Education Business

Imagine if all our clothes were only made in one size. Ridiculous. Great, if you just happen to fit that one size or you perform in the big top with big shoes and a red nose, but what if you’re not a professional clown?
    
Well, that’s what’s happening right now with school furniture, one size apparently still fits all. It’s a nonsense and downright Victorian to assume that our children are all one size, still work down mines and crawl up chimneys for a crust of bread. Children have got bigger. There you are, I’ve gone and said it. Parents will be queuing at my door with ‘how dare you call my ‘wee Johnny’ fat! Well, I’m not; its’ just that over the post-war years our kids have grown in stature.

Growing in size
The last study was in the1970s and our children have increased in size since then; and that’s a fact. Their shape has changed because we’re not on World War Two rations anymore. We all know (ask any teacher worth their pay packet) about children fidgeting in class. There’s a lot for our teachers to contend with these days; downtime, loss of attention and disruption to the ‘teaching flow’.
    
It must really grate with our teachers that they seemingly waste so much time chiding children with ‘sit up’ and ‘don’t slouch’. It’s little wonder that some pupils do shift their sitting position all the time – they’re uncomfortable! It’s linked to the fact that the seating and furniture they’re using has no flexibility.
    
I’ll need to take you back to the ill-fitting clothes on this one. How many times have you thrown out a pair of trousers or a skirt because they’re too tight or too loose? The levels of discomfort in a badly designed seat are the same. If Trinny and Susannah were in education they’d have a fit. Our children spend some 15,000 hours sitting at their desks during their time in education.

A pain in the back
One recent UK study reported that 36 per cent of 11-14 year olds had recurring back pain. That’s simply unacceptable and positively criminal in this day and age. It’s a tangible problem that in some of our schools pupils are still exposed to improper seating and desks which encourages them to constantly change position. How often have teachers seen students rock back and forth on their seats with the inevitable result…wallop! This flaw in the now outdated notion that all pupils are still are one size, is in my opinion, a major contribution to back and posture problems with our 10-16 year olds. The incidence of reported back problems is alarmingly high and on the increase. As a dedicated education supplier, I’m depressed that this problem hasn’t been tackled with the seriousness it deserves.

A comfortable workplace
The level of comfort, safety and design we value at home and at work should also be applied to our schools. The workplace for us is very important in terms of environment, ergonomics and comfort. We don’t like being taken out of our comfort zone. Just moving desk, pot plant and photos of the beloved freaks some people.         

The school is the workplace of our children; frankly it should be given the same respect. Are we to expect within the next ten years a population of’ twenty something’s’ stooped double because we didn’t do anything about their posture at school? I’m not telling everybody to get down to the local Pilates class; it’s all about addressing a very crucial issue which really does have an ‘easy fix’.
    
FIRA (Furniture Industry Research Association) have recently launched their ‘safe seats of learning’ campaign which can only be a good thing. They’ve rightly identified that there a number of areas that need looking at; ergonomics, teaching, procurement and quality. The quality and procurement section of the report is where I come in and it’s where I bang my ‘education supply drum.’ What’s the point in buying nasty cheap chairs and desks from a ‘questionable supplier’ because the finances wouldn’t stretch to something better? Would you buy your next car from a ‘dodgy back street trader’ or would you go to somewhere you know and trust? It seems to me that there is some huge mental block when it comes to the education procurement process with some establishments.
    
‘Pete the paperclip’ is still out there and still supplying what he wants to sell, not what the school actually needs. Talk to any quality education supplier that really cares and they’ll tell you to buy better and perhaps less frequently to ensure you have furniture that will last.
    
Back to the ‘old threads‘again I’m afraid – quality clothes fit better, last longer, they wont fall apart and don’t go out of date. Better school furniture can make a positive difference; we should value and accept this.

So, in my humble opinion buying on the cheap may fit the budget but it certainly won’t fit the purpose, unless we all want a job with Billy Smarts Circus.

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