The ideal school building, 1965

                         The ideal school building…..  1965

1965

 Now that I've been in my new advisory job (Field Studies Advisory Teacher) for a couple of months, I've visited plenty of schools, big and small.

With the recent abolition of the 11+ in Leicestershire schools, there’s a lot going on now, of course. Primary School teachers, in particular, have more ownership of what and how they teach. Direct Instruction is fading away – fading away fast in some classrooms. Kids still come to learn the 3Rs, but now teachers are beginning to use science-based activities to excite their boys and girls, knowing that if curiosity is ignited, then motivation and engagement for learning the 3Rs follows.

Here's my description of what an ideal school building could be now that teachers are doing more to ignite the fires in children’s brains:

                         The ideal school building…..  1965

The ideal school building, set in at least an acre of  thoughtfully landscaped ground,  is single floor, its light, airy, and has plenty of windows. The floors throughout the building are a blend of carpet, wood, and thermoplastic tiles.

The internal fabric of the building is a blend of wood, stone and brick. It’s decorated in carefully chosen passive colors.

As you enter the front doors, you see potted plants and tanks of tropical and freshwater fish. There’s displays - and constantly changing exhibitions - of children’s art and science work.

To the right is the administrative block, comprising the glass-fronted secretary’s office, the Head’s Office, a medical room, and spacious storage rooms.

Past the administrative block, there is the main library area on one side, and the main hall on the other. The hall is large enough to accommodate morning assembly, P.E. and evening drama/musical presentations.  There’s a connecting door to the kitchen and dining accommodation. Storerooms for PE apparatus, music equipment and spare furniture, are at the side of the hall and each have a door to the outside.

There’s a small conservatory with glass roof and walls for plants (and temporarily small creatures in appropriate housing) cared for by the children - and a long bench, well placed, for pupil daily weather and bird table/feeder observation.

The large and comfortable staffroom is situated away from the noisiest part of school, but very accessible to children when the need arises  The staffroom has teacher lockers, worktables, armchairs, teaching resources cupboards, a telephone, and a small kitchen.

There’s a projection room that can be blacked out for small group slide/film presentations, a music room, and several small and comfortable rooms where small groups of children can work and study.

There’s a clay room with a kiln and a stone floor.

The teaching spaces are divided from each other by movable walls and each has access to a separate working area fitted with sinks and benches. They are all well insulated to decrease distracting sound.

Each has its own toilets and cloakroom, a storeroom, and access to the outside terraces.

Each classroom varies considerably, of course,  in the actual arrangement of furniture. Each teacher will, by choice, by trial and error, create the ideal room suitable for him/her and the children.
Some teachers, for example, prefer to have a teacher’s desk, others choose not to.

Typically, though, each classroom floor is a blend of carpet, tile and wood, divided into areas for various activities. Obvious essentials are that the children should be able to pursue the noisier science/craft activities without disturbing the rest of the class, and that painting, water play, and science should be as near as possible to sink facilities.

Construction and science work is safer in a part of the room where projects will not be continually knocked down by passers by. The reading, writing, and investigative areas need plenty of light so should be close to the classroom window.

The playhouse/domestic corner has access to the outside.

Ideally, the furniture is the right number of light, movable, stackable tables as well as some additional large working surfaces. The book corner, science table and domestic corner have some small occasional worktables and stools.

As children often prefer to sit and work on a carpeted floor, there are  raised boxes or platform units for them to adjust to their particular needs.

Finally, as the school is also used as a base for adult classes, during the day and evening time, there is a separate access from the outside.

John Paull

Advisory Dept,

County Hall,

Glenfield,  Leicester.

 October 1965

An Infant classroom………

A junior classroom…………