Controlling for Reverberation and Background Noise

  ·        Rooms designed to meet the specifications in Building Bulletin 93 regarding ambient noise and noise transmission (Page 9)

·        Use of carpeting wherever practicable to reduce reverberation and impact noise from movement within the room

·        Where carpet not practicable use of rubber ends on chair/table legs

·        Other materials to enhance the absorption of reverberant sound:

o       Curtains

o       Soft furnishings as appropriate

·        Classrooms to be sited away from major sources of auditory and visual distraction e.g. dining room, gym, external noise

·        An awareness that some reflection (i.e. early reflection) of sound benefits speech discrimination

·        Room design to facilitate lip-reading i.e.

o       Light falling on teacher’s face and pupils not facing major light source

o       Ensure lines of sight enable pupil to see teacher clearly

·        Provision of small acoustically friendly areas/rooms for individual/small group work

·        Use of soundfield systems within major teaching areas and public address system for assembly hall

·        Installation of visual fire alarms throughout the school and a visual indicator for entry to the building

·        Provision of an acoustically treated room for on-site audiological assessments i.e. speech discrimination tests