Does your school’s design support student wellbeing?
As educators know, a child’s physical, mental and emotional health affects their ability to learn. And with anxiety in young people on the rise, mental health is a growing concern.
How we think and feel are critical measures of our mental health, and as architects, we understand the big impact that our physical environment has on these aspects of our wellbeing.
How does your school environment rate? Open Architecture Studio’s Michael Bailey suggests there are five questions educators can ask.
1. Do all students feel welcome?
A welcoming space is inviting and puts students at ease - they feel less anxious and fearful, and more like they belong. Scale, spatial arrangement, colour and materials contribute to creating spaces that are welcoming to all, regardless of age or ability. This is critical on a child's first day and applies equally to the experience of teachers, parents and visitors.
Entries are a place to come together at drop-off and pick-up and foster social connections between parents as well as children. Providing shelter and places to sit, gather and linger supports this, building community. Appropriate scale ensures that the entry doesn't feel intimidating.
Windows and sightlines create transparency and allow students to see others, fostering a sense of connection. Circulation spaces play an important role as places for social interaction.
Welcoming colours and materials can be used to evoke calm, warmth, excitement or playfulness.
Subtle delineations of space allow groups to claim 'territories' without excluding others.
At Foxwell State Secondary College, colour, scale, seating and greenery create a welcoming entry space. Colour acts as a navigational cue in the Learning Hub, and breaks up the floor space.
2. Do all students feel safe?
Feeling safe is critical to a learning mindset. Safety goes beyond preventing accidents to feeling comfortable within the social environment, physically and emotionally. A safe environment caters to students with different personality types, recognising that some children feel at ease in groups whilst others find groups challenging. The primal need to be able to see what's coming contributes to feeling safe. Having a sense of community and belonging is also important.
Multiple and varied places to sit, play and watch, in large or small groups (or even alone when needed) allows kids to find spaces where they feel safe whilst still connected to the larger cohort.
Design that supports passive surveillance allows teachers to observe students from a distance and students to develop independence whilst feeling secure. Minimising isolated or hidden spaces reduces opportunities for bullying.
School security is a necessity but shouldn't feel oppressive, which can lead to a sense that danger is constantly present. Visually permeable barriers maintain sightlines and avoid feelings of entrapment or containment.
Foxwell's landscaping provides delineated gathering spaces with varied seating, set into greenery. The spaces feel protected yet open. Passive surveillance occurs through screens on the building facades, which are graduated to visually reduce the building mass.
3. Can all students find their classroom, the bathroom or the library?
Navigating a busy school campus can be intimidating, particularly for new or young students and those that can’t read or with special needs. Crowds of other students can also impede a child’s ability to orientate themselves. Clear sightlines and intuitive wayfinding reduce the potential for anxiety, fear and self-doubt.
Clear sightlines allow students to see what’s around them and identify navigational cues. This might be a tree, artwork or another building.
Colour is a powerful wayfinding tool that can be used to signal location or function. For example, colour on doors can tell students where they can and can't go, and colour-coded pathways and buildings make it easy to find things.
Open stairwells and hallways allow students to see where they are going and remain orientated.
At Gainsborough State School, energising colours and clear sightlines help even the smallest of students find their way with ease. Soft landscaping distributes greenery throughout.
4. Can all students see and access nature?
Connecting with nature has a positive effect on our emotional and mental state. It is calming, lifts the spirits and helps bring perspective to our world by reminding us that we are a part of something bigger.
Children need physical access to green, open spaces and visual connection to greenery and sky from everywhere on the campus. Framing views - near, middle and distant - encourages contemplation and can have a calming effect.
Outdoor learning spaces provide access to fresh air and light, both of which aid attention levels.
The use of natural materials such as timber and stone connects kids to nature on a visual and sensory level.
Generous outdoor learning spaces at Foxwell offer sheltered places to learn and relax, offering views to the trees and mountains beyond along with plenty of natural light and fresh air.
5. Are students offered freedom and agency?
Having agency means taking responsibility for your life. This is important at any age. Bestowing trust by giving students the freedom to make decisions and have a degree of control over their environment builds agency and independence.
Collaboration spaces outside of the classroom remove students from direct supervision and invite them to act responsibly.
Furniture that can be moved and arranged in different configurations encourages children to take ownership of space and fosters independence.
Providing a range of learning spaces gives students the freedom to learn in a way that suits them, building self-confidence.
Foxwell's collaboration spaces allow students to study independently with casual supervision from the adjacent classrooms and passing students or teachers. This freedom encourages independent learning in a safe setting and builds agency.