Can a well-designed primary school boost children’s academic performance in reading, writing and maths? Yes, according to the report, Clever Classrooms, released in February this year by the University of Salford, which reveals that differences in physical characteristics can explain up to 16 per cent in variation in learning progress over a year.1
In tangible terms, HEAD estimates that the impact of moving an average child from the least effective learning space to the most effective would be around 1.3 sub-levels – a big impact when pupils typically make progress of two sub-levels per year.
As the researchers highlight, this is the first time such a project has provided clear evidence of the positive effect on pupils of the physical learning space. Specific aspects such as air quality have been investigated in the past, but separating the impact of design from the influence of other factors, such as teachers or the pupils themselves – not to mention unravelling the many facets of an effective learning space – has proved tricky.
Happily for teachers, schools and local authorities, many of the suggested improvements can be made to their learning spaces with very little cost – and small changes can go a long way. Simple modifications to classroom layout, wall colours, display designs and more can significantly impact learning development and achievement.
So what makes an effective learning space?
There are three areas where the physical characteristics of a learning space affect performance. These are – in order of influence – naturalness, individualisation and stimulation. These three areas can be further divided into seven primary areas:
| Naturalness | Individualisation | Stimulation |
| Light | Flexibility | Colour |
| Temperature | Ownership | Complexity |
| Air quality |
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