Question: I have read that for some children where they sit in class can have an affect on their learning eg on left side of room, near a window, sideways onto the front of the room etc. Do you know of any research into this and how the change in environment is affecting how the brain functions, please?

Anna Simmonds answered on 15 Apr 2015:

I’m not aware of any evidence supporting those suggestions and it seems unlikely that there would be any differences in brain function based on where the child sits in class. There is evidence to support the importance of things like getting enough sleep and having a good breakfast though (see Paul Howard-Jones’ literature review for more detail https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/uploads/pdf/NSED_LitReview_Final.pdf especially p21-23).

It could be that if a teacher is told that children who sit on the left side will learn better, they might start treating those children differently (even without being aware of it), or giving more attention which could impact on learning.

In their Teaching and Learning Toolkit the Education Endowment Foundation looked at how changes to the physical environment of schools affect learning and found that physical changes are unlikely to have a direct effect on learning, with very low or no impact for low cost based on very limited evidence: (https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/toolkit/toolkit-a-z/physical-environment/). They suggest that in a new learning environment, there are opportunities to change the expectations and behaviour of pupils, but it is unlikely to have a direct impact on learning.