EduFringe sessions running from 11:15-11:45.

 

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Following planning approval in January 2026, Princes Primary SEN School represents Liverpool’s response to rising SEND demand and forthcoming national reform.This session explores how four specialist schools will be consolidated into a single community-based setting, balancing funding constraints, statutory duties and therapeutic integration.Speakers will share lessons from aligning capital delivery with needs data, embedding early intervention and outdoor access in design, and planning for flexibility amid the Government’s recent overhaul of SEND provision and funding.

As more education estates approach the end of their Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contracts, organisations are increasingly focused on ensuring successful handback outcomes and protecting long-term value. This session brings together legal, operational and real-world perspectives on managing PFI expiry, drawing on both strategic contract management expertise and practical experience. 

This session will explore how school landscapes can be designed to better support inclusion, wellbeing and equitable
educational experiences, including how outdoor spaces are used by girls. Speakers will examine how traditional approaches to school grounds can unintentionally exclude or marginalise some students and explore how outdoor spaces can support a wider range of activities, social interactions and learning experiences that ultimately benefit everyone who uses them.

The Department for Education's SRP programme is transforming the design and delivery of school buildings across England. Through a suite of nationally developed design standards, technical guidance and pattern book solutions, S25 provides a consistent, evidence-based approach to creating high-quality, sustainable and inclusive learning environments. Aligned with the Education Estates Strategy's vision for a decade of national renewal, the programme helps ensure that school estates are adaptable, resilient and cost-effective, while supporting educational outcomes and community engagement. By standardising excellence, S25 enables faster delivery of better schools for future generations.

This session explores how existing and historic buildings can be reimagined to create future-ready learning environments that support academic excellence and wider civic renewal, as well as respecting heritage. Through case studies including the University of Greenwich’s refurbishment of Grade I listed spaces within King William Court and the transformation of a vacant former department store in Margate into a Creative and Digital Technology Centre, speakers will demonstrate how challenging or constrained buildings can become catalysts for innovation.

EduFringe sessions running from 13:15-13:45.

 

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Bringing together perspectives from schools, FE colleges and design professionals, speakers will examine how policy, capital investment and estate strategy are shaping more adaptable, neurodiversity-affirming learning environments. Through case studies including specialist SEND provision, inclusive FE campuses and sensory-informed design approaches, the session will highlight how buildings, landscapes and operational planning can work together to improve wellbeing, independence and learner outcomes.

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This session will feature presentations from the Department for Education Sustainability Award finalists:

• Prospect House Specialist Support Primary School, Manchester
• Queensmead Primary Academy, Leicester
• Offley Primary Academy, Sandbach
• The Levett School, Doncaster
• Trinity School, Belvedere, Bexley

This session explores how ambitious sustainability goals can reshape the way education buildings are designed, delivered and experienced, challenging the reliance on complex mechanical systems and demonstrating the potential of low-energy, Passivhaus-informed approaches at scale. Drawing on research-led thinking and large-scale delivery experience, including the NowtHaus
 research study and the University of Manchester’s landmark Fallowfield Passivhaus student residential development, speakers will examine how intelligent architectural design, thermal comfort modelling and performance-led decision-making can reduce operational energy demand while improving occupant wellbeing and building resilience.  

This session explores how school and college estate renewal projects can successfully deliver sustainable, future-ready learning environments while operating within the constraints of live educational settings, ageing buildings and complex campus conditions. Through the case studies St Mary Magdalene & St Stephen’s CE Primary School and Greenhead College, speakers will demonstrate how some of the sector’s most pressing estate challenges, from RAAC remediation to the replacement of Laingspan structures, can become opportunities for long-term transformation.  Drawing on lessons from both projects, the session will provide a concise overview of how stakeholders have navigated the challenges of rebuilding, retrofit and inter-campus remodelling.

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EduFringe sessions running from 15:15-15:45.

 

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This session explores how the Department for Education’s Education Estates Strategy is reshaping expectations for estate management across schools and trusts, moving organisations from a culture of “should do” to one of clear operational and governance accountability. Speakers will examine how new requirements translate into practical responsibilities for Trust Boards, executive leaders and estates professionals.

Speakers in this session will examine the practical implications of emerging policy, capital investment and estate planning, alongside the growing role of trauma-informed and neurodiversity-aware design in promoting wellbeing, safety and belonging. Through policy insight and design-led case studies, the session will consider how inclusion bases, sensory-informed spaces and wider estate improvements can be integrated within mainstream settings to support equitable outcomes for all learners.

As the sector moves towards greater standardisation and data-driven decision-making, speakers will examine how organisations can build stronger estate intelligence, improve governance and align local priorities with national expectations. Through live case studies from both school trusts and higher education institutions, the session will demonstrate how complex estate data can be made more accessible, enabling stakeholders to make more informed decisions about investment, sustainability, space utilisation and long-term strategic planning.

This session explores how education estates can deliver safer, lower-carbon and more environmentally responsible buildings by rethinking both the materials used and the way their wider impacts are evaluated. Through research-led guidance on timber-framed schools and case studies of high-performance construction projects, speakers will examine how sustainability, fire safety, embodied carbon and material sourcing can be addressed together rather than in isolation. 

This session will feature presentations from the Education Estates® 2025 Project of the Year Winners

• Inclusive Design - Lisburne SEND School - AtkinsRéalis
• State School - Prestley Wood Academy - AtkinsRéalis
• Independent School - Lower School Library, Dulwich College - alma-nac
• Colleges - Industry Hub, Burnley College - Cubed Thinking
• International - River Grove Elementary School - Arcadis

Before children can learn, they need to feel safe. This session explores how school landscapes can actively support emotional regulation, wellbeing and readiness to engage. Moving beyond the idea of playgrounds as leftover space, it reframes external environments as essential infrastructure for calm, belonging and focus. Drawing on trauma-informed design principles and the idea of school as a place that should feel like home, the talk demonstrates how planting, enclosure, materiality and choice create environments that reduce stress and support every pupil, because regulation is the foundation that makes learning possible.