Applications open: schools can join the Noise Fighters programme in 2026/2027
Free classes for grades 1-3 together with teaching materials. Schools may apply until 30 September 2026.
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Instytut Komfortu Edukacji
School acoustics matter
Research, knowledge and practical work on the sound environment of schools, and what it means for children and teachers.
NewsAll publications →
New publication: a child’s age and listening in noise
A review of ten developmental studies covering children aged 4 to 17.
Read more →Acoustic booth selection tool
Five questions about the space and how it is used. The result is indicative only.
Open →List of studies, reports and standards used in our publications
Every source used in at least one Institute article, with a link to the original.
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Latest publicationsAll publications →
The same classroom, a different effort. Why a child’s age matters for listening in noise
Ten studies on how age changes the difficulty of listening in noise and reverberation.
Read →What does an acoustic survey of a school actually measure? Decibels are only the beginning
A guide to the parameters of an acoustic report: LAeq, reverberation time, STI, sound insulation.
Read →Can you get used to noise? Half a century of research on children and chronic exposure
Eight classic studies on why the absence of a reaction is not the absence of a cost.
Read →Noise does not stop at the window. What research says about road and air traffic around schools
Eight studies on road and aircraft noise around schools - including those that found no association.
Read →What IKE does
Four areas of the Institute’s work. Each leads to its own section of the site.
Knowledge and research
Analysis of studies, reviews, publications and source materials.
Knowledge library →School acoustics
Sound conditions, measurement, reverberation, speech intelligibility and analysis of the environment.
See more →Education
Materials for children, parents, teachers and schools.
Materials →Solutions
Practical measures and recommendations that answer a specific acoustic problem.
Solutions →Projects and teaching materials
Noise Fighters
A free education programme for grades 1-3. Children learn what noise is and how to recognise their own reactions to sound. The school receives materials for further work.
About the project →Materials for parents
An observation checklist, guidance for talking to the school, and materials that help recognise sound overload in a child.
Go to the materials →Materials for schools
Resources for use in lessons, in the staff room and in conversations with parents.
Go to the materials →Photographs marked with the AI symbol were generated using artificial intelligence.
About the Institute
IKE brings together acoustics, education and child development to produce materials, publications and initiatives that support a better sound environment in schools. Our work draws on research, standards, measurement and the experience of pupils and teachers.
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