Furniture

When is a desk no longer just a desk?

When we consider driving up standards in schools, investment in technology always appears to take centre stage. However, creating and maintaining a positive learning environment with furniture that is not only comfortable but effective, is often underestimated in terms of its impact on learning.

Jörg Barth, of BESA member organisation Community Playthings, outlined: “The biggest challenge faced by schools at present, particularly primary schools, is the ever increasing need for school and nursery places. Changing demographics arae driving incredible growth in some areas, and static or declining population in others are but one issue. And of course, budgets are always under a great amount of strain. With the government pushing for higher standards in education, schools are feeling the pressure to invest in new textbooks and learning materials and can easily forget the importance of the environment in which the children learn.

“At Community Playthings we feel very strongly that the learning environment is ‘the third teacher’. If the environment is conducive to learning, it will happen almost on its own accord. This is not a new concept, it has been represented very strongly from educators as far back as Froebel and Margaret McMillan.”

Following trends
Looking back to the days of the original Conservative government’s academy schools, and the Building Schools for the Future programme, the significant investment in rebuilding these failing schools was based on the understanding that children learn better when they are in a positive, modern, stimulating environment.

So are schools now ignoring this and completely switching their budgets to the more obvious materials for learning support such as books and eLearning software?

Not completely. Our ‘Resources in English Maintained Schools’ research taken from 900 schools (597 primary and 303 secondary) is carried out annually to ensure we get the full picture of any trends. Last year, primary schools recorded an average expenditure of £2,380 on furniture. The latest data for 2014/15 suggests that spending will increase by an average of £130 to £2,510 and the outlook for 2015/16 is also positive, albeit less significant, with the typical school spending £60 more than in 2014/15. However, when we look at the percentage increase, we start to notice a small decline. In 2013/14, schools’ expenditure on furniture rose by 6.2 per cent. The following year it rose by a little less (5.5 per cent) and the forecast for 2015/16 only projects a 2.2 per cent increase. Looking positively, the increase is currently well above the level of inflation and the forecast increase in expenditure is only very slightly below these current levels.

Once expenditure from a typical primary school is extrapolated to maintained schools across England, the result indicates that nearly £42 million will be spent on furniture in 2014/15 – up £2.2 million when compared to the previous year. Over the preceding twenty-year period, furniture expenditure averaged growth of 1.1 per cent each year (with high volatility), which is lower than inflation and lower than average school and resource budgets. Therefore, the expansion noted in 2013/14 and 2014/15 needs to be placed into the perspective of low growth in the recent past.

On the down side, however, is the fact that even though average furniture spending in 2015/16 is anticipated to rise by 2.2 per cent, spending per-pupil is not increasing due to the rise in pupil numbers.

Turning to secondary schools, where the increase in pupil numbers is not such an issue, the latest data for 2014/15 suggests that spending will increase by £840 in a typical school to £14,400. The anticipated significant increase of 6.2 per cent is expected to be followed by a substantially lower level of positive growth into 2015/16, rising to just £14,520; a 0.8 per cent increase, which is well below the rate of inflation. Spending tends to vary significantly across schools and therefore some are investing a lot more while others are clearly failing to refresh their classroom furniture.

Therefore, while the average school is indicating a rise of only 0.8 per cent, due to the increase in school numbers (up 1.4 per cent on the year), total expenditure is projected to rise by 2.2 per cent, in line with primary schools. It is also important to note that the survey’s definition of ‘classroom furniture’ covers the obvious desks and chairs, but also includes play equipment, lab equipment/consumables and storage. From these sub categories, the greatest area of expenditure (37 per cent) is currently spent on desks and chairs.

Investing in quality
If we are to encourage schools to continue investing in appropriate 21st century furniture based on the fact that children respond better when seated in a conducive learning environment, then it is so important that schools carefully consider the quality and design of their investment.

As Jörg Barth explains: “It is important for schools not to simply buy any old furniture to support increasing numbers. They must consider the equipment that will facilitate learning. For a little more investment, the total cost of ownership will reduce (as the furniture will remain useful and appropriate for longer), and child development will increase.”

The quality of the product is not only evident in the manufacture, but also in the product design, sustainability, health and safety and a number of other issues. The Irresistible Classroom is one booklet of advice and information provided free of charge by Community Playthings on their website.

Martin Corbett, from i-desk solutions agrees with this sentiment. He said: “If schools take time to research the options available to them they will find that pound to pound they are much better off investing in innovative, well made furniture supplied by manufacturers who understand classroom needs.”

Of course BESA members are all companies who specialise in working within the education sector, and appreciate the challenges, budget constraints and ever changing needs of schools. We therefore recommend you start by visiting the BESA website to look at the range of furniture suppliers. Why is this so important to schools?

The answer lies in the fact that to join BESA, these organisations have to show a proven history of good customer service and delivery of products that are fit for purpose. 18 of the BESA member furniture suppliers formed a membership group, named the British Educational Furniture Manufacturers and Furniture Designers Group (BEFMG).

Over recent years, BESA’s furniture group has successfully campaigned for the introduction of a new British Standard for classroom furniture, BSEN1729 which ensures that tables, desks and chairs made for school use are properly shaped, sized and developed to prevent long-term damage to children’s backs, helping them to concentrate on learning without suffering discomfort.

Despite being competitors in theory, the member companies are passionate about supporting schools in raising standards in UK education. To do this, the group meets regularly to share ideas, thoughts, advice and guidance to ensure they all work together for the better for our schools; an admirable quality.

Corbett provides us with an example: “We have helped many schools overcome the challenges they face. It is no longer acceptable to have children sharing a computer desk. Our jigsaw designed furniture allows desks to be linked together to better fit all shapes of rooms and encourage collaborative learning. Our multi-purpose desk called the i-rise has done a lot to overcome many of schools’ current obstacles.”

Premium space
One end user is Teesside University. Matt Leng, head of learning environments, identified a need to maximise the use of its traditional PC laboratory. Historically, use of the PC lab was limited to sessions which required the use of the PCs as they were all set up on all the desk tops. The result was that the room was only available 50 per cent of the time; premium space that the busy University couldn’t justify losing. The i-desk design that the university chose meant that the desktops could convert from being a computer desk to a lesson table at the push of a button. Room utilisation is now nearer to 85 per cent.

Similar flexible use of space has been achieved at Stromness Primary School, in Orkney. ESA McIntosh, BESA member Havelock Europa’s education brand, was installed at the school to achieve two objectives. Firstly, to create an environment conducive to its students’ learning while also optimising all spaces to save rebuilding classroom space.

Havelock Europa’s design service for classroom layout included a series of bespoke teaching walls, the creation of general classrooms, environments for the teaching of art and music, a nursery, two learning spaces for special needs, staff facilities and a multi-purpose hall and dining area. The dining area includes a mixture of seating styles which spill out into the central social space. The hall also serves as an assembly area and as a space for community activities. This flexible use of space has removed numerous restrictions on the provision of teaching.

While a desk may just seem like a desk and a chair a chair, at BESA we can never stress enough the importance of giving students an appropriate and encouraging learning environment. Research has shown that high quality, well designed furniture improves concentration and reduces misbehaviour, leading to better learning outcomes, so it is worth taking the time to make the right decision for your pupils.

Schools should be aware that the British Standard for school furniture, BSEN1729, is advisory and not mandatory, so we recommend that to ensure your pupils receive the best possible opportunity to learn in a safe and comfortable environment, you should always double check that your supplier conforms to these standards.

Some of the budget furniture available on the high street might seem like good value for money at the outset and a cheaper option than some purpose-made school furniture, but it needs to be highly durable to stand up to classroom demands. In the current economic climate, whole life cycle costs are very important. Look at the supplier’s case studies and if it is a large investment, contact schools already using the equipment to find out what they think of the furniture.

If the product hasn’t been manufactured to cope with the stress and high-impact use in the classroom, its life-span may be shorter than furniture purpose-made for classroom use and therefore prove more costly in the long-run. Company history and the provision of warranties are good indications of the quality and durability of the furniture. Many BESA members offer a ten-year guarantee to ensure that their products will last.

And finally, as our BESA members have shown, with increasing student numbers to manage, investing in flexible furniture systems that enable space to be used in a number of different ways, is invaluable.

Further Information
www.besa.org.uk