachers and assistants.

The House on the Hill Imagine that you’re staying in a cottage in the countryside. At the top of a hill you see a huge old house, it’s not quite a ruin but it’s been empty for many years. As the wind gets up at night you look out of the window and seem to see lights flickering in the windows - when the wind stops howling you think you hear sounds of sobbing and weeping.

You decide that once everyone else is in bed you’ll sneak out to explore.

Pupils explore a haunted house encountering a series of eight number problems on the way. They will have to be resourceful and clever, but every time they solve a problem they will be able to find the true name of one of the eight children who used to live in The House on the Hill.

t The Grea l e w Je Robbery

ALAN PARR A numeracy adventure for upper KS2 children and an INSET activity for staff

❖ Enhances problem solving skills ❖ Fully photocopiable ❖ Easy to administer - no special equipment needed

The Great Jewel Robbery This story is about a robbery that Sherlock Holmes might have investigated - a robbery from a famous museum. Perhaps the most famous display is the priceless set of ‘The 15 Crystal Jewels’. One morning the museum guards discover that one of the 15 pieces is missing!

❖ Includes answer grids and certificate of achievement

The tasks are set within a Victorian detective story; each problem bringing a piece of information which contributes to the overall solution.

The problem-solving theme is highly motivating, and children will be genuinely excited as they progress through the adventure, eventually completing the final problem and then being awarded a certificate.

The Haunted School A class of 30 or more children is bad enough to cope with, but when this is added to by a couple of ghosts, it becomes too much for the teacher to bear! The ghosts are friendly enough and every night at midnight they come out to play, but every day without fail something else has been hidden, put back in the wrong place, or jumbled up. The Spookies have to go!

The tasks have been structured so that teachers can easily use just one a day in a numeracy lesson. If you wish, the Spookies can have made an overnight appearance to set up the day’s problem, which can then be introduced to the class as a whole. Every time a task is completed successfully pupils will discover one part of the menu for the Spookies’ Goodbye Dinner - but make sure the correct item is discovered otherwise they’ll still be here next week!

Order Hotline: 0121 224 7599

Other books in the series by Alan Parr include: Blackbeard’s Treasure

S.A.N.T.A. C.L.A.U.S.

It’s 1720 in the Caribbean, and a group of pirates are about to launch an expedition to find Blackbeard’s Treasure. Players have to purchase a ship, hire a crew, kit them out, find the island and the hidden treasure – and finally share out the loot! There are eight tasks to be completed by children working in pairs.

Santa is under pressure to supply exciting gifts for children at Christmas – and needs some bright new employees. Children who wish to apply are given a problem to solve in each of the toy-making departments: The Main Office, The Dining Room, The Christmas Card Shop, The Loading Warehouse, The Purchasing Department, The Stables, The Map Centre and The Scheduling Section.

Asteroid X It’s 2099 on a visit to Asteroid X, disaster strikes – the spaceship has a major malfunction. Players have to undertake a hazardous journey back to Earth. They need to plan the journey, select supplies they will need, choose the best survival craft and work out how to deal with the dangers ahead.

“It was very challenging but at the same time interesting. Superb, fabulous, brill, wicked and really fun.” Pupil

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Case Study www.teachingtimes.com

Hartlepool’s Space to Learn Project could pave the way for school design ideas to transform teaching and learning and tap into the technology of the future.

S

pace to Learn, a forward thinking project funded by Hartlepool Borough Council and both the Roman Catholic and Church of England Diocese, is the first education facility of its kind to combine the latest audio visual technology with flexible spaces to examine, challenge and ultimately remodel teaching and learning spaces for the future within the Borough of Hartlepool and beyond.

The teaching profession will use the £1.2million project, built by education sector contractors SURGO Construction, to challenge current methods of teaching for their effectiveness and validity in today’s technically advanced world. The site will also be used to test and support design concepts being included in new buildings and major remodels when they are carried out in the future.

Step away from the whiteboard!

Once the height of technology, whiteboards may become a thing of the past as Space to Learn enters the world of interactive 3D video systems, green screen technology and ‘Big Brother’ style diary rooms in which students can give their immediate feedback on how they feel a training session has gone.

Training sessions can also be recorded to broadcast quality. The recordings can then be used either for observation purposes – giving teachers the opportunity to review their own teaching styles – or for training purposes – allowing learners throughout the borough to tune in to lessons simultaneously or opt to watch recorded sessions at a later date, if desired.

Space to Learn – a new era for Hartlepool

Volume 1:2 Learning Spaces 59

Case Study www.teachingtimes.com

In the beginning Several consultations took place with students, teaching staff and governing bodies from local schools before either the architect on the scheme, *GWK Architects Which has now become ADP), or SURGO put pen to paper on final designs and blueprints. This was to get their input into what they wanted from learning spaces. As often happens at these consultations, what can seem as ‘wacky’, untried and perhaps unworkable ideas are put forward and, from these, creative seeds are sown.

Some of these unusual ideas ranged from having a mobile facility to tour the borough, to students writing on the walls, rather than confining their efforts to the more traditional whiteboards.

Speaking about the project, architect, Bill Kish of GWK said: “This was an incredibly exciting project to work on as it will push, challenge and shape the boundaries of future educational facility design and delivery. I like to think the end result has created a building which is not a classroom but a stage and the lessons as a play – changing the set to suit the performances.”

Conventional teaching methods replaced Space to Learn will be managed by the Hartlepool City Learning Centre, which is headed up by Ricky Brown – a former teacher who is passionate about teaching and engaging the learner in the

60 Learning Spaces Volume 1:2

most effective way. He said: “Space to Learn is an incredibly exciting facility which, in essence, is all about concepts and ideas and discovering whether they work or not. In addition to being a fully flexible space, achievable by using acoustic curtains as a ‘wall’ as well as the technology incorporated into the building, we are able to allow schools to prescribe the layout and technology they require when they come to have their new facilities constructed or refurbished.”

Significant thought has gone into reviewing the learning process in order to move away from conventional methods of teaching, where historically the trainer stands at the front of the class with student attention focused on one part of the room. Instead, using treatments such as resin floors and 360-degree projection technology, teachers are able to project images onto walls and floors turning the learning spaces into anything we want such as jungles or valleys. It will also ensure that no matter what height or physical restrictions students may have, they will be able to use all available surfaces.

The intention is that this technology will also be used to encourage students to be more active in lessons as multiple-choice answers can be projected onto the floor and students can ‘run’ to the answer they think is correct. If adopted into more schools in the region it could play its part in tackling child obesity, which is a problem faced not just in Hartlepool but throughout the UK.

Case Study www.teachingtimes.com

Any furniture or equipment that is used in service delivery must have more than one function such as a lectern which doubles up as a reception desk.

Education should be learner centric, focusing upon the learner’s needs whilst collaborating with others to create a flexible learning institution which supports and guides learners, whatever their age, through the complex web of their learning journey.

Ricky Brown reflects that “I truly believe that Space to Learn transforms the way teaching is delivered and can shape the way we redesign education buildings in Hartlepool for many years to come.” Speaking about SURGO’s involvement with the project, Director Jeff

Alexander said: “Whilst we have constructed a number of education facilities which, in their own way, have transformed education within their immediate neighbourhood and thereby raised aspirations, Space to Learn is a truly innovative project in which SURGO is extremely pleased to be involved. We were able to bring a depth of expertise to the scheme which I believe was the foundation to keeping the project on track throughout construction.”

As further endorsement for the Space to Learn concept, Dr Kenn Fisher, of the University of Melbourne, and an International Design School guru, believes that “Space to Learn is a groundbreaking project and an opportunity for teachers and pupils to test ideas and experiment in an inspirational building.

It has the potential to be a UK beacon of best practice, across the globe.”

For a whole range of people involved – architects, teachers, students – Space to Learn demonstrates how design concepts can be translated into an innovative use of space which has the potential to transform teaching and learning.

To view the Surgo Space to Learn video of Hartlepool School, click here: http://youtu.be/kjGZCJJg1JU

Volume 1:2 Learning Spaces 61

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