Creating the best environment for SEND students

Last month, three of our education sector experts, Nikola Idle, David Barley and Sophie Lee, attended the Education Estates SEND conference in London.

They’ve summarized the ten top things they learned from the conference about designing spaces for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities.

1) Use nature as a learning resource

A Department for Education design advisor highlighted that the connection of schools to nature is essential, but it should be a direct connection, rather than a token gesture.

2) Space should be based on capabilities, not needs

When you’re designing a space, think about what students can do, not what they can’t do.

3) Prepare students for real life

Don’t try and hide reality, for example boxing in services behind sterile white ceilings, or using smaller WCs. The students will have normal WCs at home, so why not at school?

4) Don’t be scared of colour

Rather than making assumptions about the use of colour in your classrooms, look at your users’ environmental and sensory needs – vibrant colours may be ok.

5) Aim for adaptability

Whatever you design must be flexible and adaptable, and capable of changing with the needs of the people who use it. If your space can evolve in use, you’ll find it’ll work for you long term.

6) Lean on light

Make sure the spaces in your school have lots of daylight, contributing to a calm and welcoming environment.

7) Collaborate

There may be opportunities to collaborate with local authorities and healthcare providers, or even the local community – if you have a hydrotherapy pool, why not hire it out for mum and baby classes to help self-fund your estate improvements?

8) Help reduce hospital pressures

Health and education can see some crossover. If you can provide health support in an education environment, this can reduce the number of hospital visits students have to make, benefitting both students, families and the healthcare system.

9) Things aren’t black and white

Seeing designs as either ‘ambulant’ or ‘non-ambulant’ can be reductive, as the real world is more divisive than just two standards. For example, an ambulant specification has no hydrotherapy pool, but this can be a hugely beneficial resource in ambulant schools.

10) Don’t let your estate be a blocker

44% of 200 schools surveyed said they believed their estate is a blocker to efficiency. By focusing on what your estate can do for you and having a clear estates plan, it can become an enabler, rather than holding you back.

If you’d like advice on making your estate fit-for-purpose for SEND students, get in touch and we’re happy to share our experience of creating SEND sufficiency strategies and estates plans.