Social benefits of schools and how we we do better in 2024

With school holidays all but over, it is the collective cry of students across the country.... "But I don't want to go to school" and "oh, but school is booooring... there's no point". It's a sentiment that I, personally, don't relate to well. As a high-achieving, people-pleasing, type-A personality, I loved school. Capital L Loved. I looked forward to returning to school after a long break, couldn't wait to see my friends, would walk myself to school and turn up as the first bus arrived and I honestly didn't really even mind the school work itself.

School can be complex (what an understatement!)

But as a mum of two twice-exceptional boys (meaning both gifted and with neurodiversity), where school can be a challenge - just getting there is no small achievement some days. And then you have the added complex tasks of fitting in socially, managing emotions and doing what you are told in the way that you are expected to. For years now there has been the request from them of me to homeschool them (which isn't quite possible in my circumstances, but is something I very strongly considered for a while!).

Education (and its value) is in my DNA

As the daughter of two school teachers, one of whom was a school headmaster for my entire upbringing (at the school I was at... a whole other story!), education and the value of it are fairly well imprinted in my DNA. School was a non-negotiable. Education was always a virtue. Family life revolved around school and its related activities. And even now, school choice and education choices remain hot topics in my family. My dad remains heavily involved in schools around the world, advising school boards, and remains a firm advocate for the value of education and the place of schools in it. (I trust he doesn't mind me saying that!)

School planning and design is part of my profession as a social sustainability consultant

As a social planner, I have advised on school design in both the ACT and NSW contexts, have engaged closely with government agencies, architects, designers and experts in the education field. (Side note: I have also successfully completed two thirds of a post-graduate education Masters degree before discontinuing!)

And so - here is where the personal and professional worlds collide, and what I am pondering is "how can I, as a social sustainability leader, advocate for schools that do well by our students, prepare them for life, are vital to our communities and are places where kids want to be?"

I don't have all the answers (and wish to provide a caveat that I am not an educator, but come from an urban planning and social sustainable design space). These questions are clearly very complex, but I do have some thoughts and some examples that stand out to me in this space that I hope are worth sharing.

Social benefits of schools

As a pillar of our society's social structure, despite the challenges mentioned above about schools, it is clear that schools provide many social benefits. Key social and economic benefits are listed below:

• Clear economic benefits of having an educated population and stronger employment outcomes
• Corresponding lower crime rates, better health and community participation
• Better education leads to better health outcomes
• Connection to people, not just within the school, but across the education system, nationally and internationally
• Personal growth for the individual student (and teachers!) and an improved sense of wellbeing, exposing all to a greater diversity of views.

And these benefits should be shared equally across all population cohorts, regardless of background, income level, geographic location or other minority status.

How can we design better schools that provide more social value to our community

The ideas below are from the perspective of a social planner and not an educator (given that's where my expertise lies), but there are no doubt other ideas that are more education-focussed that could be added to this list.

But, from a social planning perspective, here are some starters for what we can do in schools to better meet student's needs and provide social value to the community.

Ensure the planning system is future focussed - its integral that State Government provides a planning environment where schools are able to improve infrastructure and modernise the way they deliver education in a streamlined way. As our population grows quickly in some parts of the country, and some schools are in need of upgrades and expansions, school funding needs to be prioritised to cater for the educational needs of our future generations.

School design guidelines need to be mindful of future community, student and educational needs - the education landscape is changing as educational needs are evolving with ever more information at hand, and an increasing awareness of diversity of needs. Different states have moved at different paces to allow for these needs and it is important that guidelines push the boundaries and allow for sustainable schools for all students, while being mindful of its central place in communities.

Go beyond the minimum - the minimum requirements in design guidelines are not likely to yield the best result. We should push ourselves to deliver excellence, incorporating what we know of best practice and tailoring it to the community in front of us. This goes for educational design and sustainability outcomes.

Empower kids to be involved and give kids a say - to show students just how relevant schools can be, and how important their civic duties are, get them involved. For example, a new school opening across the road from me is allowing high school students to have their say in the set up of the school. On ACT School's Instagram account, the new Principal of Shirley Smith High School has shared that "students will have a persuasive writing tasks on what house groups the school should have, or whether there should be house groups at all".

Help students see their place in community - again at Shirley Smith High School, students will be encouraged to talk about "what it is that makes the community around this area unique, how they as a young person see themselves within that community, and how their families, local businesses, the landscape and the country of the school is positioned on contribute to the culture of the school".

Design for neurodiversity - schools can be a very overwhelming environment with bells, classroom changes, bright lights, yelling kids, structured classrooms, a range of unspoken (and spoken) expectations and rules. At the same time, there are many great examples of what some schools do here to support neurodiverse students, and more and more things are being done. Some examples are: quiet (or safe) spaces, cocoon swings, indirect lighting, waffled wall materials, differentiated responses to anger outbursts, muted colour design. And so many more. I've written previously on designing for neurodiversity here. I've also recently become aware of School Can't Australia and hope to understand and contribute more in this space this year.

Incorporate nature - nature has restorative properties (we all know how we are drawn to nature-based holidays!) and is good for mental and physical wellbeing, even improving cognitive functioning. A recent study published by the University of Melbourne found that studying in nature improved attention and working memory. The study notes that "schools are ideally placed to enable students to experience ‘green’ educational settings as students spend a large portion of their time at school. Irrespective of whether the school environment is naturally green, schools can still create their own nature zones with limited resources", through things like green walls, herb gardens and growing plants. Planners are ideally placed to help influence in this space.

Open up schools for community use - schools are an integral part of a broader system that builds relationships and brings people together to meet the diverse needs of children and their families. Most new schools I have been involved in consulting to have incorporated some shared use facilities where community members can use sports fields, halls, theatres or libraries as a shared facility. There is also the opportunity to collaborate with local businesses and organisations and create partnerships, strengthening the connections with the community and integrating school life with broader life - thereby ensuring it isn't operating in an island, but is a more genuine pathway for students that seems relevant to life beyond the school walls.

Can we do school better?

Education has been a somewhat slow evolver in a world that is rapidly changing. Delivery of education and schools is tied up in government processes and embedded practices.

In this piece I've explored how we as social planners and urban designers can have some influence in this space, but ultimately there is a big and complex web that is education and its future.

This quote from the ACT Government's The Future of Education: An ACT Education Strategy for the Next Ten Years is pertinent:

The inherent humanity of children and their growing individual capacity requires an education system that appropriately gives students control over their learning. Every child has their own interests and needs, background and circumstances, which an education system must recognise and address.

I've love to hear your ideas too. How can we advocate for better school experiences for students, and therefore have better community outcomes? As social planners, urban designers, parents and community members I'm sure we all have a role to play and thoughts on this issue - and I've love to hear them!