Permanent or temporary classroom: which does your school need?

The same factory can make both, and from the playground they can look alike. The difference is in the paperwork, the budget line and how long the building is meant to stay, and each of those changes the programme.

The short comparison

Planning permission

Permanent buildings and Class M

Class M of the permitted development order lets schools in England put up new buildings and extensions without a planning application, within limits. The main ones for schools are:

• footprint: since 21 April 2021, the greater of 25% of the school’s buildings as they were then, or 250 m²;
• height: 5 m within 10 m of the site boundary, 6 m elsewhere;
• nothing within 5 m of the boundary of homes next door;
• no loss of land used as a playing field in the last five years;
• nothing within the curtilage of a listed building;
• the building must be used as part of the school.

A school that raises its published admission number through Class M development must submit a travel plan within six months of completion. Conservation areas and other protected land add a condition on matching materials.

Temporary buildings

The temporary building right in Part 4 is narrower than many people think. It covers buildings needed while construction work is being carried out on the land, and they must be removed when the work is complete. A site office or decant classroom during a rebuild can fall within it. A classroom for a bulge year, a waiting list or a few years’ growth usually does not, so most temporary classrooms go through a planning application, often granted for a fixed number of years.

Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own permitted development rules; check with your planning authority.

Building regulations

The building regulations exemption for temporary buildings covers only buildings not intended to stay where they are put for more than 28 days. Any classroom in use for a term or longer needs building regulations approval, whether bought or hired, new or used. Ask each supplier who will apply and whether their price includes the fee.

Cost and budget

At published starting prices, a new single classroom is £108,000 and a refurbished one £82,000, building only, before groundworks, crane and delivery. Hire starts at £275 a week, about £14,300 a year.

Buying is a capital cost. Hire is normally a revenue cost, which can make it the only route in a year when capital is committed. Check how your trust or council and its auditors treat it before deciding.

At those figures, hire costs as much as buying refurbished after about 300 weeks, close to six years, before one-off charges. Short hires carry delivery, installation and removal costs that make the weekly figure misleading, so always compare the whole term.

Lead time

The building itself is quick either way: a typical install takes one to two working days on site, then about a week of fit-out. What differs is the approvals:

• a permanent building that fits Class M needs no planning application, which can save months;
• a temporary classroom usually waits for a planning decision, which one supplier’s timetable puts at 8 to 12 weeks;
• hired stock can skip a factory slot, while a new permanent building has to be made.

How to choose

Ask three questions:

1. How long will the need last? Under about three years, hire usually wins; past five or six, buying usually does.
2. Which budget is available? Capital points to buying; revenue to hire.
3. Does the site allow Class M? If the building fits the limits, a permanent classroom may reach site sooner than a temporary one.

If you are still unsure, ask suppliers to price both on the same brief. Our cost guide compares hire and purchase over your term.