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Richard Watson, Business Development Manager and Educational Environments Specialist at Premier Modular, champions the adaptability of modern methods of construction when it comes to designing SEND and neurodivergent educational spaces...
Good environmental design is often most successful when it goes unnoticed. For most pupils, acoustics, lighting and colour will sit somewhere in the background of their school experience. But for students with SEND or neurodivergent needs, those same conditions can be more prominent factors – and at times, hindrances – affecting their concentration, sensory regulation and ability to engage with learning. Having previously worked as a deputy
a school’s environment can support or
hinder pupils’ ability to engage with learning. Yet educational environments have traditionally been designed around a notion of the ‘typical’ user, resulting in standardised classrooms and layouts, with adaptations often considered as But if every young person experiences their school surroundings differently, the idea of a universal learning environment becomes much harder to defend. Inclusive design should start with the individual needs of those using the building, rather than a predetermined
template, without assuming every school needs to look radically different. Acoustic performance, for example,
should be considered as part of inclusion and wellbeing, not just compliance. Background noise and reverberation can increase cognitive load, making it harder for pupils to focus amid competing sounds, whether that’s a teacher’s voice, other pupils or activity elsewhere in the building. A room’s location within the wider building also affects how students experience it. Consider the role of a breakout room:
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