Legislation

There are actually very few statutory requirements that apply specifically to schools and those that do exist have in recent times been revised to make them more flexible. Key documents include:

• The School Premises (England) Regulations 2012. These apply to all existing and new schools maintained by a local authority. They cover toilet and washing facilities, medical accommodation, health, safety and welfare, acoustics, lighting, water supplies and outdoor space.
• The Education (Independent School Standards) (England) Regulations 2010, as amended 2014. Part 5 prescribes standards for premises and accommodation and was revised in 2012.
• The Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage 2012. Set standards for pupils under the age of five at both maintained and independent schools. It includes requirements for premises, such as minimum space standards and the provision of toilets and wash basins.

Other legislation of relevance to school design and development includes:

• The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.
• The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992, together with its Approved Code of Practice and Guidance.
• The Equality Act 2010.
• The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (RRFO).
• The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (as amended) (COSHH).
• Environmental Protection Act 1990.
• Site Waste Management Regulations 2008.

Regulatory Guidance

• Standards for School Premises 2013. Non-statutory advice regarding obligations and duties in relation to the School Premises Regulations 2012 and Part 5 of the Education (Independent School Standards) (England) Regulations 2010 as amended.
• Boarding Schools National Minimum Standards 2013. Including standards relating to suitable accommodation (Standard 5).
• Residential Special Schools National Minimum Standards 2013. Including standards relating to suitable accommodation (Standard 5).

Like almost all development, schools are also covered by national and local planning controls and by the Building Regulations. The Approved Documents, which advise how the latter may be met, refer to three of the DfE’s Building Bulletins (BBs) which therefore assume regulatory status. These are:

• Building Bulletin 93, Acoustic Design of Schools, 2003. Section 1 of this document has been superseded by Building Bulletin 93, Acoustic Design of Schools: Performance Standards (2014, revised February 2015) which sets out minimum performance standards for the acoustics of school buildings and describes the normal means of demonstrating compliance with the Building Regulations. Sections 2 to 7 are due to be superseded by ‘Acoustics of Schools: a design guide’, to be published in 2015 by the Association of Noise Consultants and the Institute of Acoustics.
• Building Bulletin 100, Design for Fire Safety in Schools, 2007.
• Building Bulletin 101, Ventilation of school buildings, 2006.

BB100 and BB101 are currently under review and due to be replaced. In the meantime it is essential to ensure that project-specific requirements are understood as these may vary according to the specific funding and procurement route.

Design Requirements

Although individual project briefs may have much in common, there will also be variations. Independent schools are likely to have the most divergent requirements but state schools may also vary from more general standards in response to particular circumstances or the preferences of the individual school, the local authority or academy trust.

Requirements may also vary according to the procurement route. For example, projects procured under the Priority Schools Building Programme (PSBP) are required to meet its facilities output specification (FOS) which varies slightly for capital and PFI funded projects. For both internal and external spaces, the FOS covers everything from design principles to spatial, performance, environmental and servicing requirements, maintenance and operability, ICT infrastructure and FFE. A similar but different FOS is applicable to projects procured under the EFA Contractors Framework. These are not currently available online but are in circulation via the EFA.

Design Guidance

The following documents offer non-statutory guidance and best-practice. A number are no longer current but are included here as their recommendations remain valuable, even where standards have been superseded. Many, but not all, are available online.