Quick answer: The SEND White Paper commits to greater inclusion of pupils with dyslexia in mainstream classrooms. That raises the acoustic and visual environment to a front-line concern: poor room acoustics increase cognitive load for dyslexic learners, while noisy, over-stimulating spaces compound processing difficulties. Wall and ceiling acoustic panels, combined with low-distraction display surfaces, are practical, cost-effective responses schools can act on now.
What the SEND White Paper commits to for dyslexic learners
The government's SEND White Paper sets out a vision of a more inclusive education system, one that supports children from early years through to adulthood, strengthens the role of families, and ensures more learners with SEND can thrive in mainstream schools rather than being referred to specialist provision.
For dyslexic pupils, that ambition has direct implications. Dyslexia affects an estimated 10% of the population and around 80% of all pupils with identified learning difficulties. If those children are to be better supported in mainstream settings, the mainstream classroom itself needs to work harder.
The All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Dyslexia has highlighted the gap between policy ambition and practical reality: identification, specialist teacher training, and resourcing are all under pressure. But one factor rarely makes it into the policy papers at all: the physical space those learners occupy every day.
Why the learning environment matters for dyslexia
Dyslexia is primarily understood as a difficulty with phonological processing, reading, and spelling. What is less widely acknowledged is how the acoustic quality of a room affects those difficulties in real time.
When a classroom has poor acoustics, speech signals become degraded. Reverberation blurs the beginnings and ends of words; background noise masks phonemes entirely. For a pupil whose phonological processing is already effortful, this creates a compounding effect: they must work harder to decode what they hear at the very moment their cognitive resources are most stretched.
Research into speech intelligibility and learning consistently shows that:
- Reverberation times above 0.4--0.6 seconds measurably reduce speech clarity in teaching spaces
- Pupils with literacy and language difficulties are disproportionately affected by poor room acoustics compared with their typically-developing peers
- Fatigue from effortful listening compounds over a school day, reducing engagement in the afternoon even in subjects with no reading demand
- Calmer acoustic environments reduce anxiety, which in turn supports the working memory processes that dyslexic learners most rely on
Building Bulletin 93 (BB93), the DfE's acoustic standard for schools, sets reverberation targets for teaching spaces. Many classrooms built or refurbished before 2015 do not meet those targets. As the SEND reforms push schools to support a wider range of needs within the same room, acoustic underperformance is no longer an inconvenience -- it is a compliance and inclusion issue.
The role of visual environment and display surfaces
Beyond acoustics, the visual clarity of a learning space shapes how dyslexic pupils engage with content. Cluttered, over-stimulating displays compete for attention; low-contrast or glossy surfaces make text and diagrams harder to read from the back of the room.
Glassboards offer a practical advantage here. Their smooth, non-porous surface delivers sharper contrast for marker content than ageing whiteboards, and the absence of surface texture reduces glare. The Silk Wall glassboard is particularly suited to classroom writing walls: the matte-effect glass face produces even, low-glare writing that is easier to read at distance and at oblique angles -- both common challenges for dyslexic learners who may avoid the seats directly in front.
Where coloured backgrounds support reading for some dyslexic pupils, coloured glassboards can be specified to match. The Premier Coloured Magnetic Glass Wipe Board is available in a range of tonal backgrounds and combines a writable face with full magnetic function, so printed materials and overlays can be held without additional fixings. Browse the full glassboard collection for size and colour options.
Acoustic solutions for inclusive classrooms
Acoustic treatment does not require a building project. Wall and ceiling panels can be fitted in an existing classroom during a school holiday and will typically bring reverberation into the BB93 target range without structural work.
Products from the Presentation Spaces acoustic range are Class A or Class B rated and are available in a wide range of colourways to complement classroom design rather than fighting it. For schools working to create an inclusive mainstream environment -- as the SEND White Paper envisages -- acoustic panels are among the most cost-effective single interventions available.
Key considerations when specifying for a dyslexia-inclusive classroom:
- Target 20--30% surface coverage across ceiling and the wall opposite windows for a standard teaching space
- Prioritise the ceiling plane and the hard wall behind the teacher -- these carry the most reflective energy
- Use acoustic pin boards as a direct swap for standard cork boards: same display function, meaningful added absorption
- Avoid concentrating all treatment on one surface; distributed coverage reduces flutter echo as well as overall reverb
- Specify panels in calming rather than high-stimulation colourways for spaces used by pupils with co-occurring sensory sensitivities
What schools can do before policy catches up
The SEND reforms are moving at a policy pace. The classroom acoustic environment can be improved this term. Schools do not need to wait for new guidance, new funding streams, or a building project to make a meaningful difference to the experience of their dyslexic learners.
A practical audit starting point: stand at the back of an empty classroom and clap once. A reverb tail longer than around one second is audible to any listener; for a dyslexic pupil with phonological processing demands, even shorter reverb causes measurable difficulty. If the tail is clearly audible, the room will benefit from treatment.
SEND leads, SENCOs, and estates managers working on inclusion strategies can treat acoustic and visual environment improvements as complementary to -- not separate from -- the specialist teaching and intervention work the White Paper focuses on. Both are required. Neither substitutes for the other.
Browse the full acoustic solutions range →
Frequently asked questions
Does the SEND White Paper say anything specific about classroom acoustics?
The SEND White Paper focuses primarily on identification, Education, Health and Care Plans, specialist resource distribution, and workforce development. It does not set out acoustic standards. However, its core commitment -- more pupils with SEND supported in mainstream classrooms -- makes the physical quality of those classrooms a direct operational priority. DfE acoustic standards are covered separately under Building Bulletin 93 (BB93).
How does poor room acoustics affect dyslexic learners specifically?
Dyslexic learners rely heavily on phonological processing, which is the ability to distinguish and manipulate speech sounds. Reverberant or noisy rooms degrade speech signals, blurring phonemes and word boundaries. This increases the cognitive effort required to follow spoken instructions, raising working memory load at precisely the moment when a dyslexic pupil can least afford it. The effect compounds over the course of a school day, contributing to fatigue and disengagement.
What acoustic standard applies to mainstream classrooms in England?
Building Bulletin 93 (BB93) sets the mandatory acoustic performance targets for all new-build and substantially-refurbished school buildings in England. It specifies maximum reverberation times, maximum background noise levels, and minimum sound insulation values. SEN and specialist teaching spaces attract tighter reverberation limits than standard classrooms. Many existing classrooms -- particularly in older stock -- do not meet the current targets and can be brought into compliance through retrofitted acoustic treatment.
Can coloured glassboards help dyslexic pupils?
Some dyslexic learners find that coloured backgrounds reduce visual stress and improve reading fluency, a phenomenon associated with Meares-Irlen syndrome. A coloured glassboard used as the main writing surface can provide a consistent tinted background for displayed content. The Premier Coloured Magnetic Glass Wipe Board is available in multiple background tones and doubles as a full magnetic display surface.
Are acoustic panels disruptive to install in a working school?
No. Wall panels are fixed with proprietary adhesive or mechanical fixings and do not require trades beyond a competent installer. Ceiling rafts and baffles require bracket installation but do not need suspended-ceiling infrastructure. Most classroom installations complete in a single day and are typically scheduled during school holidays to avoid disruption to lessons or examinations.
What is the most cost-effective first acoustic intervention for a dyslexia-inclusive classroom?
Replacing standard cork or felt display boards with acoustic pin boards is usually the most cost-effective first step: the product cost is comparable to a quality cork board, installation is identical, and the display function is preserved. For rooms with significant reverb, adding a ceiling raft above the teaching zone delivers the highest acoustic return per square metre of treatment area.
To discuss acoustic or display solutions for your school's SEND strategy, get in touch with the Presentation Spaces team →
