BUILDINGS, MAINTENANCE & REFURBISHMENT
Specifying sports flooring for schools – what are the rules?
I
t is still a relatively unknown fact that under the Education Skills and Funding Agency’s Priority
School Building Programme, and other education funding schemes, all sports and activity hall floors in schools must be area elastic floors, category A3 or A4 under EN 14904, the European standard for multi-purpose sports floors. A point elastic floor is no longer deemed suitable for use as an activity or performance floor, which means a sheet vinyl floor glued to screed is not permitted. This rule applies all ESFA-led projects, including
SEN schools, free schools, university technical colleges, studio schools, academies capital maintenance funded schemes, local authorities, academy trusts, multi academy trusts, diocesan bodies, sixth form colleges and further education colleges. In order to receive funding from the ESFA, all education facilities must adhere to the design rules. As well as dedicated sports halls, multi-purpose halls also fall in the category of ‘activity spaces’. Therefore, a school hall that is principally an assembly or dining hall but is also used for PE or similar activities, must have an area elastic A3 or A4 category floor. The ESFA states: “Where the hall is used for a wide range of activities such as performance and PE, as well as dining (most often in a primary school or a special school) such spaces shall be designed to be able to accommodate all activities specified”.* The performance characteristics of area and point elastic floors are defined in European
Standard EN14904 and there are different categories for each type. They are categorised mainly according to their shock absorption and the amount by which the surface deflects under load. Area elastic floors normally use a ‘sprung’
batten undercarriage and a timber deck of some kind – often pre-finished solid hardwood or a synthetic covering bonded to ply or chipboard. When a player lands on the floor the surface deflects over a relatively wide areas, hence the term area elastic. Two categories of area elastic floors are approved by the ESFA, namely Categories A3 and A4. They define slightly different levels of shock absorption and surface deflection. The ESFA requires all sports, multi- purpose and activity floors to be area elastic. Point elastic floors are typically foam-backed
vinyl, where the floor deflects at the point where the player’s foot makes contact with the floor. The shock absorption provided by point elastic floors is generally of a lower level than for an area elastic floor. Specifying a point elastic floor means breaching the ESFA’s design rules, all projects are subject to approval by the Department for Education’s Technical Advisors whose role it is to ensure that design and construction meet all technical requirements. Junckers designs and manufactures every part
of the area elastic sports flooring it sells, and all materials used are fully tested and fit for purpose.
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www.education-today.co.uk
As one of the most experienced specialist sports flooring companies, Junckers’ sports floors are installed in schools all over the world and have for a long time been the sports floor system of choice for large, international sports venues hosting global events such as the Commonwealth and Olympic Games. A Junckers solid hardwood floor has a life span of over 60 years and is fully guaranteed. Valid test certificates show that Junckers floor systems comply with EN 14904. A category A3 or A4 sports floor system from Junckers falls comfortably within Sport England’s Affordable Sports Floors criteria and has unbeatable lifecycle costs.
*ESFA Generic Design Brief, section 2.3.12.2
uTo enquire about Junckers’ sports flooring systems which all comply with the ESFA’s design rules, please email
sales@junckers.co.uk
November 2019
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