Considerations for Classroom Flooring – How to choose the right flooring solution.

The process of updating the flooring in a school or nursery is a major undertaking and there are many things to consider before the flooring fitters arrive. If you are a Head Teacher, Business Manager, or Governor researching flooring options for your school’s classrooms, here’s a few things to take into consideration.

Durable and Hard-Wearing

The number one thing for classroom flooring is that it must be hard-wearing. With significant foot-fall every day along with chairs being scraped, tables being moved around and bags flung on the floor, classroom flooring has to withstand a lot and still look good.

Today school leaders have many flooring options open to them, and depending on the use of the classroom and the atmosphere that you want to create, hard-wearing flooring comes in many forms including carpet, carpet tiles, hardwood or vinyl. Whilst you might choose carpet in some classrooms, you can opt for wipeable vinyl in the art and music rooms.

Our flooring experts have a lot of experience and can advise you on the best flooring solutions for your needs.

Safety and Spillages

Another key concern for school classroom flooring is safety. Whether a primary school classroom or a chemistry lab in a secondary school, spillages occur and areas around sinks become wet.

It’s vital that any flooring does not become slippery when damp. Safety flooring that is anti-slip, hygienic and easy-clean is essential, whilst it can also have additional properties such as having comfortable underfoot and helping to reduce ambient noise levels.

Specialist suppliers such as Altro and Polyflor supply custom-made safety flooring allowing you to still create fantastic looking classroom flooring, but giving you peace of mind that your obligations under the Health and Safety Executive are met.

Noise Reducing

Schools are noisy places. You only have to live near one to know when the children are having outdoor break time! But as a rule, most learning and concentration takes place in a quieter environment.

The acoustic properties of a classroom are important and can be aided by the type of flooring used. Teachers voices must carry across the whole classroom if they are to be understood and children are to learn effectively.

The building materials, heights of ceilings and other soft furnishings in a room will all have a bearing on the amount of noise absorbed or bouncing off the walls. However, the use of certain flooring such as carpets can either dampen down the noise of the room whilst the use of hardwood and vinyl can aid the travel of a teacher’s voice.

Colours and Aesthetics

We notice more and more that flooring is an essential part of creating the aesthetics of a room and overall environment of a building, and this is just as true in schools.

The style and colour of the flooring in classrooms can help to create the desired environment. Whether you are looking to create a maths classroom that is calm and helps children concentrate, or an art room that is inspirational and aides imagination and creativity, the use of colour and pattern can affect children’s learning and emotions.

A study in the UK found that changing the colour of a classroom could dramatically increase the learning potential of a child. The choice of colour can always be accentuated or complemented by the style of flooring.

What is the right colour?

There is a science to the psychology of colour and there are guidelines to use certain colours for different age groups. For pre-schools and primary schools it is suggested that the warmer side of the palette (red/orange/yellow) is used. Whilst for secondary schools and higher education you should tend towards the cooler colours (blue/green/mauve).

Flooring helps to create the overall colour of a room and materials such as vinyl and Marmoleum are both versatile, allowing you to design patterns, or incorporate logos or mottos within the flooring, to give real personality and uniqueness to a given space.

Flexible Service – Minimal Disruption

We understand that when running a school or nursery it’s important that contractors come in and complete the job with minimal disruption to the timetable as possible. We have lots of experience in working with schools across the Bristol and Bath area and are therefore able to offer a very flexible service to fit in with your timing restrictions.

Contact our school flooring specialists on 0117 963 7979 for more information and advice or to arrange a free site visit.

Categorised in: Commercial Flooring, Interior Trends, Uncategorized

This post was written by Binks