Parents want old school buildings to be addressed.

Parents want old school buildings to be addressed.

A child spends quite some time at school and therefore also in the school building. Although parents are generally satisfied with the condition of the school building, there are especially concerns about ventilation, maintenance and accessibility in old school buildings. This is clear from a survey by Ouders & Onderwijs among 894 parents.

Due for renovation or new construction

Most parents are fairly satisfied with their child’s school building. On average they give the building a 7. But parents are less satisfied with old school buildings. For school buildings older than 30 years, a quarter of the parents give the building an insufficient rating. They say that the building is outdated, has poor ventilation or is too small for the number of students attending. 

 Parents with children in an older school building also more often think something needs to happen with the building. Of the parents whose school building is older than 30 years, 61 percent think the building is due for renovation or new construction. For schools with a building younger than 30 years, that is 30 percent. 

Concerns about ventilation

Many parents worry about ventilation in school buildings older than 30 years. More than a third of parents think the ventilation is insufficient. They notice, for example, that children come home with headaches and have trouble concentrating at school. On average they give the ventilation a barely sufficient rating (5.9).

Parents and schools also saw the importance of good ventilation during the hot weather this year. Some schools even used a heat schedule.

Fairly accessible school buildings

Seven out of ten parents (70%) think that their child’s school building is (fairly) accessible for children with a disability. For example, the school has an elevator, a quiet room where students can relax or wide corridors without thresholds. But 18 percent of parents think the building is not accessible at all. Their child’s school, for example, lacks an elevator or suitable facilities, corridors are too narrow or there is a lot of noise disturbance. More than half of these parents (56%) think the school should do more to make the building more accessible. 

The most important focus points according to parents

When it comes to school buildings, most parents find hygiene and cleaning the most important focus points. But ventilation is mentioned almost as often by parents. In addition, many parents think schools should pay more attention to the safety of the school building.

About the research

This survey involved 894 parents with children in primary education, secondary education, special education or mbo. The results of this survey are statistically weighted so that the results are representative by gender, education level and cultural background.  

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