Learning about the built environment is about learning to see the value of well-designed spaces, and to understand the relationship between the natural environment and the local community. Young people can learn about the built environment in the classroom and the school grounds or through the buildings and spaces that make up our cities and streetscapes.
Bradfield school students take a tour of Sheffield city centre as part of a How Places Work visit © Steve Hall Photography
The most popular built environment activities are:
- school visits to buildings and places
- school-based projects using external learning providers, architects and designers
- creative learning projects on the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme and school design processes.
But built environment education can also take the form of:
- projects focusing on the relationship between people and places
- using spaces to enhance learning
- conducting a maths class in the school playground
- students’ exploring their own communities and local built environments.
Built environment education cuts across themes in the national curriculum and is relevant to teaching and learning in subjects at all key stages. In teaching the revised key stage 3 curriculum, for example, exploring local opportunities in the built environment can help to deliver cross-curriculum dimensions.
What learning support is provided?
On the Engaging Places website, you can access a range of learning support and guidance from organisations and venues across England. Engaging Places will endeavour to point you towards high-quality resources that will help you use buildings and places as part of your teaching. The venues and organisations listed on the Engaging Places website provide:
- guidance and support for and experiences
- curriculum and wider curricular teaching and learning resources
- project-based work with built environment organisations, including formal learning programmes
- to support teaching of the national curriculum and the agenda of the Learning Outside the Classroom Council
- resources for project work on school design and BSF.
Highbury Grove School students on a How Places Work visit of the Royal Opera House © Michele Turriani
Organisations that can support teaching and learning through places and spaces
Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) is the government’s advisor on architecture, urban design and public space. CABE’s national education work aims to inspire young people to learn about the built environment. It is about helping young people to understand the value of architecture and public space. CABE provides teaching resources, grants to schools and a network for teachers.
English Heritage promotes a greater understanding of the historic built environment by helping teachers and other educators use the historic environment as a teaching resource. Teachers can access resources, schemes of work and planning advice to support investigations and visits to historic sites.
Architecture Centre Network is an organisation for architecture and built environment centres (ABECs) across the UK, which works to promote an understanding of architecture, urban design and public space. Educational programmes at the 22 ABECs vary in size but the centres are all able to work with teachers to offer support and help identify local opportunities for engaging with the built environment.
As well as offering formal learning programmes, many ABECs give professional advice, support and guidance to both primary and secondary teachers to develop the skills needed to incorporate built environment education into the school curriculum. Find out more on the Architecture Centre Network and ABECs in the article, ‘Diversity of learning opportunities at local architecture centres’.
