Our Top 10 Tips When Buying Furniture for Your School

When your school or classroom furniture needs an upgrade, there’s a few things you may want to consider first. With years of experience supplying bespoke furniture solutions, we’ve witnessed some of the pitfalls and hurdles schools can go through before finding the right solution for them. That’s why we’ve put our heads together to come up with our top 10 tips when buying school furniture.

1. ‘Buy Cheap, Buy Twice’

It’s understandable that schools are looking to make savings where they can. Budgets are tight and are only getting tighter.

However, sometimes buying furniture that sits at a comfortable price point, might not provide the best long term value. Some of the budget furniture available on the high street might seem like good value for money at the outset, but it needs to be highly durable to stand up to classroom demands.

Make sure you also look for product longevity so you don’t end up buying twice. Look at the supplier’s case studies and if it is a large investment, contact schools already using the equipment to get testimonial on the product(s).

2. Innovative & Creative Furniture Design

It’s often worth bringing on-board some expertise in design. Sometimes a professional can see innovative ways of utilising a space or piece of furniture, which could bring you cost savings.

Look for a supplier with an experienced design & consultancy service.

3. Ergonomic Classroom Furniture

Now the furniture you purchase not only needs to be durable and budget-friendly – it also needs to be comfortable and ergonomically sound. The wrong choice of classroom chair, for example, could result in back pain. Remember that the height of a chair should relate to the height of a table.

Quality manufacturers following British Standard guidelines will have calculated the ideal distance between the seat of the chair and the table to ensure maximum comfort and ergonomic benefits for the pupil.

Here’s some furniture size guides to be aware of:

• Size mark: 1. Age guide: 3-4. Foot colour code: Orange. Chair seat height: 260mm. Table height: 460mm.
• Size mark: 2. Age guide: 4-6. Foot colour code: Violet. Chair seat height: 310mm. Table height: 530mm.
• Size mark: 3. Age guide: 6-8. Foot colour code: Yellow. Chair seat height: 350mm. Table height: 590mm.
• Size mark: 4. Age guide: 8-11. Foot colour code: Red. Chair seat height: 380mm. Table height: 640mm.
• Size mark: 5. Age guide: 11-14. Foot colour code: Green. Chair seat height: 430mm. Table height: 710mm.
• Size mark: 6. Age guide: 14+. Foot colour code: Blue. Chair seat height: 460mm. Table height: 760mm.

4. Furniture Warranty & After Care Service

In our experience, we advise our customers to be wary of companies who do not provide guarantees on moving parts and fabrics. Quality furniture manufacturers will offer a range of warranties covering your products from one to 20 years.

A company that stands behind its equipment will offer a warranty and have a system in place to track all goods in the field, should a customer call with a query. After care services can include telephone and email support, on-site visits if necessary, product training, operation and maintenance. We advise checking your suppliers to ensure they have this cover available.

5. Don’t Forget Deliveries & Returns

If you’re considering costs, make sure you factor in delivery and installation. Some furniture suppliers with offer this free whereas others will charge for delivery. Take this into account when comparing costs.

It’s also worth noting that if you are thinking about returning an item you may incur a restocking fee – often this a percentage of the order value. You may not be able to return bespoke items.

6. Furniture Installation

It’s fantastic if you have a team already to help install your furniture. Working with clients on projects large and small for a number of years, we know all too well that sometimes our customers have needed that extra bit of help on-site. We recommend you consider if you’ll need the extra support installing your school furniture and equipment as often suppliers will be able to offer this service.

7. Get a Fabric Sample!

We’ve all been there… you order something from a catalogue online or over the phone and the colour shown on screen / in print, often is not what arrives. That berry red is actually bright pink – oh dear!

We recommend you ask for fabric samples before committing to purchase a full suite of chairs or sofas. A good supplier will recommend you do this – in fact some products have 1000s of options available not advertised in the catalogue.

8. Reliable Lead Times

Schools are busy places and need to be given accurate and reliable lead times to plan project delivery properly. Long lead times and poor communication is frustrating. You want to ensure your supplier is able to provide you with an estimated time of arrival at the point of enquiry.

Lead times will vary from manufacturer to manufacturer, so it’s best to check this with your supplier before making any commitments.

9. Peak Times in Manufacturing

From June – August lead times can increase due to sheer demand. If you’re planning a project that needs to be delivered before term starts in September, it’s best to start planning early and book your order before May 31^st for guaranteed delivery in the school holidays.

10. Do Your Research!

There are a lot of suppliers claiming to offer classroom products that meet your exact needs. In some cases that may be true, but don’t be tricked in to an offer too good to be true. If you’re unsure about a supplier or product, ask for referrals or case studies.

Paper Plus is an established supplier of school consumables and furniture solutions. We support schools with their development projects and refurbishments by offering a bespoke and comprehensive design and project management service. Get in touch for a free consultation.