Preparing yourself for a capital project
What are the range of special needs we are designing for?
How many pupils and staff will there be?
Is this a new school, or a replacement school?
If it's a new school, how much do we know about the cohort of children that will be attending now and into the future?
What are the budgetary constraints of the project?
Who will lead this project (e.g. if it's a new school, has a headteacher been appointed)?
Is this part of a MAT or LA with a particular vision for education that needs to be understood and incorporated?
Who will write the brief and what support might you need to articulate your vision, ethos, curriculum and learning activities?
Have you visited other recently built schools and talked to school leaders about what does and doesn't work?
How will you judge success and develop a criteria to help you articulate what good looks like and how design decisions should be made?
Finding the perfect site for a school is a real challenge.
Whether it is a green field, part of your existing site, or indeed a brownfield site, it is important to ask yourself a number of questions about the site you plan to build on, which will assist in unearthing the constraints and opportunities you have.
Once you have answered the ten key questions mentioned previously, you can then start exploring some of the vital site considerations.
The site and size of land has been a main discussion point on what makes a good school, however the available land bank may well be the driver, once this inception boundary is known, you can begin to ask the following questions.
Is the project on an existing school site or a brand new site?
What are the site restrictions including size, services, sewers and neighbours that could affect the development?
What is the approximate footprint of the building and how much space will it take up?
Do we have enough room for a single storey school, or will we need to build a two-storey school?
How large will the car park need to be, taking into account the staff to pupil ratios and drop-off/pick-up area space needs?
How do we remove traffic from the highway by using planned drop-off/pick-up areas?
What sort of direct access to external play spaces do we need throughout the school to enable pupil respite?
How will the cohort change and what flexibility on all of the above needs to be built in to prepare for this?
One of the biggest debates throughout our SEND Knowledge Forums, has been whether a school should be single-storey or two-storey design.
There are diverse views on what makes a good school, but everyone agreed that one size does not fit all.
Whilst many favour single-storey, Glenwood School in Essex has experienced unintended benefits from its two-storey design - including the use of their staircases as everyday life training for their cohort, where previously they had practice steps made for pupils.
There are 18 key inception questions we've highlighted in this chapter, the answers to which will help you on your initial stages of your brief development. Some may need you to dig deeper or draw in expert help, or even visit other schools, but hopefully they will help shine a light on the first steps to take in the development of your new SEND school.
