Chapter 5: Planning Space and Location

This chapter contains general criteria to be used when selecting a center location and planning and programming the space requirements.

The center is subject to state licensing requirements. The designer, architect, engineer, and user must review these requirements during the initial phases of design to avoid redesign. When the requirements of the Head Start Program Performance Standards and state and local requirements differ, the standards deemed more restrictive shall apply.

5.1 Criteria for Center Location

The location of the Head Start center is critical to a child’s safety, well being, and quality of care. Best practice indicates that location requirements can be grouped according to the following broad facility categories of mandatory and recommended criteria: available useable space, environment, safety, security, and accessibility. For further technical information on these categories, refer to Chapter 10 of this document.

5.2 Construction and Renovation Terms

See APPENDIX F:
TERMS USED FOR CONSTRUCTION AND RENOVATION PROJECTS

5.3 Overall Space Requirements

I n t e r i o r : The Head Start Performance Standards, 45 CFR 1304.53(a)(5), provide that centers must have at least 35 square feet of available usable indoor space per child. This footage is exclusive of bathrooms, halls, kitchen, staff rooms, and storage places. (It should be noted that this is a minimum standard.)

E x t e r i o r : The Head Start Performance Standards, 45 CFR 1304.53(a)(5), provide that there must be at least 75 square feet of usable outdoor play space per child.

Best Practice:
The outdoor play space should be divided, with each outdoor area having no dimension less than 8.1 feet and a minimum size not less than 1,205 square feet. At least 50 percent of the outdoor play space must be exposed to sunlight at any given time during hours of operation.

There must be shade in the outdoor play space provided by planting, gazebos, umbrellas or other similar elements offering. When play space cannot meet these criteria, the center should provide access to alternate play areas for developing large-muscle skills. This alternate area may include, but is not limited to, an open courtyard or an outdoor space, such as a nearby public park, if permitted by state, tribal, and local licensing requirements.

In areas of the country with particularly rainy weather (for instance, the Northwest), it is desirable to provide covered areas, such as generous porches, for exterior play. Interior multipurpose space is particularly valuable in areas of the country with inclement winter weather but it should not be considered a substitute for exterior play space.

See Chapter 6, Section 6.2.2, for a full discussion of parking requirements.

5.4 Environmental Quality

Best Practice:

• Natural lighting is an important feature of nurturing and quality environments for children. Natural light should be the primary source of light in classroom spaces in Head Start centers. Total natural lighting would be ideal. Designers should face classroom space south, if possible, so that children benefit from the light throughout the day. Absence of natural light should be a prime consideration when contemplating relocating an existing center.
  
• Classrooms without windows should have full spectrum, indirect lighting as described in Chapter 10, Section 10.9, of this Guide and, if possible, a variety of light sources.
  
• Minimum quality design requires that classrooms have window space to the exterior area not less than 8 percent of the floor area.
  
• Since artificial light cannot substitute for the quality of natural light, if artificial lighting is needed, it should include a variety of fixture and lighting types with high color rendition. See Chapter 10 for artificial light requirements.
  
• Classroom and facility designers should use natural lighting from at least two directions. Window seats also are effective in maximizing the effects of natural light.
  
• Design for good indoor air quality uses low- or non-toxic finishes (see Chapter 9), acceptable ventilation levels, and careful system design (see Section 10.8.2 in Chapter 10).
  
• Studies suggest that indoor plants may improve indoor air quality by filtering pollutants from the air. Indoor plants also create a more “home-like” atmosphere and may positively affect the behavior and wellbeing of both adults and children.
  
• The center should not be located near noisy areas, such as major highways, street intersections, railroad lines, or under airport flight paths. If proximity to high levels of noise is unavoidable, acoustical control measures are necessary, as discussed in Chapter 10, Section 10.5.
  
• Maximum acceptable noise levels depend on the area around the center and whether or not the sound is continuous or intermittent. Children and infants are particularly sensitive to unexpected or intermittent loud noise. See Chapter 10, Section 10.5 for guidelines on maximum acceptable noise levels.
  
• The center should not be exposed to fumes or dust from industrial operations and vehicles, furnace and incinerator exhaust, mists from cooling towers, or other similar pollutants. Avoid placing centers near exhausts from food processing and waste handling operations, loading docks, or similar sources of unpleasant odors.
  
• Ideally, the site should have desirable natural features, such as trees, south-facing slopes, and views of natural or man-made vistas.
  
• The selected location should allow outdoor play yard orientation appropriate for local climatic conditions.
  
• The building structure should comply with area limitations, mixed-use separation, and construction requirements in state, tribal, or local codes and other applicable standards.
  
• Ideally, the center location should provide direct at-grade exit with a minimum of two means of egress from each floor if the center is located on two floors.
  
• The center should be located away from hazardous conditions or sites. This includes contaminants from hazardous materials such as lead and PCBs. The site, including the playground, should be certified as free of these contaminants before design begins.
  
• The location should meet criteria to prevent exposure to Legionella Pneumophilia.
  
• The location must allow for the safe arrival and departure of children.
  
• The location must be free of hazards, including fountains, wells, open pools, unprotected ledges, drop-offs and cliffs, and dangerous equipment. Play areas must not have open drainage ditches or openings to storm sewer systems.
  
• The location must be free of rodents, hazardous insects, vermin, and toxic plants.
  
• The center should have operable windows that allow ventilation. Awning and hopper windows below head level on the exterior or interior of the building should not be used.
  
• Consider proposed major future construction projects within the building and adjacent to the site. If possible, avoid these locations because of extended disruptive high noise levels and poor air quality.

5.5 Security

Best Practice:

• The location must meet requirements established by state and local building and licensing codes.
  
• The center location must be readily identifiable and accessible to emergency response personnel.
  
• The location must allow for secure exits and entrances. Normally, movement should be restricted through one secured main entrance and perhaps an additional secured service entry for kitchen and other bulk supply deliveries.
  
• Provide maximum visibility of entry points from inside the center.
  
• Ideally, the location should be a defensible space with a secure perimeter and controlled access.

5.6 Approach and Access

Best Practice:

• If possible, the center location should be within walking distance of public transportation. Bicyclists and persons using mass transit need safe approaches to the building which do not endanger child or adult pedestrians.
  
• The center’s layout must accommodate adults with disabilities. The center must comply with the UFAS (Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards) and ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act). Where there is real or apparent conflict, the center must comply with the more stringent of the two standards.
  
• The play yard should be directly accessible from the building or as close to it as practical. If the site cannot support a play yard, consider using a public or a private park within walking distance.
  
• The center should not be close to busy streets and intersections. Otherwise, the designer should devise mitigation measures, such as bollards, to lessen the effect of congestion and to increase safety, especially at playgrounds near busy intersections. Intersections where traffic is heavy require particular attention.
  
• The center location should provide ease of short-term, drop-off parking for parents and buses as children arrive and depart. Sufficient short-term parking spaces are needed for parents. This parking should be as close to the center as possible.
  
• Ideally, classrooms should have direct access to the play yard.

5.7 Historic Preservation

The decision to locate a center in a National Historic Building must take into consideration the historic preservation. If located in a historic building, any renovation activities or changes in the building must be in compliance with all federal and state regulations in close coordination with the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) or tribal organization. Play space location also is a vital consideration in assessing the effect of the center location on historic structures or neighborhoods.

5.8 Space for Children

Classrooms
A classroom is the area that contains each group of children and their teacher(s). Classrooms may be separated by full partitions or full (floor to ceiling) walls or non-permanent barriers that allow controlled visual or acoustical connections to other groups. However, best practice indicates that at least one interior viewing panel at children’s height should be located both adjacent to corridors and between classrooms, where possible. The classrooms themselves should be as open as possible allowing for supervision and the accumulation of natural light. Classrooms should be flexible enough to adjust to variable demographics and to allow program adjustments to serve a fluctuating demand for Head Start services. Adequate space is necessary for storing children’s and teachers’ personal items, curriculum materials, supplies, and equipment.

Common Spaces
Spaces shared by more than one group are included in this category. The designer should be aware that the children spend long hours of the day away from their own homes and the center becomes their home away from home. A common area that feels like the core of the center is an excellent organizing concept that will dispel an institutional feeling, especially if it is developed as a friendly environment. This may simply be an area of circulation that provides a stopping place and allows social interaction. However, it should not be the multi-purpose room. Circulation through the multi-purpose room has proved to be an undesirable design feature.

Other common areas may consist of one or more of the following: multi-purpose areas, large motor activity areas, meeting/gathering areas, and separate sick bays, if required to meet local licensing requirements.

Play Spaces
Play spaces are outdoor extensions of the classrooms providing many of the same opportunities as indoor spaces. They should provide for a variety of developmentally appropriate activities and include storage for curriculum equipment as well as wheeled toys, tricycles, and wagons. Spending time on the playground is undoubtedly the preferred activity of children. Therefore, to the greatest extent possible, the design should incorporate ease of access to the play spaces.

5.9 Space for Adults

Parent Spaces
Spaces within the center that are used by parents include the entry, reception/living room area, conference room, and the classroom (for observing, visiting, conferring with teachers, and feeding infants). Parents should have direct access to a lavatory. A lactation area, preferably near the nap area, should be provided to offer privacy for nursing mothers. This need not be an enclosed room or even a partitioned area.

Staff Spaces
Spaces designed for use by teachers and directors may include the resource room, the classroom and play spaces, the entry and reception areas, offices, conference and lounge, resource storage, and adult lavatories.

Service Spaces
Spaces allocated for service and support to the center include the kitchen and food storage, laundry, janitor’s closet, and the electrical/mechanical and telephone equipment room.

Circulation
This term applies to the space dedicated to major pathways that connect all the interior spaces.

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