After another summer of soaring temperatures, the question of how well our schools cope with extreme heat is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.

For school leaders, overheating is no longer simply an uncomfortable few days at the end of the summer term. Rising temperatures are creating a longer-term estates challenge that has implications for pupil wellbeing, concentration and the ability to learn.

Government research has already highlighted the issue. The Department for Education acknowledges that high temperatures can affect children’s concentration, with learning becoming particularly difficult on very hot days.

So, as schools plan their next refurbishment, should climate resilience become part of the design brief?

Designing for a changing climate

Creating a climate-ready learning environment doesn’t necessarily mean installing air conditioning throughout an entire school.

The way spaces are planned can also play a role.

Good ventilation, effective shading, reducing unnecessary heat-generating equipment and making intelligent use of cooler areas within the estate can all help schools respond to periods of extreme heat.

The layout of a classroom matters too. Furniture shouldn’t unnecessarily obstruct natural ventilation, while flexible layouts can allow teaching to move away from areas experiencing high solar gain.

Increasingly, schools may also need to think about their estate as a collection of different environments rather than identical classrooms.

Could pupils move to a cooler north-facing room during exceptionally hot afternoons? Could shaded outdoor spaces provide alternative teaching environments? Could breakout and flexible learning areas offer somewhere more comfortable when particular classrooms become difficult to use?

Learning environments need to work all year round

When designing education spaces, we naturally consider acoustics, lighting, accessibility, neurodiversity and pupil wellbeing.

Thermal comfort deserves a place in that conversation too.

A successful learning environment isn’t simply one that looks good on the day it is completed. It needs to continue supporting pupils and staff as the demands placed upon school buildings change.

As schools begin planning future refurbishment programmes, there are five questions worth asking:

1. Which areas of our school currently experience the greatest overheating?
2. Are we making the best use of natural ventilation and shading?
3. Could more flexible furniture layouts help us adapt spaces during periods of extreme heat?
4. Do we have alternative cooler spaces where learning could continue?
5. Are the refurbishment decisions we make today preparing our estate for the climate pupils will experience tomorrow?

The classrooms we design now could remain in use for decades. Perhaps the question is no longer simply “does this space work for today’s pupils?”

It’s “will it still work for tomorrow’s climate?”

The Morleys Advantage

FF&E and Education Interior Design Specialists

At Morleys, we believe every learning environment should be designed with purpose. By combining over 90 years of specialist education knowledge with furniture, interior design and project management expertise, we help schools create spaces where students can thrive and teachers can do their very best work.

When you’re planning your next refurbishment or furniture investment, don’t just ask who can supply the furniture. Ask who truly understands the environment you’re creating.

Contact Us

If you have an education project in the pipeline and would like to know more about the benefits of working with Morleys and the service we offer as FF&E design consultants, please get in touch, we would love to hear from you.