Institution placement and accessibility
The school must be located as close as possible to the students' place of residence. When choosing a location, it is strictly forbidden to build the institution near sources of chemical air pollution and noise (industrial plants), objects with an increased risk of injury, as well as garages and markets that degrade the environmental condition.
The service radius depends on climatic conditions, the children's age, and the local development pattern:
- Pedestrian accessibility: in climatic zones II and III, the path must not exceed 0.5 km. In the 1st climatic region (first subzone) for education stages I–II, the limit is 0.3 km, and for stage III — 0.4 km. In the second subzone of the same region, these standards increase slightly to 0.4 km and 0.5 km, respectively.
- Transport accessibility: evaluated by one-way travel time. For primary school students (stage I), the trip should take no more than 15 minutes; for middle and high school students (stages II–III), no more than 50 minutes.
Land plot requirements
Every educational institution must have its own independent land plot. The school building must be located at a distance of at least 25 meters from the red line. The perimeter of the plot must be enclosed by a fence 1.5 meters high, along which green spaces must be planted.
Special attention is paid to landscaping: the area of green spaces must be at least 50% of the total school territory. At the same time, there is a strict ban on planting any trees and shrubs that produce poisonous berries in order to prevent poisoning among children.
Functional territory zoning
The school plot is mandatorily divided into four functional zones, each with its own hygienic regulations:
- Educational and experimental zone. Occupies no more than 25% of the plot area. In dense urban development, this area may be reduced, but with mandatory compensation: the construction of greenhouses, orangeries, or pavilions operating in conjunction with chemistry and biology classrooms.
- Physical culture and sports zone. Located at a distance of at least 25 meters from the school building and separated by a strip of greenery. It is forbidden to place it facing the windows of classrooms due to noise. Designed for physical education classes and health-improving sections. Sports and play areas are equipped with a hard surface, and the football field with a grass cover.
- Recreation zone. Located near the building exits so that children can make maximum use of it during short breaks. Set up near the garden, away from the noisy sports and dirty utility zones. Separate areas (for quiet and active games) are allocated for each stage of education.
- Utility zone. Located at the edge of the plot, on the side of the entrance to the canteen or buffet production facilities. It must be separated from the main school building by at least 35 meters, enclosed by green spaces, and mandatorily equipped with its own independent street entrance.
Building capacity, number of floors, and layout
The actual number of students must never exceed the design capacity of the school. The occupancy of each individual classroom is strictly limited — no more than 25 people.
Total capacity depends on the type of institution:
- Newly built urban schools are designed for a maximum of 1000 people.
- For rural small-scale schools, the limits are different: only for stage I — 80 students; for stages I and II — 250; for all three stages — 500 people.
Building requirements:
- Height: new schools are built with a height of no more than 3 floors. Only in conditions of extremely dense urban development is the construction of 4-story buildings permitted.
- Protection from environmental factors: classrooms must strictly not be placed near sources of noise and odors — the catering unit, assembly and sports halls, as well as carpentry workshops.
- Range of premises: must ensure the full study of both mandatory and additional (profile) disciplines.
- Primary school: students of stage I must study in a separate block of the building. A fixed classroom is strictly assigned to each primary class so that children do not move throughout the entire school.
Briefly: answers to topical questions
What are the area standards per student in classrooms?
Area standards per student in general education classrooms depend on the form of instruction.
- Frontal forms of classes — at least 2.5 m² per person.
- Group work forms and individual classes — at least 3.5 m² per person.
The height of such educational premises must be at least 4 meters.
What requirements apply to the arrangement of desks and school furniture in the classroom?
The arrangement of desks and school furniture is carried out taking into account the anthropometric data and health status of the students. In longitudinally configured classrooms, tables are installed in 3 rows along the light-bearing outer wall.
- By height — smaller desks are placed closer to the blackboard, larger ones further away.
- For reduced visual acuity and hearing loss — students sit in the front (with corrected vision — in any row).
- For somatic diseases — schoolchildren with rheumatic diseases and those frequently ill with acute inflammatory diseases are seated further from the windows to avoid hypothermia.
For prevention purposes, at least twice per academic year, students sitting in the 1st and 3rd–4th rows are swapped while maintaining the correspondence of furniture size to height.
What are the hygienic standards for air temperature and humidity in classrooms?
Hygienic standards for air temperature and humidity are presented for specialized computer science classrooms. The following microclimate parameters must be maintained in such educational premises:
- Air temperature — from 18 to 21 °C.
- Relative humidity — from 55 to 62 %.
- Air velocity — 1 m/s.
What requirements apply to natural lighting (DFO) in classrooms?
Requirements for natural lighting in classrooms include strict regulation of window orientation and the minimum allowable value of the daylight factor (DFO).
- Standard educational premises — windows are oriented to the south, southeast, and east.
- Drafting, drawing, and computer science classrooms — windows are oriented to the north, northeast, and northwest.
- DFO indicator — must be at least 1.5%.
Measurement of the daylight factor is carried out at a distance of 1 meter from the wall opposite to the window openings.
To memorize the four mandatory zones of the school plot, use the acronym UFOX: Educational-experimental (Ucheбно-opytnaya), Physical culture (Fizkulturnaya), Recreation (Otdykha), Utility (Khozyaystvennaya).
Class and exam questions
What should the distance be between the school building and the sports/service zones?
The sports zone must be located no closer than 25 meters from the building, and the utility zone at a distance of at least 35 meters.
Where and how should elementary school children (Stage I) be educated?
A separate block in the building is allocated for them. Learning takes place in educational rooms strictly assigned to each class.
Is a reduction in the area of the educational-experimental zone permitted?
Yes, in conditions of dense urban development. However, this reduction must be compensated for by the construction of greenhouses, orangeries, and pavilions.
What else to study on this topic
- Sanitary and hygienic requirements for selecting plants for landscaping educational institutions.
- Design features of rural small-scale schools for different educational stages.
- The influence of climatic zones on the calculation of the pedestrian accessibility radius.
- Layout of the range of premises for in-depth study of additional subjects.
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Other topics in "Chapter 10. Basics of Child and Adolescent Hygiene"
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