PfS welcomes new auditory standards for schools
16 October 2009
Partnerships for Schools, the organisation responsible for the management and delivery of all school capital programmes including Building Schools for the Future, has welcomed the package of measures announced by the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families to ensure that schools have good acoustics and that the needs of those with special hearing requirements are met.
The Written Ministerial Statement includes a number of steps designed to improve acoustics in schools and ensure that all children have access to a learning environment which enables them to reach their full potential.
These include:
- Acoustic testing will be a contractual requirement for all Building Schools for the Future schools in England;
- Local authorities in England will have to produce a test certificate for previous new schools before they receive additional funding new schools
- DCSF will publish a design practice note for clients (schools and local authorities) which details the importance of good acoustics in schools;
- The Government will write to every building control body in England and Wales reminding them of the importance of acoustics in all schools, including primaries;
- Publication in 2010 of lessons learned following a review of acoustics performance in 10 new schools;
- Start of consultation on an updated version of Building Bulletin 93: Acoustic design of Schools: A Design Guide, the key document for ensuring good acoustic standards in schools.
Tim Byles, Chief Executive of PfS, said: “BSF is about providing schools in which every young person has the chance to maximise their opportunities and good acoustics within a school undoubtedly plays an important role in this.
“Today’s announcement means that future funding for BSF schools will be approved once there is a contractual commitment to meeting the acoustics standards. Local authorities with BSF schools already open will need to demonstrate how they meet the standards, or how they will be achieved, before additional funding is approved for the rest of their programme.
“As the delivery organisation responsible for BSF we are committed to ensuring taxpayers’ money provides learning environments which benefit all pupils, no matter what their background or abilities. Schools today need to offer a range of flexible spaces for pupils and teachers, creating a challenge for designers to ensure that areas do not present a barrier to learning for pupils with hearing impairments.
“There are a number of BSF schools which have been designed specifically to take on board the needs of deaf and hearing impaired pupils, and we will be working closely with the Department for Children, Schools and Families, individual local authorities and schools, and with the National Deaf Children’s Society to gather and disseminate good practice and lessons learned across the BSF community.”
Notes to Editors:
- PfS is the government’s delivery agent for the full suite of capital investment programmes into schools, helping ensure that taxpayers get the best value from every education pound spent.
- Building Schools for the Future is the largest capital investment programme for 50 years that will provide world-class teaching and learning environments for all pupils, teachers and communities in England. Over the lifetime of the programme, BSF will help improve the life chances of 3.3m children every year.
- Nearly a third of all secondary schools in England – in 85 local authorities across England - are now involved in the BSF programme.
- Earlier this year the DCSF, PfS and CABE launched a new Minimum Design Standard for schools – a first for any public sector building programme. The Minimum Design Standard (MDS) has the twin aims of encouraging local authorities, architects and contractors to strive for the highest standards in transformational school design, whilst also putting in place measures to stop unsatisfactory designs from proceeding into construction.
- The National Audit Office report into BSF, published in February 2009, stated that the programme is now being well managed and that PfS is keeping costs under control. It added: BSF schools have been built to a higher specification and space standards than previous schools.
