The School Premises (General Requirements and Standards) (Scotland) Regulations 1967 set the statutory floor for how public and grant‑aided school buildings must be planned and equipped. Made on 3 August 1967 and in force from 18 August 1967, they replaced the 1959 regime and remain the reference point for several minimum provisions in Scotland’s school estate. The rules were made under the Education (Scotland) Act 1962 and have been amended, but not comprehensively replaced.
Scope is explicit. The Regulations cover public and grant‑aided schools, and extend to buildings used for boarding and to pavilions serving playing fields. Independent schools are out of scope. Definitions distinguish educational accommodation from ancillary accommodation, and define teaching spaces, special schools and nursery provision. Terms used in the 1956 Schools Code (for example, stage references) continue to be read for interpretation purposes through later savings legislation, ensuring older terminology still functions in law.
Ministerial approval sits up front. Proposed sites for school buildings and playing fields require approval before acquisition, and most new buildings, extensions and alterations require approval of plans, specifications and costs before works begin. While these controls reflect the funding and governance model of the 1960s, the Scottish Government’s 2017 consultation proposed removing some approval requirements (notably on major capital works) to reflect devolved capital programmes run by local authorities.
Site size is regulated by pupil roll. Minimum areas are set out in tables for primary, secondary and nursery schools, with special schools and combined primary/secondary campuses determined case by case. Areas exclude public roads, unsuitable ground and specified playing‑field calculations. Where strict compliance would be impracticable or unreasonable, Scottish Ministers may approve departures, allowing constrained urban sites to proceed subject to formal agreement.
Playing field provision is mandatory and calibrated to the school roll. Primary and secondary schools must have access to fields meeting minimum areas set in dedicated tables, with case‑by‑case provision for all‑through schools. Ministers can approve alternative arrangements where the standard cannot sensibly be met, but the expectation remains that outdoor sport and recreation are accommodated in the design.
Minimum internal areas for educational accommodation are prescribed. Primary and full‑range secondary schools must provide no less than the floor areas laid down in tables, with discretion for very small or very large rolls. Nursery, special, and combined schools proceed on an approved‑case basis. For measurement, the Regulations define ‘area’ as internal space measured to the internal face of external walls and the centre line of internal partitions, a convention that underpins space planning and briefing.
Ancillary accommodation is integral to compliance. Schools must provide suitable kitchen facilities for preparing, cooking and serving meals and for washing up. Where catering is off‑site, on‑site serving and washing‑up space is still required. Staff must have cloakroom and sanitary accommodation. Dedicated storage is required for apparatus, materials, furniture and fuel, alongside space for pupils’ outdoor clothing and belongings.
Sanitary and washing provision is determined by pupil numbers. The Regulations require at least half of all sanitary appliances in mixed‑sex schools to be for boys, and limit boys’ water closets to one third of boys’ appliances, with the remainder as urinals; girls’ provision includes appropriate means for the disposal of sanitary towels from beyond stage P IV. Wash basins must be close to every appliance, with lockable doors and privacy partitions for all WCs. The Building Standards Technical Handbook continues to point designers to the 1967 tables for numerical provision in schools, while noting that accessible facilities should be delivered under modern standards.
Health services and welfare spaces are specified. Schools must provide suitable accommodation for medical inspection (including a WC and a wash basin with separate hot and cold supplies). Secondary and all‑through schools must also offer a rest room close to sanitary facilities and hot and cold water. These provisions ensure space for routine health checks and short‑term pupil care without disrupting teaching.
Outdoor areas immediately adjoining school buildings must be surfaced and laid out for educational and recreational activities, supplementing formal playing fields. Storage and cloak facilities must be adequate for daily operations. Together, these requirements shape circulation and hard‑landscaped zones that can safely absorb breaks, outdoor learning, and arrival and dismissal.
Environmental standards are detailed. Teaching spaces must achieve a maintained illuminance of not less than 10 lumens per square foot on the working plane and ordinarily a daylight factor of at least two per cent. Glare and fitting luminance are controlled to protect visual comfort, and shades or other protection are required against sun and sky glare. Acoustic conditions must be appropriate to each space’s use, with the aim of limiting disturbance between rooms.
Ventilation and heating are regulated. All parts of the building must be adequately ventilated, with extraction where steam or fumes may arise. Heating systems must maintain specified temperatures for different accommodation types when the outside air is at 0°C, according to a tabulated airflow‑and‑temperature standard. Swimming pool water must be at least 24°C, and the pool hall air must be kept at or above the chosen water temperature. Water services must be wholesome and sufficient, with separately controlled hot and cold supplies to sinks and baths, and showers controlled between 30°C and 44°C.
For grant‑aided schools, the Regulations bite through funding conditions. Compliance with Parts II and III is a condition of grant under section 76 of the 1962 Act, and Ministers may modify standards for a specific school where strict application would be unreasonable. This mechanism mirrors the flexibility elsewhere in the instrument while safeguarding baseline provision.
Where the instrument sits today matters for delivery. The Scottish Government consulted in 2017 on updating the 1967 regime-retaining some requirements, modernising others and removing provisions duplicated by newer law. Although that consultation signalled an intention to lay new regulations in early 2018, the Building Standards Technical Handbook 2022 still directs project teams to the 1967 numerical tables for school sanitary provision, indicating the continuing relevance of the instrument pending comprehensive replacement.
For education authorities, school leaders and design teams, the practical reading is straightforward. Treat the 1967 Regulations as the baseline for space, sanitary provision, welfare rooms, lighting, heating and outdoor areas; layer on current building standards for accessibility, energy and safety; and record any site‑specific departures agreed with Ministers. The enabling powers are now in the Education (Scotland) Act 1980 and the consultation record shows an appetite to balance national minimums with local decision‑making. Until new regulations are commenced, compliance with the 1967 framework-and the linked technical guidance-remains the safest route to approval.