Brendan Cornick, Head of Health, Safety &


Environmental at Portakabin, commented: “The volume of Grade C and D level issues suggests that there are a huge number of school buildings operating beyond their intended life in England. “We made this FOI request to try and obtain the average age of school buildings across the country. What we have found indicates that there are deteriorating or end-of-life building elements across England’s entire school estate, resulting in many buildings which may not fully support modern teaching standards or energy performance expectations.” Regional analysis of school building conditions When breaking the data down into each region of England, we can see that the North East has the highest proportion of school conditions which received a Grade C or D – more than 13,000 of the 178,000+ school conditions were graded this way (a 7.62% share). However, London has the highest number of Grade D level school condition issues of all regions analysed, with close to 5,000 records graded in this manner. Brendan points out: “Each region has much more than 1,000 Grade D level issues though. Just one Grade D level issue should be a cause for concern, as it highlights a severe problem that most likely requires urgent attention so that a school building remains safe and structurally sound.” What the data means for students These figures imply that many English students are learning in school buildings designed for outdated energy conditions and teaching demands instead of the ones suitable for today’s requirements. Brendan explains: “When pupils are studying in ageing buildings, they are usually based in classrooms that will be performing poorly in terms of temperature control, insulation and ventilation. “These ongoing maintenance demands can ripple across the entire school, reducing funds for digital upgrades, accessibility, student services, and even the ability to create stable, future-focused learning environments.” The appeal of modular school buildings and classrooms Those in charge of updating school buildings which have been identified as having Grade C or D issues should look towards modular buildings to make swift but effective alterations.


Region in England


North East London


East Midlands West Midlands


Yorkshire and the Humber


East of England North West South East South West


Total


Total school condition records


178,396 558,950 390,828 458,174


388,386


523,467 495,709 469,926 507,354


3,971,190


Grade C level issues


Grade D level issues


Grade C & D issues combined


11,929 (6.69%) 1,668 (0.93%) 13,597 (7.62%) 27,509 (4.92%) 4,991 (0.89%) 32,500 (5.81%) 19,703 (5.04%) 1,766 (0.45%) 21,469 (5.49%) 22,347 (4.88%) 2,185 (0.48%) 24,532 (5.36%)


17,731 (4.57%) 2,872 (0.74%) 20,603 (5.31%)


25,261 (4.83%) 2,123 (0.41%) 27,384 (5.24%) 22,327 (4.50%) 2,926 (0.59%) 25,253 (5.09%) 20,467 (4.36%) 2,583 (0.55%) 23,050 (4.91%) 14,103 (2.78%) 1,338 (0.26%) 15,441 (3.04%)


181,377 (4.57%)


Modular classrooms and school buildings can be easily and quickly integrated into existing infrastructure or serve as the foundation for a completely new development. They can also house any type of facility that an education provider may need, whether that is standard classrooms, sound-proof music rooms, spacious lecture theatres or specialist laboratories and sports halls. Any modular building will be manufactured off site before it is transported to a school’s location for installation too. This means there will be less disruption or concerns about students’ safety than there would be if a traditional construction site was put in place around


22,452 (0.56%)


203,829 (5.13%)


an educational establishment during the building work. Simon Pollard, Manufacturing Director


at Portakabin, adds: “When it comes to both permanent and temporary Portakabin relocatable classrooms, quality is guaranteed by the fact these structures are designed to meet or even exceed Department for Education guidelines. They are constructed to meet the industry’s permanent building regulations as well. “All in all, modular classrooms offer a faster, safer and more sustainable way to refresh the school estate and provide children with modern spaces to learn.”


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