How Tailored SEND Classrooms Can Help Teachers

Across both mainstream and specialist schools, teachers go above and beyond to offer exceptional education to students with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). There are many challenges facing SEND schools, from staffing shortages to funding shortfalls, but one of the crucial issues is substandard facilities.

Building tailored learning and social areas doesn’t just meet rising pupil numbers, it can help to create truly positive environments for students, with a wealth of benefits to teachers. Spacious classrooms tailored around access and comfort, aided by regular access to nature, can reduce stress and overstimulation, leading to marked improvements within schools.

The issues with contemporary SEND facilities

Many schools in the UK lack tailored spaces for their SEND students. This can mean that vulnerable pupils are taught in cramped, loud spaces, or ones that lack adequate accessibility features. A report from the House of Lords found that many children with Education, Health, and Care Plans (EHCs) had to travel long distances to costly independent schools to access suitable services.

What’s in a tailored SEND classroom?

When designing a new building around SEND usage, there will be a suite of additional considerations. Easy access for all students will need to be prioritised, meaning wider doors to fit wheelchairs, ramps, and the inclusion of disabled toilets, including potentially changing places. In certain cases, things like reinforcement for walls to install secure hoists can also be used.

Overstimulation can be a problem for many students falling under the SEND umbrella, and this can be tackled from the design stage through lighting choices, heating, ventilation, and the use of acoustic panels to limit excessive noise. Each classroom would need to be constructed around SEND guidelines, and things like breakout spaces can also be added within the layout at the design stage. 

Accumulated, these considerations can create truly positive spaces, leading to calmer classrooms and improved outcomes, offering profound benefits for teachers.

How SEND buildings benefit teachers

When building from the ground up around SEND education, as our team does, several key benefits will be offered to teachers alongside students.

Simple intervention spaces

We often incorporate intervention spaces, breakout rooms, or quiet rooms directly alongside our SEND classrooms, giving teachers a quick and safe place to help pupils regulate stress before returning to the classroom. This can be a great way to limit disruption to a class, aiding students who are struggling while ensuring that others can continue learning. By designing these rooms to be comfortable spaces, and limiting noise within them using acoustic insulation, they can be a tremendous benefit to teachers.

Tailored classroom layouts

Our building for St Joseph's Specialist School featured customisable learning, kitchen and workshop spaces.

While no two SEND children are the same, utilising a space built to meet size regulations will offer a far more comfortable experience, especially for non-ambulant pupils. Initial design should also prioritise sight lines within the room, ensuring that teachers can have a clear view of all pupils in the classroom.

Customisation over time can also be built in, with moveable panelling and height-adjustable furniture allowing the classroom layout to be better altered to fit the needs of current pupils. This will create a more comfortable environment where children are best able to learn. Rather than making do with spaces designed for general learning, teachers will be equipped with a customisable learning environment that can be configured at will to suit the current class.

Minimising overstimulation

Every aspect of layout and decoration in a SEND classroom is tailored to minimise overstimulation, creating a calmer learning environment. Triggers such as bright colours, noise, harsh lighting, and elaborate classroom displays can cause anxiety in SEND students, manifesting as irritability, avoidance, and even physical symptoms such as stomach aches. When pupils are forced to learn in an unsuitable environment, concentration will drop, causing disruption and missed learning goals.

Design decisions such as clear white walls, natural light, and the presence of powerful acoustic insulation can help to vastly minimise these issues. As with the classroom layout, these aspects of each classroom can be tailored over time based on feedback from children and the needs of individuals.

Calming impacts of nature

We prioritise simple access to nature within our buildings

Outdoor learning and play offer a clear range of benefits to all children, particularly to those with SEND needs. Exercise in particular can help to aid anxiety, stress, and depression. A 2023 study from Birmingham University concluded “Policies to ensure that outdoor learning opportunities are provided for children with SEND and these children are not limited to indoor classroom-based lessons are needed.” By designing an SEND facility from the ground up, outdoor access can be incorporated into every classroom, through garden areas, play areas, and verandas. Schools can also construct outdoor classrooms for regular lessons within nature. This focus can help to create a more focused and calm classroom environment for students, aiding teachers with their goals.

Nature can also be brought into classrooms through biophilic design. This approach looks to harness the benefits of nature within interior spaces through natural materials, views of the outdoors, and excellent levels of ventilation. Find out more about biophilic design here.

Our work in SEND

TG Escapes create bespoke modular buildings, primarily working across the education sector. Our team has worked with dozens of mainstream and specialist schools on tailored SEND facilities, incorporating the many features shared in this article and more, including specialist areas like kitchens, changing places, toilets, and quiet rooms. Our in-house architects and designers construct each project from the ground up, from standalone classrooms, music rooms, and canteens, to larger blocks. Here are just two of our SEND projects.

Work skills and enterprise centre at St Joseph’s Specialist Trust

A favourite project for our team was this beautiful building at St Joseph’s Specialist Trust, a school for children and young adults with complex SEND needs. Designed as a multifunctional space that can be used as both classrooms and workshops, we incorporated easy outdoor access, natural light and materials, and fresh air to maximise biophilic benefits. Find out more here.

SEN block at Hundred of Hoo Academy

Our team prioritised natural light and clean walls free of distractions

Hundred of Hoo, a mainstream school with a dedicated autism unit, approached us to construct a new classroom block for their students. Designed specifically to avoid overstimulation with clear white walls, the classrooms were also built around maximising natural light. Our team also incorporated quiet rooms, offices, and a dedicated changing space. We were thrilled to receive 5-star feedback from the client for work. To learn more about the project, read our full case study.

Our award-winning SEND spaces

TG Escapes designs, builds, and installs bespoke modular buildings for SEND schools across the UK, tailoring them around your site and the needs of your students. Every project starts with a free design process, with a comprehensive price covering every aspect of your finished building. Speak to a member of our team to find out more about our work in SEND.