Whilst schools across the UK are preparing to return to full capacity in September will we still need to be adhering to some form of social distancing measures? How will this be implemented across the vast array of schools?!
It’s quite standard for classroom occupancy to be based on 30 pupils with an area of 50-62sqm per classroom. These standards are based on national guidance within the suite of Building Bulletins. BB103 superseded BB98 and BB99, and its release resulted in reduced area provisions generally.
Whilst areas vary across different age groups the standard classroom still amounts to a relatively densely populated space, which in normal scenarios is perfectly adequate. But are we in normal times? Do our schools need to be better prepared in the future? Do they therefore need to be better planned and designed to incorporate far greater flexibility? Maybe the Building Bulletins need re-writing. Could Learning Through Landscapes open up greater opportunities, introducing more flexibility to the way we teach our future generations?