Acoustic Design for Special Educational Needs (SEN) in Mainstream Schools presented by Emma Greenland at EIAS2023.
A review of the evidence base regarding acoustic design and special educational needs was undertaken. To answer the following questions on behalf of the Department for Education in England:
What are the differing listening needs for students with different types of special hearing and communication needs (SHCN)?
How can we quantify the listening disadvantage for different types of listening needs, including SHCN, English as an Additional Language, Early Years and other emerging listening needs?
Over 250 studies and articles reviewed
Over 250 studies and articles were considered to help establish the prevalence of each listening need in mainstream schools in England and Wales. Including looking at the typical listening disadvantage associated with each need in both quiet and active classrooms.
For inclusive acoustic design for special educational needs students, suitable reasonably adjusted acoustic conditions in mainstream schools were identified. This was to support each need, together with the role of listening aids and other design measures, in order to support access to listening. A summary of the findings was presented and further insights given during an interview at the end of the conference.
Watch Emma´s presentation here
More about EIAS2023 here.
More about Emma’s career and expertise
A white paper previously produced by Emma and Anderson Acoustics about acoustic design for SEN schools is available here.
Emma completed her acoustics PhD and her paper which was Supervised by Professor Bridget Shield was published in 201. This has been referenced and contributed to a number of guidance documents. “A survey of acoustic conditions in semi-open plan classrooms in the UK.”
Emma is Principal Consultant and Head of Schools & Education Sector to the Anderson Acoustics team. She has over 15 years’ multidisciplinary experience within architectural acoustic design. She is recognised within the industry as an expert in the design of spaces for speech and listening within the education sector.
