Design
In addition to the main school estate strategy publications, the Scottish Government, in collaboration with those involved in school design, has produced a range of documents to help promote well-designed schools. These publications are ordered by the year in which they were published.
| Title | Year | Description |
|---|
 | Building Excellence | 2007 | The Scottish Government ran a programme of events during 2007 to explore the implications of Curriculum for Excellence for the design of new or refurbished schools and for the design and use of space in existing schools. The main messages from the programme so far are captured in the Building Excellence publication which is a resource for school managers, teachers and designers. |
 | School Design: Optimising the internal environment | 2007 | Guidance for local authorities on internal environmental conditions in schools. This guidance covers internal air quality ( IAQ), heating, ventilation and acoustics in school buildings. The document suggests ways in which local authorities might consider improving internal environmental comfort to create better learning and teaching environments. |
 | Senses of Place | 2006 | Produced in connection with the Senses of Place conference held on May 25, 2006, in collaboration with The Lighthouse. Articles examine the interaction between different factors and user groups in school design, covering such diverse areas as outdoor spaces, historical factors, artistic involvement, community issues and school furnishings. The overall theme running through the magazine is the relationship between individual and collective senses of ownership and place, and the design of physical spaces. |
 | Post Occupancy Evaluation Workshop | 2005 | Developments and experiences of schools evaluation with local authorities. |
 | Post Occupancy Evaluation - Braes High School, Falkirk | 2005 | The Scottish Executive commissioned Chris Watson to undertake a demonstration evaluation of Braes High School in Falkirk. The exercise involved interviews with groups of stakeholders (including staff, pupils, managers, council officials and community users) to seek their views about what was good, and what was not so good, about their school building. |
 | Research on acoustic design in Scottish primary schools | 2005 | This research report is being made available on line in order to provide access to its contents for those interested in the subject. The Scottish Executive commissioned the research but has not exercised editorial control over the report. The views expressed in the report are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the Scottish Executive or any other organisation (this document is only available in PDF format). |
| Design and Construction of Sustainable Schools Volume 1 | 2005 | The books present the findings from two recent study tours, arranged by Gaia Group, to a number of sustainable school buildings in Norway and Germany. The first volume describes the individual schools visited. The publication was commissioned by the Scottish Executive - produced in partnership with The Lighthouse and Gaia Group (this document is only available in PDF format). |
| Design and Construction of Sustainable Schools Volume 2 | 2005 | The second volume looks at a number of wider issues that arose from visits and discussion during the study tours (this document is only available in PDF format). |
 | Sustainability | 2004 | Outlines the principles to consider and the process to follow, in order to achieve a sustainable school. |
 | School Design | 2003 | Why design is important, key questions and ten points to consider to ensure good design, including through the procurement process, and some recent examples of good practice across Europe. |
Hard copies of these publications can be requested by emailing schoolestate@scotland.gsi.gov.uk
The Future Learning and Teaching project (FLaT)
The FLaT project Design for Learning - The 21st Century School, was a three year programme to help generate ideas for school buildings to inspire and motivate teachers and pupils to maximise their individual and collective educational potential. The project supported the Scottish Executive's investment in new school buildings by helping Scotland's Schools to become high quality, inspiring and well-designed learning and teaching environments.
For further details on the project, please visit the FLaT page of The Lighthouse website.
Designs on My Learning: A guide to involving young people in school design (2005) was produced under the FLaT project. This publication is intended to support local authorities and architects to explore with young people and teachers ways to generate inspirational ideas for school design. It includes practical 'How to…' guides to explore the different roles and responsibilities in the design process.
Compendium of exemplary education facilities
The third Edition of the OECD PEBCompendium of exemplary education facilities presents 
examples of newly built or renovated facilities for all levels of education around the world, from pre-school to tertiary, and describes how effectively they serve the needs of their users: students, teaching and administrative staff, and the community at large. This edition features five Scottish schools/nurseries, giving a very good account of Scotland. This is testament to the tremendous progress which has been made on modernising the school estate in Scotland, and the quality of school design here.
TeacherNet School Buildings Information Centre
The Schools Capital Assets Design Team of the UK Department for Children Schools and Families (DCSF) produces a range of advice and guidance materials on school design issues, including the Building Bulletins, which may be of interest in a Scottish context.