Campaign launched to improve school furniture

School furniture has not developed in 50 years and

must do urgently to aid learning and protect children, delegates at a new campaign launch

have been told. A call to action, Safe seats of learning, urged specifiers, manufacturers and education professionals to

work together to ensure children can enjoy and benefit from much better environments, which would

aid both learning and teaching, reduce the risk of recurrent back pain and recognise the different

shapes and sizes of growing youngsters.

Introducing the launch event, Hayden Davies, Managing Director of FIRA International [Furniture

Industry Research Association], said price was the overwhelming factor which currently dictated the

purchase of furniture used in most schools, which contrasts with every other area of the furniture

industry.

“School furniture has basic design and minimal development,” he said. “In all other areas, design

innovation drives furniture sales. But in most schools, furniture has not changed for 50 years – how

many people have the same kitchen they had 50 years ago?”

Keynote speaker Ty Goddard, Director of the British Council for School Environments [BCSE] told a

capacity audience at London’s Royal Society of Arts that the BCSE had become an organisation of

300 members in the past two years, and urged those present to form a similar coalition to support the

case for great furniture in schools.

“FIRA has produced a document which is so complex in its simplicity, and so simple in its complexity

that it can really help make a difference. Huge changes in education such as personalised learning,

schools for the community and the Children’s Plan will have significant implications for educational

space planning, and Safe seats of learning is a clarion call for change. We need the same kind of

campaign against turkey twizzler-type school furniture as there was against Turkey twizzler-type

school food, and this accessible discussion paper will help make that happen.

“Poor ergonomic design affects handwriting, concentration and the general well-being of pupils.

Furniture can do so much more than it is currently given credit for; good ergonomic design creates a

sense of ownership and respect.”

Alison Wadsworth, Senior Designer at the Department for Children, Schools and Families, said Local

Education Authorities are being allocated an average of around £10m to spend on furniture and

equipment under the Building Schools for the Future programme of refurbishment in secondary

schools.

“Schools often focus on equipment as it is assumed there is a direct link to learning and therefore,

ultimately, results, but we need to get the message across that furniture plays a big part in the

environment and the learning experience; it is just as important as equipment, buildings and other

learning resources.”

http://erayfurniture.com/read_blog/furniture-news/campaign-launched-to-improve-school-

furniture-26.html