School furniture in Australia can be very expensive and that is why the school management needs to put the necessary measures in place to minimise the impact of vandalism and damage to school furniture. When considering what educational furniture to buy, you already know that you will need strong and durable furniture that can withstand heavy use. You expect misuse to occur so you should try to minimise its impact.
Finding furniture that will provide value for your money is often a delicate balance and can be challenging. It is easy to find cheap educational furniture but if you prioritise cost-effectiveness alone, then the cheapest furniture available is not always the best solution as it will need more frequent replacement and repairs. This does not mean that your new educational furniture should be very expensive – just that to get value for your money, you need to find an equilibrium.
Plan
It is a perfect idea to plan and consider how your students interact with their existing furniture. Do they climb over the furniture? Do they rock on their chairs? From this, you will be able to work out the types of furniture that may suit your environment and users. Another way to determine which furniture will work for your space is to ask your students. When you provide inclusion, your students will respect the furniture since they will feel listened to. You should also ask your school furniture suppliers to recommend the best furniture to buy for your school.
Invest in modular pieces
Since classrooms are high-use areas, modular furniture is recommended for such areas. This is because it is easy to replace a single module than to buy a whole piece of furniture. Modular furniture provides good value for your money as it has a wide range of uses. It can be reconfigured at will to meet different requirements. In educational areas, this is very helpful for helping in dynamic lesson plans.
Single items of furniture such as small stools are very easy to throw around and damage. Because of this, it is best to avoid such items, especially in common room environments. It is also advised that the material of your furniture should be of a darker colour, as it will show less damage from stains and spillages. It is easy to add bright colours to your space by painting the walls with washable paint.
Chairs
You should consider skid base, stackable chairs as they are less damaging to the floor as there are no bungs to remove. The frame of skid base chairs is harder to bend and sturdier which adds to the longevity of the product.
Do some research and explore what the best school furniture suppliers have to offer.
Written by Mark Potter
