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03 AIMING FOR EXCELLENCE IN SCHOOL GROUNDS

Alastair Seaman
Programme Manager
Grounds for Learning

In recent years we have learned that the way schools are designed has an impact on learning. However, there is a danger that we tend to think 'buildings' when we talk about 'school'.

A 2005 House of Commons Education and Skills Committee report ¹ concluded that "school grounds are a vital resource for learning. Capital projects should devote as much attention to the 'outdoor classroom' as to the innovative design of buildings and indoor space". Pedagogy needs to impact on the design of the whole campus - both indoors and outdoors.

Grounds are traditionally thought of as a space for sport and perhaps some environmental study. However, 63% of our school estate is land rather than buildings and young people spend up to 25% of their school day in this space.

The huge significance of this resource is often overlooked and its full potential unrealised. Curriculum for Excellence now makes it clear that the curriculum should include more than just the traditional curriculum areas and subjects - it should also include learning through the ethos and life of the school as a community, interdisciplinary projects and studies and opportunities for personal achievement. With appropriate design and use, school grounds can potentially contribute significantly across all aspects of Curriculum for Excellence - as summarised in Fig. 1.

Without appropriate design, development and use of grounds it will be difficult for schools to adequately develop the four capacities. This is well illustrated by the recently published draft numeracy outcomes ² which describe the need for learning approaches that include "active learning and planned, purposeful play; … and the use of relevant contexts, familiar to young peoples' experiences". Two of the contextual examples given in the Numeracy across the Curriculum paper are both set in the school grounds - a school garden and a sports day. The direction of Scottish educational policy means that well-designed and used grounds will become more important than ever.

Design Objectives

The way in which design is approached depends on whether the project is a new site or the development of existing grounds. However, there are a number of principles that are common in both cases. A good starting point is to develop a brief that identifies the key objectives against which any design can be assessed. This will obviously be specific to each school or setting, but a summary of common objectives is given in Fig. 2.

Fig. 1 Curriculum for Excellence capacities - implications for school grounds

SUCCESSFUL LEARNERS

grounds-based learning:

• is active and hands on and provides a real and relevant context for learning
• can have a positive impact on long-term memory
• enables reinforcement between affective and cognitive learning
• engages some students who struggle with traditional classroom learning
• improves dynamics between teacher and learners
• offers opportunities for vocational learning
• provides opportunities for integrated and cross-curriculum learning

CONFIDENT INDIVIDUALS

school grounds can:

• provide an environment in which all young people feel welcome, safe and valued
• demonstrate an ethos of care and respect
• promote activity and healthy lifestyles
• offer environments and activities that are especially supportive of more vulnerable young people
• encourage emotional wellbeing

RESPONSIBLE CITIZENS

school grounds can:

• promote pride of place and a sense of belonging
• offer young people an opportunity to demonstrate care for their surroundings
• promote pro-social interaction and behaviours
• encourage knowledge of, and concern for, the natural environment and wider sustainability issues

EFFECTIVE CONTRIBUTORS

school grounds can:

• promote participation of young people in decision making
• engage young people in real life project management
• offer opportunities for team work
• provide a real world context for problem solving and enterprise

Fig. 2 Key Objectives

landscape objectives

• meet educational and social needs
• provide a safe, diverse and stimulating environment
• design the buildings and grounds as a whole entity with strong and appropriate linkages between indoor and outdoor spaces
• use zoning to accommodate a range of activities and opportunities
• design secure outdoor space where access can be controlled and vandalism reduced or eliminated
• build in flexibility to allow for change and development
• balance design, management and use against aesthetic, functional and financial considerations
• ensure environmental fit
• incorporate sustainability within the design, e.g. for surface water treatment, cut and fill where possible

educational objectives

• maximise participation of young people in the process of design, creation and management of grounds
• set an attractive and welcoming tone
• provide outdoor teaching spaces that are accessible, sheltered, safe and secure
• stimulate creativity
• stimulate healthy activity
• create places where nature can thrive
• encourage social interaction and pro-social behaviours
• celebrate diversity
• provide opportunities for enriching the curriculum
• provide sports facilities of a suitable standard
• create calming, relaxing and quiet spaces
• provide opportunities for community use

Design Principles

Grounds for Learning has more than a decade of experience of working with schools across Scotland to transform their outdoor spaces, which has demonstrated the importance of three crosscutting principles that are prerequisites for success.

Participation: In a recent workshop with teachers at a certain school we asked them to think about the large white elephant that was painted in the school grounds. Nearly half of them didn't know it existed! Young people have the best understanding of their school grounds - what is there at present and how it is used. As the main users of this space it is fundamental that they are able to participate actively in the discussion of how it will be developed and, where possible, in the implementing of changes. This will lead to higher quality, more appropriate designs and a greater sense of ownership and respect for the grounds. In addition, genuine participation also represents a key educational opportunity with clear links to all of the four capacities. For example, it could include surveying, consultation techniques, problem solving, design, discussions with professionals, collective decision making, presentation, project planning, budget management and evaluation.

Sustainability: The Scottish Executive publication Learning for our Future, Scotland's First Action Plan for the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development ³ highlights the need for "management of the school estate [to] reflect the values and principles of sustainable development… Congruence between what is taught and what is practiced is important for effective learning: without it, good teaching can be badly undermined". Such congruence is often lacking in school grounds. Sustainability also means making sure that designs give careful thought to ongoing maintenance and care and enabling opportunities for continuous improvement.

Holistic: Designs need to derive from a consideration of the whole campus and the way that indoor and outdoor spaces interact. They need to contribute to the whole vision of Curriculum for Excellence and its four capacities, not just a small part of it. And designs need to reflect the aspirations of the whole school community; young people across all age groups, teachers, parents and other school users.

Design and Improvement Process

Grounds development is a cyclical rather than a linear process. Fig. 3 illustrates a model for instigating changes, which is equally useful whether considering new build or major refurbishment projects or existing school grounds. A good place to start is asking 'how do we feel about the grounds now?'. This moves discussion beyond physical survey to understanding the hidden messages and meanings embedded in the way that outdoor space is currently configured. When thinking about 'where do we want to be?', the common tendency is to begin with 'what do we want to have in our grounds?'. This can often lead to a wish list of equipment or fixtures with no coherent underlying framework. More useful is the question 'what would we like to be able to do?'. This helps focus on outcomes rather than features and is more likely to result in a design that meets wider needs.

Young people have the best understanding of their school grounds

Fig. 3 A process approach to design and development

For larger projects, the next step in developing designs and implementing plans is to involve professional designers and contractors. However, young people should still be closely involved. Any professional design work needs to closely involve young people as the ultimate client group. Contractors can be invited to come and talk about the project and young people can watch, record and report on progress. Smaller projects can often be designed and implemented in-house using the skills of young people, staff, parents and the wider school community. This is genuine 'real world' learning! As the new improvements are celebrated, used and maintained, the question 'where are we now?' naturally arises and the cycle repeats.

It is often helpful to make smaller improvements, moving through the cycle more quickly and frequently. As one deputy head teacher has stated, "To keep the children's enthusiasm the project needs to be plan-build-plan-build-plan-build so that they can see something growing and developing. You need an interim physical reality so that the kids have faith that something's going to happen."

Aiming for Excellence

The focus of Scottish education is about moving beyond being 'effective' or 'good' to 'excellent'. Scotland is rightly seen as leading the way in this regard. The challenge is for us to apply the same ambition and rigour to the design and use of our school grounds.

63% of our schools estate is land rather than buildings

Comprehensive guidance on designing school grounds is contained in the recent publication Schools for the Future: designing school grounds, published by The Stationery Office, ISBN-13:978 0 11 271182 7. (This can be downloaded from the Teachernet website - www.teachernet.gov.uk)

Grounds for Learning ( www.gflscotland.org.uk) is the Scottish programme of Learning Through Landscapes ( www.ltl.org.uk), the UK School Grounds Charity. Alastair Seaman is Grounds for Learning's programme manager and can be contacted at aseaman@ltl.org.uk.

Curriculum for Excellence - Holistic Design

Calum McKenzie, Architect, Moray Council

The architectural design approach to the Curriculum for Excellence should embody its holistic approach to learning and teaching, creating an environment which encourages self-help for those capable, whilst freeing up more time for others. In Moray, thinking around future secondary school design centres around communal areas that are of central importance as learning environments, transparent and flowing, even merging indoors and outdoors. Providing quality environments is also top priority: 90% of a school should be on one level, allowing manipulation of light provision and air quality, factors critical to successful learning.

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