The five key issues in education design that impact learning and wellbeing

Our environment has a profound effect on us. It can impact everything from our level of concentration and productivity to our health and emotional wellbeing. Yet many schools aren't designed in a way that maximises learning outcomes, fosters community, encourages play, and prioritises student and teacher wellbeing.

Could your school be one of them? To help you, here are the five key issues in education design that impact learning and wellbeing that we identified through analysing over 140 schools in Australia.

1. Classroom layouts prevent learning opportunities

Gone are the days when every classroom layout has rows of desks facing the teacher and whiteboard. With each child learning differently, it’s important that the modern classroom features flexible learning areas for students to be able to learn in multiple ways – with the teacher, by themselves, and in varying group sizes through their peers.

For this to happen effectively, classrooms spaces need to be designed to have different areas that cater for collaborative work and discussion, allow for quiet individual work and retreat, and encourage focus time with the teacher at the front of the room. Open planning, breakout areas and flexible furniture are key to creating this flexibility within the classroom.

2. Children don’t have the flexibility to learn outside

While children thrive in routine, their performance can be impacted by working in the same environment all the time. By creating outdoor classroom environments, teachers and students can venture outside when the weather allows for different learning opportunities.

Combining adaptable indoor learning spaces with flexible outdoor spaces that are large enough for full class groups, students are given many varied opportunities for interaction, performance, collaboration, and connection to nature.

This not only boosts student engagement, but it also minimises costs of lighting and air-conditioning while providing greater connection to the landscape and better working conditions.

3. There are inadequate views to landscape from classrooms

Increasing the proportion of natural landscape within our immediate environments is key to improving both our physical and emotional health. In a study into ‘school landscape environments,’ it was suggested “that the function of schools’ landscape has significantly related to efforts of assisting the learning processes and nourishing environmental appreciation among students” (Ali, Rostam & Awang, 2015).

But unfortunately, some classrooms (even on the ground floor) don’t have adequate views to landscape. Increasing views to landscape, which can encompass a variety of natural and constructed spaces including open fields, gardens, shelters and open pavilions, reflective areas, and water bodies to name a few, can be a quick and easy way to improve student learning and wellbeing.

4. The inability for children to run and use their energy when needed

It’s no secret that physical activity is good for our health and improves our ability to think clearly. Yet the design of many schools and classrooms don’t allow children the opportunity to have regular times to move their body to increase their learning potential.

Throughout our consultation with teachers, we heard time and time again that the traditional classroom layout of desks facing a teacher doesn't allow kids an outlet for their abundant energy. This can lead to children being fidgety, distracting others or misbehaving.

The modern classroom model needs to allow space within the classroom inside and outside for children to use energy when they need to while still being a part of the class.

5. Carbon Dioxide build up from a lack of fresh air

While many schools install air-conditioning for the comfort of students and teachers, what many people are unaware of is that the quality of air can be dramatically affected. In environments with split system air-conditioning and no fresh air intake, air is simply moved around the room but not replaced, leading to a build-up of Carbon Dioxide (CO₂) throughout the day, which affects the cognitive ability and learning capability of students in the classroom.

In 2016, a study done by researchers at Harvard and Syracuse University found that human cognitive function declined by about 15% when indoor CO₂ reached 945 parts per million and crashed by 50% when indoor CO₂ reached 1,400 parts per million. Environments with split system air-conditioning can quickly reach these levels, especially after lunch when 30 sweaty kids re-enter the classroom after running around for an hour.

It’s a conundrum, isn’t it? We put students into classrooms and exam rooms that are air-conditioned for their comfort only to create the worst possible air quality for them to perform and compete against other schools in.

The good news is that through sustainable initiatives both the comfort and air quality of classrooms can be improved. While there are times when air-conditioning must be used, there are times when air-conditioning could be minimised by using a more effective passive ventilation design (like louvres) that will allow greater fresh air and breezes through the classroom. Ducted systems with fresh intake are very important in the classroom as are CO₂ monitors for any rooms that already have split system units installed.

Do measures like this make an impact, you might ask? A study done by the United States Environmental Protection Agency that examined the costs and benefits of green schools for Washington State estimated a 15% reduction in absenteeism and a 5% increase in test scores.

If you would like to book a School Audit to see how your school performs in these areas and more, call us today on (07) 3870 9700 (Brisbane) or (03) 8547 5000 (Melbourne).

Considerations in special needs schools and autistic learning

By Pat Giles 

Going to Prep school when young can be a daunting thing. It may be your first time learning and playing outside of home, in a big new space surrounded by unfamiliar children and adults, and possibly the first time without a family member being there to give you comfort and feel safe.

These early memories form the foundation of your relationship with school, how you begin to socialise with others, and your motivation to be educated. They are the first steps in beginning a learning process that will be part of your life until early adulthood. It’s a pivotal moment that directly sets up your educational journey, the routine of school life, and the experiences that go with it.

For children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (or ASD), this experience is even more challenging. As a diagnosis in early ages, it can manifest in difficulties communicating, restrictive and repetitive behaviour, and other symptoms hurting a child’s capability to function properly in everyday life. 

These children need selective attention as they are more sensitive to social behaviours and stimulants than typical (or ‘neurotypical’) children. It is in response to this treatment that special needs schools - early learning facilities equipped to cater to children with ASD - are established. As designers, it is our fundamental responsibility to ensure the architecture surrounding these children facilitates this stage of their learning, and the experience itself builds a positive connection with school moving forward.

Independent Learning

The aim of designing early learning schools for children with ASD is establishing a supportive setting where students can achieve autonomy for the mainstream education system in the years beyond graduation. For this to work, schools need a curriculum and infrastructure in place for these students to develop natural skills in learning, problem-solving, and independent thinking before they transition into regular primary schools.

These skills are a coping mechanism for children with ASD, which enable students to grow in confidence as they learn. These are derived from seven design principles catered to Autistic sensitivities; Acoustics, Spatial Sequencing, Escape Spaces, Compartmentalisation, Transition spaces, Sensory zoning, and Safety.

Coping Skills - Generalisation

As a term, Generalisation refers to students with ASD having the ability to feel comfortable learning in a mainstream school without special assistance. It usually involves the process of a child understanding the daily routine of a school day, participating in activities with other students, and adapting to tasks that require independent learning, problem-solving, and social interaction.* Generalisation can range in difficulty for Autistic children but is a necessary issue that must be overcome for successful integration to mainstream schools. 

Pathway to Learning Concept: Children with ASD

The Greenhouse Effect

This term is a label for environments catered too specifically to children with ASD, or if activities in a mainstream school setting are too unrecognisable. Consequently, a child is unable to cope in this space due to an unfamiliarity with general classroom activities and the structure of mainstream learning. Under these scenarios, the value of a prep school can be lost as a student requires re-education, placing their performance behind the standard curriculum.**

There are no absolute design methods for determining when children with ASD revert to using coping skills and when they exert general behaviour. The educational approach should be a healthy balance of both patterns, with architectural design assisting spaces in ensuring the ability to learn independently. 

Spatial Design

There are a few distinctions made in Architectural design that cater to children with ASD. They differ to regular classrooms and teaching spaces in mainstream schools. Still, these differences are crucial to ensure children work in comfortable environments with minimal distraction that encourages mental development and guide the routines of everyday school life.

A recent working model with these traits was developed in Guymer Bailey’s design for Western Autistic School in Niddrie. This exercise was through consultation with Irabina Autistic Services and the ASPECTSS Design Index***, which are evidence-based guidelines that help build environments for children with ASD. The layout of a new teaching block on-site was structured to create safe, internal courtyard enclosures linked by classrooms, allowing for external stimuli to be removed or controlled in different areas. 

Classroom Learning

A standard teaching space was designed as a single or double-classroom module, intended as flexible-use learning areas for various year groups ensuring the space could accommodate several learning programs without the need to re-purpose the teaching environment. Classrooms contain six to eight children at a time, with up to four staff to maintain supervision and concentration.

Sensory rooms and student amenities are directly adjacent to the classrooms and act as escape spaces that are easily accessible from both sides. Natural light is maintained at focused levels to control diffusion and avoid visual distraction.  Windows are slimmed to obscure outdoor activity and reduce glare and are strategically placed around outdoor landscapes to prevent external attention. Internal glazing with observation points to monitor children’s behaviour by staff and parents. 

Most importantly, retreat space is provided for escape from over-stimulation in the classroom, where children can feel safe and protected. Gardens are directly accessible from class, individualised to each room, and dispersed with soft, natural materials, colours and scents. These natural areas provide physical refuge but feel safe and protective while remaining under close staff surveillance.

Standard classroom model - teaching blocks

Standard classroom model - section

ASD classroom model concepts and realised teaching block layout

Natural Play

Playgrounds and open spaces can be intimidating for children with ASD. This distress comes from the child’s stimuli, where large areas full of sights and sounds can bombard the senses and provoke uncomfortable thoughts and feelings.

Autistic children have a general tendency to find engagement in free play more actively and equivalently than neurotypical children. However, social participation itself can be a struggle and can lead to solitary behaviour in playgrounds and outdoor spaces. This struggle to socialise with other children over time can manifest in personal difficulties like developing motor skills, balance, coordination and self-awareness.

Landscape design of the Western Autistic School, Niddrie

Playspaces should be designed in ways where children recognise, separate and control their surroundings, and in doing so, organically learn when to participate in group activities, retreat quietly, and move outside their comfort zone. In tangible form, this can be facilitated through equipment to coach a child’s stability (low-level balancing beams and stepper courses), coordination (rope climbing and climbing posts) and cognitive movement (stepper courses and run patterns), to allow safe play and provide outlets for expendable energy. 

Outdoor teaching spaces should be designed to provide safe, informal class settings that develop children’s familiarity with natural shapes, textures, and scents. In early learning, this is particularly encouraged, as providing a variety of natural materials and planting elicits emotive responses, builds focus and creates a calm, comfortable connection to the environment.

In this respect, landscape spaces for children with ASD form extensions of the learning processes happening in the classroom, with an underlining theme of naturality; the natural development of a child learning to cope with a range of emotional, social and physical differences; and the ability to foster this growth in a natural setting.

Perspective

 What has fascinated me the most about designing for children with ASD is that the planning process challenges a standardised approach to educational environments, and in doing so, demonstrates that physical changes in these spaces lead to safer and more productive classrooms to learn and build confidence in. 

Working with special needs schools, it’s encouraging to know there is a sincere effort to channel this form of learning by the staff and the school communities. This enthusiasm motivates us as design professionals to ensure our creative approach translates into buildings and landscapes that support young minds on the Autism spectrum.

About the Author

Pat Giles is a registered Architect and a valued member of our educational design team in Melbourne. He has managed projects of varying scales across multiple sectors in both Western Australia and Victoria. He brings a creative attitude to projects and enjoys the tasks of managing school projects and working in partnership with multiple specialists.

* Promoting Generalisation of Positive Behaviour Change

* Designing Buildings for Children with Autism

***National Autistic Society, Designs for Living

Schools in the Future: An Architectural Perspective

In February I attended Learning Environments Australasia’s Afternoon with Stephen Harris, held at St Peters Lutheran College on Schools of the Future. Stephen is an educator and innovator, and the Co-Founder and Director of Our Dream School, Barcelona. Throughout the evening some progressive points were raised and I have been reflecting on them and what they mean for us as specialists in education design.

He opened with a problem, “the problem with education in Australia is that we do mediocre really well. Our current education system believes that examinations and assessments are the only way to judge a child's work.”

He used the bushfire crisis as an example. Some areas of Australia had year 12 students completing final exams in safety and air conditioned comfort, while others, at schools in bushfire paths that were surrounded by smoke and blaze and at risk of burning down. How are these two circumstances comparable in an exam scenario? How can we expect to compare the exam results from these two contrasting environments?

The answer is that we can’t. Perhaps the answer is that we begin to move past our current method of pedagogy, a faculty centred educational system founded in exam culture, towards one of heutagogy, a transformative system which teaches students how to learn and gain the competencies and skills they need for their selected field. 

The case of moving forward from pedagogy to heutagogy

Heutagogy was first defined in 2000 by Stewart Hase and Chris Kenyon as a form of self-determined learning, the benefit of the heutagogical approach is it teaches lifelong learning by allowing students to negotiate the learning process. 

In the traditional pedagogical style, the teacher is the lead and the primary source of knowledge, and they decide what the students will learn and how. In the heutagogical style, the teacher is the support or guide, that encourages students to determine a problem or area of lacking knowledge, reflect on the problem in-depth, determine actions to solve the problem and then lastly reflect on the path that was taken. 

The course design elements of heutagogy can include:

• Reflective journaling

• Action Research which allows learners to experiment with real-life situations

• Formative and summative assessment 

• Collaborative learning (Blaschke, 2012).

 McAuliffe, Hargreaves, Winter and Chadwick (2008) proposed the following principles of heutagogy:

• Knowing how to learn is a crucial skill

• Educators focus on the learning process rather than content

•  Learning goes beyond specific discipline

•  Learning occurs through self-chosen and self-directive action

This approach shifts focus to the process of learning rather than a means to an end. The learner is now at the centre of the learning process so we see high degrees of cognitive and meta-cognitive skills develop as a result, such as innovation, creativity and self-direction. 

In short, pedagogy is objective based and heutagogy is capability-based, shifting students towards a mindset of lifelong learning to improve their employability and career progression.

How architecture can support this shift in learning

Now that we understand the transformation to heutagogy, what does this mean for educational architecture and our roles as designers? What does this mean for the physical building fabric of our schools and how do we need to design our places of education to foster and facilitate this transformation? 

The physical environment of our schools is important because it either compliments or subtracts from the learning environment. Our school buildings control basic human requirements such as air-flow and sunlight, they provide space for individual or group work, shared work zones, connection between classrooms, indoor and outdoor teaching, the flexibility for changing technology, and so on. But is this enough?

Heutagogy indicates a need to shift away from teacher run classrooms and garden variety 60m2 30 kid 1 teacher general learning area towards something completely different. But what is that something different and how do we need to design our places of education to foster and facilitate this transformation? 

While I don’t profess to have the answer, my current thinking is that it needs to be a staged response. 

Stage 1 - The Classroom

The heutagogical approach acknowledges that knowing how to learn is a crucial life skill, so the focus needs to be on the learning process, not the content. This suggests the need to move away from the teacher being the head of the classroom and move towards an inward-facing zone-based layout. White boards and other usual learning focal points would be replaced by individual resources for each student to use in the design and navigation of their classroom tasks. Flexibility in the use of space exists to support the delivery of individual resources for students through open planning and flexible furniture. In this stage we begin to see connectivity, both connectivity between the classroom environment and outdoor environments, and also to other classrooms both physically and technologically. 

Stage 2 - The Block

Soon, the typical block layout will not be enough. Realistically, one teacher in a class of 20-30 students will not have the resources or capacity to oversee a personalised curriculum for each student. So in the second step of the transformation we look at the whole block, creating larger zones and a choice of learning opportunities through a flexible curriculum with different educators offering a range of workshops.  

We also start to see changes happening in the resources and spaces available to educators in order to support the students. The physical staff spaces change to facilitate collaboration and technology develops to allow linking in with external experts and educators. It is important to emphasise the change in the educators space as equally as important as the change in the learners space in order to facilitate the transformation.

Stage 3 - The School

The final step is an expansion of the methods laid out in step two, only on a larger scale. Here we say goodbye to year level grades and set buildings and home rooms, and move towards completely flexible and customised learning. 

Tests and examinations are a thing of the past as we create an environment where students of differing stages and abilities can learn in an environment that suits their learning needs, instead of conforming and compromising to fit within the box of the current pedagogical system. 

Educators are brought in as experts or linked in from abroad to offer specialised classes and every student is provided with a choice of curriculum with unique and personalised timetables. Dream school status is achieved, and we succeed in the transformation, creating a supportive and connected learning community.

By considering the school as a whole we lift the limits of the traditional ‘classroom’ and begin to encompass additional spaces into the learning environment such as natural landscape, neighboring bushland, the broader community in which the school campus lies. By considering the school as a whole, and not as a repetitive cluster of classrooms of the same type, we gain freedom to establish a wider variety of learning spaces for the benefit of both the student and educator. 

So imagine we have reached stage 3 and that the transformation was a success, the dream school has been realised and the path of the Australian education system has been changed forever. One problem still remains. What do we do with all these static old ‘school buildings’? The ones, that for one reason or another, were not transformed into dream school campuses.

As Stephen aptly pointed out, blocks of 60m2 classrooms will easily convert to retirement village apartments, resolving our nursing home crisis, housing our ever-growing population of aging Australians.

Essentially solving the problems of two sectors through one transformation.

About the Author

Grace Arezio is part of our Brisbane education design team and has taken a particular interest in helping schools achieve a healthier, productive and more sustainable school environment for students and staff.

Construction Commences on Olympic Village Primary School

Construction has begun on the Olympic Village Primary School in Heidelberg West, close to Melbourne CBD, after receiving confirmation that funding was allocated in the 2018 state budget for the full realisation of their masterplan. This is incredibly exciting for the community who thought the school was going to close entirely.

The local community, which has a rich history as the location of the athletes’ village for the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games, has become highly disadvantaged since then which is reflected in the school’s enrolment figures which currently stand at 86 students. The school’s facilities have fallen below an acceptable standard in recent years and were assessed by Guymer Bailey Architects to help build the case for the replacement of the school.

With 45% of students coming from non-English speaking backgrounds, 20% of students being Koorie and 10% eligible for additional funding through the Program for Students with Disabilities, social justice was a central theme for this project. It was a strong motivation of Olympic Village Primary School to ensure that those who are the most disadvantaged at home, are not disadvantaged at school.

Building a community for learning

The other present theme that influenced the design of the masterplan was the desire to create a ‘community for learning’. The school is to become a place that encourages students to strive academically and socially. A place where all, no matter their differences, come together to collaborate and learn. Much like the ethos of the Olympics, people coming together and striving to be better. In the architectural language of the project, this transfers into the idea of a village.

Classrooms, the multi-purpose hall, entrance foyer and staff lounge are represented as individual homes to create a sense of place and foster a feeling of security and warmth. These homes open onto internal covered streets that are shared spaces in the design and promote social interaction and collaboration while also allowing for discreet spaces to sit and retreat. These discreet spaces also facilitate the equity and remediation programs for ‘at risk’ students within the school structure.

The educational village is arranged around a village green or village heart which all buildings open onto, creating a focal point and providing legibility to the layout. The scale of the house and street emphasises the human scale, stimulating belonging and comfort within the students.

Creating flexible learning opportunities

Classrooms are clustered in groups of three around a central common space to promote shared teaching options between classes and flexible learning opportunities. All classrooms have the option to be opened up to this common breakout space, but also have doors to allow for separation if a more orderly learning environment is required for a particular class or activity.

Each classroom also has an individual discrete outdoor learning area, which can be utilised for larger groups, smaller specialist learning or students who are experiencing frustration and need time away from the class while remaining under the supervision of their teacher.

Ensuring student safety and security

Greater safety and security for students was a key objective addressed through the design of the masterplan. New fencing and one central access point have been proposed to create a safer learning environment where all visitors are required to enter through the administration. A drive through kiss-and-drop-zone will also allow for safer management of school drop off with the new entry providing a strong visual from the street to assist with wayfinding.

To maximise toilet supervision and minimise the potential for bullying, toilets can be accessed from inside during class time and outside during breaks. Passive supervision is also maximised by placing the principal’s office, staff lounge and staff workspace on the eastern side of the building facing into the village heart.

A leading learning environment

The new school will also include a staff centre that is a single shared staff workspace designed to help staff work together in the planning, delivery, assessment and reporting of learning to support teacher development.

A multipurpose space that can be accessed from both inside and outside of school grounds will also be created for school and community use. This versatile space features a kitchen, which will house community programs like the breakfast and homework club.

And last, but certainly not least, a new library located at the centre of the classroom cluster will be built. The library provides a third break out space while also serving as the connection from the discrete classroom courtyards to the north and the village heart to the south.

There is no question that the changes will make a significant impact on the learning opportunities for students at the Olympic Village Primary School and the Heidelberg community at large. Having been involved in the design of the project we’re overjoyed to see construction commence.

Need to design an extension, redevelopment or renovation for your school or education facility? Contact us today on 07 3870 9700 (Brisbane) or 03 8547 5000 (Melbourne). You may also like to view our other education projects.

Changes in playground design

By Rob Waddell

Significant changes have been happening in playground design over the last few years due to greater recognition around the health and cognitive benefits of play, a strong desire to get children active and outside, and modifications to playground safety standards that acknowledge the benefit of graduated challenges which teach children how to manage risk.

Out of all of the changes, we have found three key trends are emerging, and these are influencing the design of playgrounds both nationally and internationally.

1. Unlocking imagination through theming

Photography by Scott Burrows

With the introduction of video games and tablets, there is no question that the way a child plays and interacts with the world has changed.

Twenty years ago outdoor play was a way of life for us; we would disappear for hours on end building forts, riding bikes and playing sports. But now, with so much entertainment and stimulation available indoors, greater incentive to switch from screen time to green time is needed.

This has seen a rise in playground themes to evoke the imaginations of children, allowing spaces to be interpreted and used in a number of different ways to create a unique play experience for each child.

One example of this is the Frew Park Arena Play Structure Guymer Bailey Landscape designed. Built on the grounds where the iconic Milton tennis stadium once stood in Brisbane, its theme ‘deconstruction’ honours the history of the site with play precincts that reflect stadium spaces.

The grandstand is brought to life with large precast concrete panels of varying heights and angles, and it even features a commentary box – a steel-mesh box suspended eight metres above the ground, to offer greater thrill to playground goers.

2. Getting back to nature

With many children experiencing nature deficit disorder not being able to play in the creek, squish mud in between their fingers and toes, climb trees and get dirty in play, there is a growing demand to create this experience within the playground environment.

This is particularly important for kindy children who benefit from the sensory experience nature play can produce.

From mud pits and water play to sitting on logs around a fire pit, roasting marshmallows for story time, nature play experiences allow children to enjoy the beauty and simplicity of nature, and hopefully inspire a deep love for the outdoors.

The key to nature play is to make it authentic using as many raw materials as possible. There are many plastic replicas available, but they do not create the same experience for children. Nature play areas should also be flexible, allowing for a wide variety of activities, sensory experiences and individual play interpretations – such as logs that can be used for sitting, standing or balancing on.

3. Creating a call to adventure

Photography by Scott Burrows

While as children we were quite adventurous in our play, as a society in recent years we have been more cautious, preventing children from taking the same risks as we did. While these intentions are noble, in that we don’t want children hurt, what we have failed to realise is that we are preventing children from learning key life lessons through play.

Research has proven time and time again that there are significant benefits when children are exposed to risk.

Adventurous or more challenging play allows children to identify their strengths and limitations, manage risk and fear and develop courage and confidence in their abilities – all fundamental life skills that are needed into adulthood.

These findings have resulted in modifications to the Australian playground safety standards that allow playground designs to greater challenge children and expose them to managed risk, where previous standards were inhibiting their form of play.

Challenges at height including climbing walls, nets, ropes, tunnels, barriers, slopes, sliding poles, swings and flying foxes can all create greater playground challenges for children that allow them to get a better sense of risk and themselves. By being more adventurous in playground design while also keeping in mind age and ability, we can provide children with greater life skills.

Does your kindy, school or community playground need an upgrade to create more imaginative and challenging play? Talk to our specialist playground designers today on 07 3870 9700 (Brisbane) or 03 8547 5000 (Melbourne).

About the Author

Rob Waddell is the Principal Landscape Architect at Guymer Bailey Architects. With extensive experience in designing landscape architecture for the community and education sectors, Rob has a proven track record of designing award-winning outdoor areas that capture the hearts and imaginations of children and enrich the experiences of the local community. With a keen interest in exploring the relationship between natural and built environments, Rob develops high-quality design outcomes that prioritise placemaking and people-centred design that works in harmony with the natural environment.

Why sustainability is needed in schools

Photography by Scott Burrows

By Phil Jackson

With greater demands to decrease costs, and a desire to minimise environmental impact, improve efficiency and increase student learning and performance, schools are starting to recognise the need to become more sustainable.

But with many principals, boards and P&F committees balancing multiple needs, there is often a focus on short-term costs and savings, which can create more resistance around the long-term move towards greater sustainability.

To help you shift your perspective, I’ll explore three reasons why sustainability is needed in schools and how it can give your school and students a greater competitive edge.

1. Improve performance with greater comfort and air quality

Photography by Scott Burrows

While many schools install air-conditioning for the comfort of students and teachers, what most staff members and P&F committees are unaware of is that the quality of air can be dramatically affected. In air-conditioned environments more Carbon Dioxide (CO2) is present in the air, affecting the cognitive ability and learning capability of students in the classroom.

It’s a conundrum, isn’t it? We put students into classrooms and exam rooms that are air-conditioned for their comfort only to create the worst possible air quality for them to perform and compete against other schools in.

The good news is that through sustainable initiatives both the comfort and air quality of classrooms can be improved. While there are times when air-conditioning must be used, there are times when air-conditioning could be minimised through the use of a more effective passive ventilation design (like using louvres) that will allow greater fresh air and breezes through the classroom.

Do measures like this make an impact, you might ask? A study done by the United States Environmental Protection Agency that examined the costs and benefits of green schools for Washington State estimated a 15% reduction in absenteeism and a 5% increase in test scores.

2. Minimise costs and reduce inefficiency

Photography by Scott Burrows

With air-conditioning seen as a necessity, little thought or planning can go into the ongoing cost and maintenance of systems. Energy bills can skyrocket, particularly when there is little education or incentive around minimising air-conditioning use in classrooms.

By linking both passive ventilation methods and air-conditioning to both a smart (automatically switches between passive ventilation, assisted ventilation, or air-conditioning based on settings) and manually controlled system, staff and students can become more conscious of their decision to use air-conditioning within the classroom. The installation of a CO2 monitor (Australian Geographic has a weather system that measures CO2 levels) can also be a valuable teaching tool to show the air quality of each classroom when the air-conditioning is on.

Schools can further encourage more sustainable thinking through the use of incentives, offering a reward to the class who uses air-conditioning the least throughout the term.

A holistic site approach that considers the use of shading, solar power, and LED lighting can also further reduce costs.

3. Boost student engagement with different teaching environments

Photography by Scott Burrows

Photography by Scott Burrows

While children thrive in routine, even their performance can be impacted by working in the same environment all of the time. By creating outdoor classroom environments, teachers and students can venture outside when the weather allows for different learning opportunities.

This not only boosts student engagement, but it also minimises costs of lighting and air-conditioning while providing greater connection to the landscape and better working conditions.

One example of the outdoor classroom idea is the Kimberley College Flexible Learning Area we designed.

Combining adaptable indoor learning spaces with flexible outdoor spaces that are large enough for full class groups, students are given many varied opportunities for interaction, performance, collaboration and connection to nature. The feedback from these outdoor classrooms and others like it have been overwhelmingly positive, with teachers and students both saying they are a pleasure to work in.

Schools that are making sustainability part of their governance are not only reaping the benefits of minimised costs and greater student engagement and performance; they are also addressing one of our greatest social challenges by empowering the next generation to be more environmentally minded.

About the Author

Phil Jackson is a Director of Guymer Bailey Architects and has a passion for sustainable design outcomes and the integration of architecture and landscape. From conception through to construction he ensures the delivery of outstanding projects and satisfied clients through open communication and enthusiasm for every project.

The importance of nature play in childcare

By Rob Waddell

There are many health benefits connected to nature play from cognitive, social and emotional development, to the building of resilience and creativity. But nature play is still not incorporated as much as it should be in childcare playground design.

If you’re yet to incorporate nature play in your childcare centre or kindy play area, here are five reasons why you should reconsider your approach.

1. Unscripted play increases imagination

Children from a young age can experience a lot of structure to their lives, and while an element of structure and routine is needed for their happiness and wellbeing, too much structure, particularly around play, can stifle creativity.

Without being given prompts or recognisable play equipment, children are able to activate their imaginations, create stories, and be more likely to explore their environment.

At Guymer Bailey Landscape we believe in increasing the opportunities for children to enjoy more unstructured play outdoors and in nature, and were recently given the opportunity to bring this philosophy to life through the design of the new nature play space at Bellbowrie Kindy.

““In a world where children are constantly being told what to do, here was an opportunity to provide an unscripted play space that would foster imagination, creative thinking, and investigation.” ”

— Pam Niven, Kindergarten Teacher and Coordinator at Bellbowrie Kindy

Our team, in partnership with kindergarten teacher and coordinator, Pam Niven, and in consultation with parents and children at the Bellbowrie Kindy, created a space that consists of a number of features to encourage hours of unscripted play. These include:

• A natural watercourse fuelled by a water pump to allow kids to control the flow of water down the creek

• Mudpits and digging mounds

• Barefoot garden paths around a forest of natural totem poles

• Log bridges, balance beams and stepping stones,

• Scented and flowering native plants

• Pottery garden

• Yarning circle centred on a fire pit to introduce to children the indigenous concept of storytelling in an organic way

2. Getting dirty leads to happy exploration

Children need to be active and have the opportunity to run around and be happy playing outside. Worrying about stains and getting dirty only limits their play and can lead to guilt around activities that they find are fun and exciting.

Children who are given the time and opportunity to get dirty and explore, discover their world, and how things work. This exploration boosts their social, physical and creative skills, which can be well worth the extra washing.

3. Challenges teach resilience and risk management

““Children need the opportunity to develop their resilience through challenges” ”

— Pam Niven, Kindergarten Teacher and Coordinator at Bellbowrie Kindy

The single-minded focus on injury prevention through risk elimination that the playground industry has had in recent decades, has been found to be detrimental to children by ignoring their need to learn how to manage risk themselves.

Changes to the Australian Standards last year reflected this shifting emphasis and recognised that the downsides of risks should be balanced against the very real benefits of incorporating meaningful graduated challenges for children to explore and test their capacities and limitations.

The Bellbowrie Kindy nature play space embraces this realisation, in the hope that even at the kindergarten age, we can set a course for stronger, better-equipped and more resilient future citizens.

4. Enlivening sensory experiences

Nature play is a great way to engage all seven senses being sight, smell, touch, hearing, taste, vestibular (sense of balance) and proprioception (sense of body awareness in space). This is incredibly important when you consider sensory play has been proven to support fine and gross motor skills, cognitive growth, problem-solving skills and language and social development.

The design of the Bellbowrie Kindy nature play space has created an environment that enhances and enlivens the children’s sensory experience and importantly, at the same time, provides inclusion and engagement for those experiencing sensory impairment or disability.

5. Creating environmental awareness

““We want to develop a love of nature that will help carry them through the rest of their lives” ”

— Pam Niven, Kindergarten Teacher and Coordinator at Bellbowrie Kindy

Perhaps one of the most underrated benefits of nature play is that it can also develop an environmental awareness and appreciation, which can create a concept of stewardship later in life. A legacy worth leaving our children.

Could your kindy or childcare centre benefit from more nature play? Talk to our specialist playground designers today on 07 3870 9700 (Brisbane) or 03 8547 5000 (Melbourne).

About the Author

Rob Waddell is the Principal Landscape Architect at Guymer Bailey Architects. With extensive experience in designing landscape architecture for the community and education sectors, Rob has a proven track record of designing award-winning outdoor areas that capture the hearts and imaginations of children and enrich the experiences of the local community. With a keen interest in exploring the relationship between natural and built environments, Rob develops high-quality design outcomes that prioritise placemaking and people-centred design and work in harmony with the natural environment.

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