Nearly a quarter told the British Council for School Environments poll that their school did not have the right level of security.
Schools Minister Jim Knight said top design standards were at the heart of government school building programmes.
The findings came in an online poll run by the Teacher Support Network for the BCSE.
Teachers were asked for their opinions on their school environment and how this affected teaching, learning and pupils' behaviour.
They were asked to rate the design of their school in terms of its effectiveness as a learning environment.
Just 12% said they considered the design of their school buildings to be effective, while 32% said they were poorly designed.
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