The release of the Learning Connections report last week by Thornton Education Trust (TET) is a reminder that universities don’t only work with their own grown-up students, but also with children and young people. TET focuses its efforts on campaigning for and supporting young people’s built environment engagement – in whatever form that might take. In the case of universities, TET points out what it calls the “mutual benefits” of this engagement work – on the one hand enriching learning experiences for university students and on the other offering opportunities for children and young people to extend their interactions with their built environment.

At one level universities are duty-bound to work with young people and their teachers to fulfil their obligations to meet widening participation targets. Small central teams dedicated to this outreach activity work in partnership with academics. But this is only part of the story. The Learning Connections report focuses on identifying examples of children’s engagement in UK Schools of Architecture and Built Environment, categorising these examples into four types: live projects, programmes, workshops, and resources. Most likely to be optional, opportunities for students to work with young people nevertheless appear as a possibility at some point during many built environment related design courses.

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