8-EST-814-Facilities for Schools-School Facilities Lecture Series-Lecture 3 -Basic Facilities in School.

 

8-EST-814-Lecture 3 -Basic Facilities in School.

By Olaide Alabi (PhD)

The information provided in the content of the previous presentation reveals that school facilities are the different elements that facilitate all academic and non-academic operations within the school system, they guarantee the enablement of the entire system within a school, they could be referred to as the intermingling of different related elements working for teaching and learning, as well as handling school affairs.

It is essential to be cognizant of certain related terms as far as “School Facilities” are concerned, this is necessary so as not to confuse one for the other, Some of the related terms were treated in the last lecture series. Other terms include:

1.     Basic facilities in schools

2.     Ancillary facilities and ancillary areas in schools

3.     Health facilities in schools

4.     Safety-Related Facilities

Now let us start with basic facilities in schools.

Basic facilities in schools

The basic facilities that should be provided in schools include classrooms, laboratories and workshops, administrative facilities, equipment and furniture, healthcare facilities, students’ accommodation in boarding schools as well as municipal services facilities. Availability of halls, seminar/conference rooms, and academic and non-academic staff offices are seen as part of the basic facilities that should be provided for school effectiveness.

The requirement varies from school to school and from nation to nation but there are broad guidelines from any nation’s Ministry of Education as prescribed basic facilities in schools and the minimum space requirements for all basic facilities, especially for offices, dormitories, classrooms, laboratories, seminar/conferences rooms and academic staff offices. 

Ancillary facilities and ancillary areas in schools

Ancillary facilities in the school are support facilities that can be used as a form of auxiliary to supplement the original facilities. In some schools, these are some forms of facilities that are provided to children with disabilities to help them get comfortable in the process of schooling. e.g., counsellors’ equipment, speech, occupational and physical therapy, supplementary aids and so on.

Ancillary areas of a school are areas that support the function/s of the primary areas, that is, it is not part of the main intent of the school but is required so that the main intent of schooling can operate effectively. e.g., generator rooms, stores, meeting spaces, utility areas, and so on.

 

Health facilities in schools

Health facilities are facilities provided to promote the well-being of the people within the school system. Adequate health facilities are required for effective teaching and learning in schools. Health facilities constitute a strong factor that could promote the physical and mental well-being of people within the school system, and it is part of the requirement of schools to plant school health facilities that should be in place to take good care of students and workers.

It is very crucial to lead students to achieve and maintain sound health as this should be the primary goal of any school system. Health facilities should be seen as a good base to cover the gap created between postpartum and primary health care. It is expected that schools should be saddled with the responsibility of exposing children to primary health activities, each school should have necessary health facilities and at least a nurse to care for the school community (Gordon, 2010).

It is normal to have school nurses within the school environment as these are a good standard of school operation.

The presence of good health facilities within the school environment could go a long way to prevent some terrible health issues. The basic health facilities include a sick bay, toilets, a well-kept kitchen, drainage, dustbins, and a good source of water supply.  At least a school with a limited number of students should have a nurse if not nurses in attendance. The role of school nurses should be to help students manage chronic illness and still stay at their studies and allow parents to stay at work in peace. They are to provide immediate basic health solutions in case of sudden health issues.

The responsibilities of school nurses include assessing students’ health status and making referrals, identification of vision and hearing problems that affect learning, administering medication and vaccines, performing healthcare procedures, developing disaster-preparedness plans, providing health counselling and wellness programs, and delivering emergency care.

Part of health facilities is to make available materials that cater for the health needs of all furniture in classrooms, these should utilized to ensure that all are well-maintained. They should be constantly made clean in appearance be well polished regularly

 Safety-related facilities

Safety-related facilities denote care and basic protection of people and properties within the school environment especially resources that are used to provide security for people and protect facilities within the school environment in case of danger.

A school should be a place where students are free from danger, disease, physical harm, or injury; where sufficient gadgets for security are provided and where physical structures (buildings, courtyards, paths, and restrooms) are sound, welcoming, and secure.

Providing these materials and services is mandatory in schools because their presence gives both the physical and psychosocial sense of security for teachers, students, and other school community members.

Schools should be regarded as a form of sanctuary for the people and facilities within them, therefore there should be safety-related for the immediate school environment especially resources that are used to provide security for people and the general facilities within the school environment in case of danger or risk should be provided.

Similarly, a lack of safety and health-related facilities could affect the performance and achievement of students and be detrimental to the working conditions of teachers.

For safety and related activities, there should be a fire extinguisher, sand bucket, smoke alarm, and muster point.

In schools that have story buildings, it is expected that the railings and stairs should be stable and solid enough to withstand the pressure of people who are using them, and the stairways should be constructed in shapes and heights that could take care of students who are physically challenged or disabled.

The corridors in front of the classrooms should be wide and spacious enough to allow for a prompt escape to safe places in case of emergency.  All furniture in classrooms should be well-kept, they should not be broken or have naked nails hanging out to injure the users.

All classrooms should have double doors at the entrances, at times multiple entrances and exits could be required. The doors should be functional, they should not be locked permanently, or rusted, and they should always be in good condition. There should be evidence that will make the occupiers recognize their relevance as routes of escape in case of emergency.

 Assignment

After going through this topic, give a concise explanation of the need for safety-related facilities and submit it under the comment session

 Note: The next topic major components of school facilities

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References

Biziman, A. B. and Orhodo, J.A.(2014) Teaching and Learning Resource Availability and Teachers ‘Effective Classroom Management and Content Delivery in Secondary Schools in Huye   District, Rwanda’, Journal of Education and Practice www.iiste.org Vol.5, No.9, 2014 111

 

Coalson, J., Hurley J. & Durdley C. (2011), School Facilities and Student Achievement centre for school innovative school facilities. www.cisforegon.org

 

Gillard. P. (Ed.). (2003). Cambridge International Dictionary of English (Low Price Ed). Cambridge. Cambridge University Press.

 

Gislason, N. (2009). Mapping School Design: A Qualitative Study of the Relations among Facilities Design, Curriculum Delivery, School Climate. The Journal of Environmental Education, 40(4), 17-34

 

Huber and Cambridge. A., (2009) Schools of the Future. Walden, Rotraut, ed. Resource Lists online publication