The Education (School Premises) Regulations 1999

PART Igeneral

Citation and commencement

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Education (School Premises) Regulations 1999 and shall come into force on 1st February 1999.

Interpretation

2.—(1) Except where the context otherwise requires, in these Regulations—

“the 1996 Act” means the Education Act 1996;

“the 1998 Act” means the School Standards and Framework Act 1998(1);

“boarding school” means a school with boarding pupils whether or not it also has day pupils;

“circulation space” means any passageway, corridor, entrance hall, stairs or upstairs landing;

“glare index” has the same meaning as in, and shall be calculated in accordance with, the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers Technical Memoranda, “TM10: The Calculation of Glare Indices 1985”(2);

“maintained illuminance” has the same meaning as in the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers Code for Interior Lighting 1994(3);

“physical education” includes the playing of games;

“sanitary fitting” means a water closet or urinal;

“school” means, subject to paragraph (5), a school maintained by a local education authority;

“school building” means any building or part of a building forming part of a school (including any temporary or moveable building);

“special school” means, subject to paragraph (5), a special school maintained by a local education authority;

“staff”, in relation to a school, means both teachers and other persons employed at the school;

“teaching accommodation” means accommodation provided for teaching purposes including nursery playroom accommodation;

“team game playing fields” means any playing fields within the meaning (in relation to both England and Wales) of section 77 of the 1998 Act which, having regard to their configuration, are suitable for the playing of team games and which are laid out for that purpose;

“washroom” means a room containing at least one sanitary fitting and at least one washbasin;

“a wholesome supply of water for domestic purposes” shall be construed in accordance with regulations made under section 67 of the Water Industry Act 1991(4);

“working plane” means the horizontal, vertical or inclined surface on which any task is carried out.

(2) For the purposes of these Regulations a pupil has “special requirements” if he has any needs arising from physical, medical, sensory, learning, emotional or behavioural difficulties which require provision in terms of any of the facilities referred to in regulation 3 or regulation 9 which is additional to or different from that generally required by children of his age in schools other than special schools.

(3) In these Regulations, the abbreviations “m”, “m²” and “°C” are used to denote the expressions “metre”, “square metre” and “degree Celsius” respectively.

(4) In relation to a school any reference in these Regulations to the number of pupils, number of pupils of a specified age, or the number of boarding pupils is a reference to the number from time to time determined in accordance with Schedule 1.

(5) In relation to any period before 1st September 1999—

• “school” shall include a grant-maintained or grant-maintained special school; and

• “special school” shall include a grant-maintained special school.

PART IIschool facilities

Washrooms for pupils

3.—(1) In every school there shall be facilities referred to in paragraphs (2) to (7) which are adequate having regard to the ages, sex and numbers of the pupils and any relevant special requirements they may have but never fewer than as set out in those paragraphs.

(2) In every school there shall be a washroom or washrooms for pupils which, taken together, contain a number of sanitary fittings which is as least equal to “the basic number” being—

(a)the aggregate of—

(i)10% of the number of pupils at the school who have not attained the age of 5 years, and

(ii)5% of the number of pupils at the school who have attained that age; or

(b)in the case of a special school, 10% of the number of pupils at the school,

in each case rounded up to the nearest whole even number.

(3) In considering for the purposes of paragraph (2) the washrooms in the school and the number of sanitary fittings contained therein, account may be taken of any washroom for use by any pupil which fulfils the conditions set out in regulation 4(3)(b) provided that, in the case of a school with both male and female pupils who have attained the age of 8 years, there are at least two other washrooms for pupils.

(4) (a) In a school at which the majority of the pupils have attained the age of 11 years—

(i)every washroom for pupils in which there is fewer than 3 sanitary fittings shall contain at least as many washbasins as there are sanitary fittings,

(ii)every other washroom for pupils shall contain a number of washbasins which is not less than two-thirds of the number of sanitary fittings.

(b)In any other school, in all the washrooms for pupils taken together, the number of washbasins shall not be less than the basic number of sanitary fittings calculated in accordance with paragraph (2).

(5) (a) Except as provided in regulation 4(3), washrooms for male and female pupils who have attained the age of 8 years shall be separate.

(b)In a washroom provided for male pupils and female pupils and in a washroom provided for female pupils only, all of the sanitary fittings shall be water closets.

(6) In the case of a school with pupils who have not attained the age of 5 years, at least one shower, bath or deep sink shall be provided for every 40 such pupils, the number of such pupils being rounded up to the nearest multiple of 40.

(7) Changing accommodation including showers shall be provided for pupils who have attained the age of 11 years and who are in receipt of physical education and that accommodation shall be readily accessible from the school grounds and from any accommodation provided for physical education within the school buildings.

Washrooms for staff

4.—(1) In every school there shall be a washroom or washrooms which are adequate for the number of staff at the school.

(2) Except as provided in paragraph (3), washrooms for staff shall be separate from washrooms for pupils (but nothing in this paragraph shall prevent the same washrooms from being provided for staff and visitors.)

(3) (a) A washroom which fulfils the conditions set out in sub-paragraph (b) may be provided for use by any pupil, member of staff or visitor to the school.

(b)The conditions referred to in sub-paragraph (a) are that:

(i)the washroom makes provision (in so far as it is in the circumstances both practicable and reasonable) for the needs of persons using the premises who are disabled;

(ii)of the facilities referred to in paragraph (2) to (7) of regulation 3, the only ones provided in the washroom are one water closet and one washbasin with or without one shower or one deep sink; and

(iii)any door of the washroom is capable of being secured from the inside and opens directly onto a circulation space other than stairs.

Medical accommodation

5.—(1) In every school there shall be accommodation for—

(a)the medical or dental examination and treatment of pupils; and

(b)the care of sick or injured pupils.

(2) The accommodation provided in pursuance of this regulation shall contain a washbasin and be reasonably near a water closet.

(3) Account may be taken for the purposes of this regulation of accommodation (not being teaching accommodation) provided otherwise than for the purposes mentioned in paragraph (1) but which is both appropriate and readily available for those purposes, in particular, in the case of a boarding school, of sick room accommodation provided in pursuance of regulation 12.

Staff accommodation

6.—(1) In the case of—

(a)a nursery school;

(b)a special school; or

(c)any other school with more than 120 pupils, other than a pupil referral unit,

the school shall include a head teacher’s room.

(2) Every school, other than a pupil referral unit, shall include accommodation for use by the teachers at the school, for the purposes of work (otherwise than in teaching accommodation) and for social purposes.

Ancillary facilities

7.  The buildings provided for a school shall be adequate to permit the provision of appropriate ancillary facilities, in particular—

(a)for the storing and drying of pupils' outdoor clothing and for the storing of their other belongings; and

(b)for the preparation or serving of food and drinks and the washing of crockery and other utensils,

and to permit the safe and convenient passage of persons and movement of goods within the buildings.

PART IIIschool accommodation provisions applying only to boarding schools

Sleeping accommodation

8.—(1) A boarding school shall include sleeping accommodation which is adequate for the number of boarding pupils at the school and satisfies the requirements of paragraph (2) to (5).

(2) In the case of a school with both male and female boarding pupils the sleeping accommodation shall be such that no pupil who has attained the age of 8 years shall sleep in the same room as a pupil of the opposite sex.

(3) The floor area of a dormitory shall not be less than the aggregate of 4.2m² for each pupil sleeping in the dormitory and 1.6m², and there shall be a distance of not less than 0.9m between any two beds in a dormitory.

(4) A cubicle for a single pupil shall have its own window and its floor area shall not be less than 5.0m².

(5) A bedroom for a single pupil shall be of a floor area not less than 6.0m².

Washroom accommodation

9.—(1) Water closets, washbasins, baths and showers shall be provided in a boarding school distributed through the school buildings so as to be reasonably accessible to the sleeping accommodation and in an appropriate location having regard to their use by boarding pupils; and such fittings shall be adequate, having regard to the ages, sex and numbers of the boarding pupils at the school and any special requirements they may have, but never fewer than as set out in paragraphs (2) to (4).

(2) There shall be at least one water closet for every five boarding pupils.

(3) There shall be at least one washbasin—

(a)for every three of the first 60 boarding pupils;

(b)for every four of the next 40 boarding pupils; and

(c)for every further 5 boarding pupils.

(4) There shall be at least one bath or shower for every ten boarding pupils and at least 25% of the minimum number of such fittings shall be baths.

(5) Fittings required by this regulation are in addition to those required by regulation 3 save that where the fittings required by regulation 3 are reasonably accessible to the sleeping accommodation and in an appropriate location having regard to their use by boarding pupils they may be taken into account for the purposes of this regulation.

(6) Where in paragraphs (2) to (4) of this regulation the number of pupils to be used in the calculation is not an exact multiple of three, four, five or ten as the case may be, then it shall be rounded up to the next number which is such a multiple.

Living accommodation

10.—(1) A boarding school shall include living accommodation (both for the purposes of private study outside school hours and for social purposes) for the boarding pupils at the school of an aggregate floor area not less than 2.3m² for each such pupil.

(2) In the case of a school where either—

(a)some or all of the sleeping accommodation comprises study bedrooms or cubicles; or

(b)the boarding accommodation is adjacent to other school accommodation which is appropriate for use outside school hours as living accommodation for boarding pupils,

then such accommodation may be taken into account for the purposes of this regulation.

Accommodation for the preparation and consumption of meals

11.—(1) A boarding school shall include accommodation—

(a)for the preparation or serving of meals for boarding pupils; and

(b)in which such pupils may eat meals.

(2) If the boarding accommodation is adjacent to other school accommodation which is appropriate for use as mentioned in paragraph (1), that other accommodation may be taken into account for the purposes of this regulation.

Sick rooms

12.—(1) A boarding school shall include, as part of the boarding accommodation—

(a)one or more sick rooms;

(b)if the school has more than 40 boarding pupils, one or more separate isolation rooms; and

(c)associated facilities by way of baths, washbasins and water closets,

which satisfy the requirements of paragraphs (2) and (3).

(2) In the case of a school with both male and female boarding pupils, any of whom have attained the age of 8 years, separate sick rooms shall be provided for male pupils and for female pupils.

(3) The floor area of a sick room or isolation room shall not be less than 7.4m² for each bed and there shall be a distance of not less than 1.8m between any two beds in a sick room or isolation room.

(4) A cubicle for a single pupil shall have its own window.

Staff accommodation

13.  The accommodation provided for persons employed as residential staff at a boarding school shall be separate from that provided for the pupils and include, in particular—

(a)accommodation in which meals may be taken;

(b)sleeping accommodation; and

(c)associated facilities by way of water closets, washbasins, baths and showers.

Storage facilities

14.  A boarding school shall include adequate storage facilities for pupils' belongings and adequate facilities for the storage and care of linen.

PART IVstructural requirements etc.

Load bearing structure

15.  Any load bearing structure in a school building shall be capable of safely sustaining and transmitting the dead load and imposed loads, and the horizontal and inclined forces, to which it is likely to be subjected.

Weather protection

16.  A school building shall provide reasonable resistance to penetration by rain, snow and wind and to moisture rising from the ground.

Health, safety and welfare

17.—(1) Every part of a school building and of the land provided for a school shall, having regard in particular to the matters mentioned in paragraph (2), be such that the safe escape of the occupants in case of fire is reasonably assured.

(2) The matters referred to in paragraph (1) are—

(a)the likely rate at which flames would spread across exposed surfaces;

(b)resistance to fire of the structures and of the materials of which the structures are made and their other properties; and

(c)the means of escape in case of fire.

(3) Every part of a school building and of the land provided for a school shall be such that the health, safety and welfare of the occupants in aspects other than those referred to in paragraph (1) are reasonably assured.

Acoustics

18.  Each room or other space in a school building shall have the acoustic conditions and the insulation against disturbance by noise appropriate to its normal use.

Lighting

19.—(1) Each room or other space in a school building—

(a)shall have lighting appropriate to its normal use; and

(b)shall satisfy the requirements of paragraphs (2) to (4).

(2) Subject to paragraph (3), the maintained illuminance of teaching accommodation shall not be less than 300 lux on the working plane.

(3) In teaching accommodation where visually demanding tasks are carried out provision shall be made for maintained illuminance of not less than 500 lux on the working plane.

(4) The glare index shall be limited to no more than 19.

Heating

20.—(1) Each room or other space in a school building shall have such a system of heating, if any, as is appropriate to its normal use.

(2) Any such heating system shall be capable of maintaining in the areas set out in columm (1) of the Table below the air temperature set out opposite thereto in column (2) of that Table, at a height of 0.5 m above floor level when the external air temperature is –1°C.

(3) Each room or other space which has a heating system shall, if the temperature during any period during which it is occupied would otherwise be below that appropriate to its normal use, be heated to a temperature which is so appropriate.

(4) In a special school, nursery school or teaching accommodation used by a nursery class in a school the surface temperature of any radiator, including exposed pipework, which is in a position where it may be touched by a pupil shall not exceed 43°C.

Ventilation

21.—(1) All occupied areas in a school building shall have controllable ventilation at a minimum rate of 3 litres of fresh air per second for each of the maximum number of persons the area will accommodate.

(2) All teaching accommodation, medical examination or treatment rooms, sick rooms, isolation rooms, sleeping and living accommodation shall also be capable of being ventilated at a minimum rate of 8 litres of fresh air per second for each of the usual number of people in those areas when such areas are occupied.

(3) All washrooms shall be capable of being ventilated at a rate of at least six air changes an hour.

(4) Adequate measures shall be taken to prevent condensation in, and remove noxious fumes from, every kitchen and other rooms in which there may be steam or noxious fumes.

Water supplies

22.—(1) A school shall have a wholesome supply of water for domestic purposes including a supply of drinking water.

(2) Water closets and urinals shall have an adequate supply of cold water and washbasins, sinks (including deep sinks), baths and showers shall have an adequate supply of hot and cold water.

(3) The temperature of hot water supplies to baths and showers shall not exceed 43°C.

Drainage

23.  A school shall be provided with an adequate drainage system for hygienic purposes and the general disposal of waste water and surface water.

PART VPlaying Fields

Playing fields

24.—(1) This regulation shall apply in the case of a school for pupils who have attained the age of 8 years (whether or not the school also has pupils who have not attained that age) other than a pupil referral unit.

(2) In the case of any school to which this regulation applies, team game playing fields shall be provided which satisfy the provisions specified in Schedule 2.

PART VIRevocation and Savings

Revocation

25.  The Education (School Premises) Regulations 1996(5) (in this part referred to as “the 1996 Regulations”) are hereby revoked.

Savings

26.—(1) Where immediately before 1st February 1999 team game playing fields were provided which satisfied the requirements of paragraph 5 of Schedule 2 to the 1996 Regulations by virtue of paragraph 5(2) of that Schedule, the team game playing fields shall, subject to paragraph (3), be treated as satisfying the requirements of paragraph 3 of Schedule 2 to these regulations provided that—

(a)the school continues to enjoy the benefit of the same facilities mentioned in paragraph 5(2) of Schedule 2 to the 1996 Regulations as were available at 1st February 1999; and

(b)the total area of the team game playing fields is no smaller than it was at that date.

(2) Where immediately before 1st February 1999 team game playing fields were provided for a special school which—

(a)satisfied the requirements (where applicable) of paragraph 4(2) of Schedule 2 to the 1996 Regulations, but

(b)were of an area smaller than the area required by paragraph 3 of Schedule 2

the team game playing fields shall nevertheless, subject to paragraph (3), be treated as satisfying the requirements of paragraph 3 of Schedule 2 provided that the total area of team game playing fields is no less than it was at that date.

(3) Paragraphs (1) and (2) shall cease to apply—

(a)if at any time there is a step increase in the number of pupils at the school; or

(b)if any team game playing fields provided for the school are different from those provided immediately before 1st February 1999.

(4) In paragraph (3)(a) above a step increase is an increase in the number of pupils which, if paragraph (1) or (2) did not apply before the increase, would have had the effect that, in accordance with paragraph 3 of Schedule 2, a greater area of team game playing fields would have been required to be provided.