This article discusses a survey of contemporary practices of sustainable school design. It reveals a trend that relies on technological fixes and outlines barriers to this, primarily related to lack of awareness of benefits, and a limited perception centring on the process of pre-design, design and construction but ignoring the use phase. To overcome the barriers, this article argues that a paradigm shift is required, embracing the creation of sustainable systems through a holistic approach to education, so that design operates and interacts with other disciplines. The suggestions provided could also be used to improve sustainable architectural practices in general.