Student participation in school design: one school's approach to student engagement in the BSF process

Abstract

The UK government is investing approximately £21.9 billion in the refurbishment or rebuilding of all secondary schools by 2021 under the Building Schools for the Future programme. One of the requirements of the scheme is student participation; however, little guidance is offered as to the form this participation should take. This paper will describe and evaluate the methods adopted by one secondary school to engage students in the design process. The approaches include a ‘Design your School’ conference, the utilisation of the Personal, Social and Health Education curriculum and accessing student voice through school councils. The research was conducted as part of an Arts and Humanities Research Council-funded project ‘Realising participatory design with children and young people: a case study of design and refurbishment in schools’.

Keywords:

• Building Schools for the Future
• participation
• children
• schools
• school design

Acknowledgements

Dr Peter Adey, School of Physical and Geographical Sciences, Keele University; Dr Olga den Besten, Centre for Children and Youth, Northampton University; Dr John Horton, Centre for Children and Youth, Northampton University; Matt Kinross, Coventry University, Faculty of Engineering and Design; Dr Peter Kraftl, Department of Geography, Leicester University; Professor Andree Woodcock, Coventry University School of Art and Design.