FEATURE FOCUS: INTELLIGENT CLASSROOM DESIGN
and expected increases in costs, translates to around to a £40,000 decrease in an average sized primary school and a £210,000 decrease in an average sized secondary. With additional pressure on schools to meet ever-increasing standards and challenges, exacerbated by the continued threat of Covid-19, staff are having to work with units which have been installed for many years and which have become chipped or damaged, making them difficult to keep clean resulting in the potential for spreading infection.
It is also said that there are reports that teachers are frequently disappointed by the lack of storage space, particularly at a time when schools and colleges are being asked to be more flexible in their response to student needs.
The problem is increased by the use of temporary classrooms. Some education professionals are claiming that around a third of primary schools and 40% of secondaries are now teaching pupils in temporary classrooms. This has made the need for additional storage even more critical. The original idea was that portable cabins and other types of modular designs were supposed to be around for a limited period. In spite of that promise, many have been in constant use for more than 10 years and it does not look likely that the situation will change in the near future.
In the West Midlands, for example, out of a total of 1,155 primary schools in the region, 321 are having to teach pupils in temporary buildings and in secondaries, 123 out of 287 schools are using mobile outbuildings according to recent press reports. This situation is replicated in most parts of the country, according to experts.
Fortunately, head teachers have recognised the problem and are prepared to work more closely with leading manufacturers to ensure the delivery of modern storage solutions to meet the needs of schools in the 21st century. Fixed storage units are now fitted with sloping tops to ensure dust is unable to build up and any surfaces can be easily wiped clean. Safety is also a consideration as staff
could store boxes on top of wall units without sloping tops which would constitute a health and safety risk.
Serious consideration has to be given to ensuring that there are no sharp corners or edges where students, particularly younger pupils, might be injured as a result of a fall. The right choice of colour – particularly in primary schools - and making the best use of available space is also a challenge – while at all times delivering maximum value for money.
There is no doubt that schools are striving to be more welcoming, but that is difficult when you have schools in serious need of refurbishment and where space is critical, possibly due to overcrowding and need to create more classrooms.
These changes also come with a host of other massive challenges. There are reports that in secondary schools, more than 40% of students are not achieving baseline standards; 44% leave without gaining at least five GCSEs grade A* to C and one in seven
secondary aged pupils suffers from a mental disorder.
Of children leaving primary education, 43% have not reached adequate levels of reading, writing and maths according to reports from Centre Forum and research body Education Data Lab; 20% leaving primary school haven’t even reached the accepted standard in at least one of the core subjects and as with secondary, one in ten primary aged children also suffers from a mental disorder.
We recognise the problems but what has this to do with something as humble as a storage unit? Clean vibrant units provide essential facilities for teaching professionals, but more importantly, well maintained colourful units help to create the right ambience for pupils and have been shown to contribute to wellbeing. Modern units, which are easier to keep clean, also help to reduce the risk of infection.
This is particularly important at a time when schools are being asked to be more flexible than ever before with the ability to adapt – sometimes in just a few hours - to the rapidly changing needs of student demands. The most important focus for every school facility is, of course, the students. This has to have an impact on everything we do in terms of designing furniture for a school environment where we have to ask ourselves one key question. How can we make the education experience better and create an environment that promotes wellbeing? While good design, colour and materials all play a key part in this, it really all comes down to working closely with schools to provide solutions that individually work for them – and no two schools or colleges are the same. It is the manufacturers and designers who are prepared to be flexible, who are willing to see how schools are responding to these changes, who will be the most successful and it is up to head teachers to embrace those possibilities – and that’s why it is time to think again about the humble storage unit.
February 2023
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