The Classroom Has Changed. Has School Lighting Kept Up?
A few years ago, if you’d asked a school business manager what they wanted from a lighting upgrade, the answer would probably have been pretty straightforward.
• Reduce energy costs.
• Cut maintenance.
• Stay within budget.
Those priorities haven’t changed—and nor should they. Schools continue to face significant financial pressures, so every investment has to demonstrate value.
But I think something else has changed.
The classroom itself.
Walk into a modern school today and you’ll see a completely different learning environment from the one most of us remember.
Traditional rows of desks have made way for flexible teaching spaces. Lessons are increasingly collaborative. Technology is embedded into everyday learning. There’s a much greater focus on inclusivity, wellbeing and creating environments that support every pupil, regardless of how they learn.
Which raises an interesting question…
Has school lighting evolved at the same pace?
I’m not suggesting it hasn’t.
But I do wonder whether, as an industry, we’re sometimes still asking the same questions we were asking ten years ago.
• Does it comply?
• Is it energy efficient?
• How much will it save?
They’re all important questions.
But are they enough?
Lighting has traditionally been viewed as part of the building’s infrastructure—something that’s either working or it isn’t. As long as it meets the relevant standards, the job is considered done.
Personally, I think that’s changing.
The best learning environments aren’t created by compliance alone.
They’re created by considering the people who use them every single day.
Schools invest huge amounts of time thinking about pupil wellbeing, behaviour, safeguarding and inclusion. Increasingly, they also recognise that the physical environment plays an important role in supporting those objectives.
That’s why conversations around acoustics, ventilation, classroom layouts and breakout spaces have become so important.
Lighting deserves to be part of that conversation.
After all, if we were designing schools from the ground up today—armed with everything we’ve learned about learning environments, flexibility and student wellbeing—would we really approach lighting in exactly the same way?
For me, that’s the question our industry should be asking.
Not simply…
“Does it meet the standard?”
But…
“Does it genuinely support the people the building was designed for?”