Ideal acoustics in kindergartens and social facilities

Acoustics in daycare centres and social facilities: More than just noise reduction

The acoustic conditions in daycare centres, schools and social facilities have a significant impact on the well-being and speech intelligibility of the people in these rooms. Optimum room and building acoustics are essential, especially in daycare centres where children communicate, play and learn on a daily basis. But why exactly?

Acoustic phenomena and their effects

Various acoustic phenomena occur in enclosed spaces that affect intelligibility and noise levels:

• Reverberation time: if it is too long, speech signals overlap, making it difficult to understand.

• Sound reflections: Hard reflective surfaces lead to unpleasant volume and stress.

• Background noise: High levels caused by children playing or technical devices impair concentration and intelligibility.

These factors lead to children and carers having to raise their voices, which in turn further increases the volume in the room - a self-reinforcing cycle.

Speech intelligibility as a key factor

Children learn language by listening and imitating. Poor acoustic conditions impair speech comprehension and therefore also language development. Studies show that inadequate acoustics in daycare centres and schools can lead to increased stress, concentration problems and even long-term health consequences such as hearing fatigue or voice problems among educators.

Health effects and DGUV recommendations

The German Social Accident Insurance (DGUV) therefore recommends specific measures to improve room acoustics in social facilities. These include

• Limiting the reverberation time by using suitable absorber materials on walls and ceilings.

• The use of sound-absorbing furniture and floor coverings to reduce reflections.

• Avoiding excessive background noise through structural and technical measures.

These measures not only help to promote health, but also increase the educational quality and feel-good factor of the rooms.

‘Noise protection for little ears’

An important guide to the acoustic design of child daycare centres is ‘Lärmschutz für kleine Ohren - Leitfaden zur akustischen Gestaltung von Kindertageseinrichtungen’, which was written by the Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics IBPE. This provides valuable recommendations for minimising noise and improving speech intelligibility. These guidelines highlight the need for targeted acoustic planning in order to reduce the health and cognitive impact on children and carers.

Economic aspects for maintaining the health of staff

Good acoustics are not only an investment in well-being, but also an economic factor. Targeted improvements to room acoustics can reduce absenteeism and stress-related illnesses among teaching staff in the long term. This leads to lower costs for sickness cover and greater job satisfaction, which has a positive effect on the quality of care and the overall working atmosphere.

Who can help?

Optimising room and building acoustics requires specialist knowledge and individual planning. As an experienced acoustics engineer in Hanover and throughout Germany, I can support you in carrying out acoustic measurements and analyses as well as advising and planning customised solutions to improve room acoustics.

Feel free to contact me for a non-binding consultation, whether in the Hanover area or anywhere in Germany!