Glad you asked – so many ways we can collaborate with you to make sure you get the learning space that will deliver for teachers and students alike!
A good starting point is always what subject is the space being used for, because that has a real impact on the furniture you’ll want. And, if the space is being used to teach more than one subject, then we stock an enormous range of furniture that reconfigures and moves around easily, allowing the space to adapt as and when it needs to and change back just as quickly.
Our teacher walls are ideal to start with in any learning space, because it’s handy for storage too, keeping the teacher in the classroom, and is a great point of focus for the whole class. Teacher walls also make use of space that might otherwise be wasted.
We also have Buddy Budgeter – a unique tool that inspire you, and will assist in planning and budgeting furniture for new learning and staff spaces in real time.
A reputable source claims that classroom design impacts on function in the following ways:
Working memory
Working memory is one’s ability to hold information in order to complete a task. It’s been described as a “sticky note” to help students complete their work. Good classroom design supports working memory by limiting teacher language and verbal directions. When the design of the classroom tells students what to do, it frees up working memory for learning content rather than procedure. The design creates routine and transparency for the students.
Organization
The design of the classroom should help students organize their bodies, their materials, and, most importantly, their thinking. There need to be clear systems in place. For example, your classroom meeting area needs to have enough room for each student.
Teachers need to be consistent so that students internalize the systems. A well-designed classroom models for students how organization helps accomplish tasks. When teachers model structures, students can start to generalize and implement these structures with their own work and thinking. An outsider should be able to walk into a classroom and understand most of these systems.
Task initiation
Task initiation is one’s ability to start a task independently. The setup of your classroom should prompt students and help them prioritize the steps of a routine.
For example, if supplies are clearly marked and accessible, students can initiate their work independently. It’s important that the materials do not distract students. When too many materials are available, students have difficulty assessing what is necessary and can become focused on the materials rather than the task.
Inhibition
Inhibition is the ability to self-monitor one’s own behaviour. When design is clear and simple, students won’t be as easily distracted and can better regulate their own behaviour. Colour can be a good tool to organize information, but when colour does not have a purpose and instead is used to decorate, it can confuse students. For example, alternating two colours when listing steps can help; however, rainbow information can hinder production.
Design should not be stagnant – students’ work and product should help you decide if your classroom is working. Teachers spend time creating their classrooms prior to student arrival, but often the design that works in September is not the design that works in February or in May. It’s important to continually reassess your design choices. Students’ perspectives can be an important part of the design assessment. When students’ input is included, the process becomes more transparent, and students can understand that design has purpose.
Plus, you really should visit our <gallery>, which has a whole heap of CADs for you to look at and download for further inspiration, and this is a great time to check out Buddy Budgeter – our unique tool that inspires and gives you costs in real time! While working together on your project, we’ll have further suggestions for you look over and comment on – so get in touch today and let’s get started!
The age of the students has quite a bearing on furniture choice; you can find a handy chair height guide right here.
To help even further, we stock a wide range of stools, chairs and tables that are height-adjustable, so all age groups/ sizes are catered for, and our hugely experienced team is always on hand to help guide you with choices that will work for your students.
Experience has taught that it’s best to cater to the bigger students in the class, and that getting the ratio between chair/ table heights correct is every bit as important as getting the right height of tables and chairs.
Proper school furniture contributes to the comfort and posture of the students which in turn helps students concentrate more and work better. This means schools have the opportunity to engage better with students through making considered furniture choices.
We offer a full range of ergonomic student, teacher and admin furniture – chairs and stools that adjust for height and have really good posture support and ventilation, or stop students from rocking while working the core.
Tables that are on height adjustable legs with lockable castors thanks to The Buddy Leg System.
An amazingly deep range of office and admin chairs that offer complete lumbar support with 2- or 3-way adjust, in a variety of low-, mid- or high-back configurations.
Feel free to get in touch with one of our highly experienced team members.
This varies almost as much as school kids do!
Our range of traditional seating (Titan, Spark, Magnum Stacker, Focus, Mata Range and Spark Range) is rated from 140 – 150kg.
We also carry a full range of stools which are rated from 120 – 150 kg. You can check the load any item is rated for by using the icon on each product page.
If you have any questions around this, please don’t hesitate to email or call.
The science of colour psychology has been widely practiced, and shows that Incorporating colour into classrooms and lessons can boost learning and memory, as well as positively affect feelings, attention span and behaviour during class.
If your school already has a colour scheme/ look and feel, no problem at all! Our wide range of finishes and textile choices means we’ll be able to work right alongside that.
However, if you are wondering about colours, you should know that there is no one-size-fits-all solution; the colours you choose will depend on your students and the tone you want to set in your school. You can see our already created product colour swatches right here for more inspiration, and you can see all the colours we offer on all our products right here! Read on to see how different colours can affect student learning and then use this knowledge to create a colour scheme for your school furniture that will help you reach your goals.
It’s best not to overstimulate students in the classroom; they need to feel calm and relaxed in this setting. Large splashes of colour like red, orange, yellow, and purple might be tough to work with, but calming colours like mild greens and blues are excellent. Brighter furnishings, on the other hand, can help these classrooms stand out. Brighter colours actually assist younger learners in growing, so a more vibrant colour pallet can be used. Some schools prefer to have quite plain learning spaces and use students’ art work to add touches of brightness.
It’s easy to see why yellow creates a sensation of happiness from within. As a result, the colour can brighten up a classroom. Yellow is a versatile colour that can be utilised to highlight a key feature.
Orange is a happy colour too. Some schools use orange in the end panels, and contrast edging to create impact and excite kids. (When it comes to the physical consequences of the colour orange, some experts claim that a room full of it enhances oxygen delivery to the brain.)
Children’s interests shift towards darker shades in high school, with bright colours being less popular. Colours that work well in high school furniture include blues, greens, violet, and turquoise, used in various ways in the classroom to break up the monotony and improve mental clarity, while the use of woodgrains is known to have a calming effect.
Warm colours make huge spaces feel more intimate, and cool colours make tiny places appear larger. A classroom atmosphere can make a student feel involved without being overstimulated by varying the temperature between warm and cool. Libraries are comparable to classrooms in that they are peaceful learning environments. In these settings, too, calmer colour palettes work well. On the other hand, bolder colour palettes stimulate engagement if the library is designed to be an area to chat or lounge.
Colour may be bolder and create excitement in multipurpose rooms like corridors, canteens and other breakout areas, and entryways since they are more informal. Corridors, displaying school colours, and adding artistic flair can all benefit from the use of colour. Playing up a stronger colour palette is essential to a creative learning environment since these areas are places of interaction.
Potent colour combinations have been used in some learning spaces to create a wonderfully unique setting. Green for example enhances efficiency and generates a sense of restfulness and peace. In the classroom, this is critical for maintaining focus. Purple, on the other hand, is the way to go if you want to add a touch of refinement to your classroom. It also promotes inventive thinking and creativity.
As you can see, choosing the right colour for school furniture is a big decision, and getting the right advice and input is really important; our team’s many years of combined experience is there to assist you with this important choice.
All our furniture is guaranteed, and the length of time each item is guaranteed for is shown in the icon you’ll find under the image, either online, in our catalogue or in a brochure.
Every product is guaranteed against faulty materials (excluding upholstery) and workmanship, based on normal usage.
Read more detail about our guarantees here.
As mentioned elsewhere on the website, class* is the ideal choice to ensure your school is doing its bit for the environment furniture-wise.
Then, for us to become a preferred AoG supplier, we had to comply with, and map out, our successful efforts relating to our efforts to minimise waste, recycling and reduce our carbon footprint.
Our ‘Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Future-Proof’ policy, committed to lowering environmental impact, actively looks for ways to improve this, with measurable targets, including waste and emissions reduction.
The class* One Planet Policy, implemented in 2016, means we work closely with all our suppliers to ensure that every product, wherever possible, uses sustainable woods, recyclable metal and plastics, as well as eco-friendly paints and finishes.
Any school, when buying furniture, can ask us to register their purchase with our Future-Proof Environmental Programme. When the item is at the end of its lifecycle and outside of its warranty period, we will collect any of those used items in CKD (disassembled) form, free of charge, and either:
• Donate it to recognised charity to extend its lifecycle or;
• If the item is beyond salvage, have it dismantled, separated by material and whenever possible sent to approved recyclers.
To lower our environmental impact, we work with a recycler who goes the extra mile by removing and recycling items and components that can be recycled. Currently, they divert 40% of what is received to recycling. All non-recyclable waste – old desktops etc. – are fed through an industrial shredder, helping it to breakdown within 7 to 10 years, rather than the typical 25 years for whole panels etc.
The packaging we use is predominantly cardboard, and our installers ensure that the cardboard packaging gets recycled.
The three key New Zealand factories we use have high-level environmental polices of their own: their foam and fibre off-cuts are recycled, and they can chip any solid timber and MDF offcuts into compostable mulch. You can read more here about how one of our suppliers is playing their part in sustainability.
We track our own footprint informally and through our management of our business, and undertaken various internal practices to reduce our carbon footprint, including:
Prior to 2014, our Gisborne staff regularly travelled (via air travel to main centres) to visit schools right throughout NZ. Since then, class* has employed out-of-town reps, which has reduced air travel and emissions by 75%. In addition to this, all our out-of-town reps work from home-based offices which eliminates hours of vehicle emissions caused by to-work travel on congested motorways.
class* has also boosted its use of online consultations with clients, which have increased by 300% since Jan 2020, further reducing emissions by staff travelling to as many on-site visits at schools.
In 2017, as part of our Future-Proof strategy, class* shifted from a multitude of various buildings across multiple storage sites, into a purpose-built facility. This new facility provides eco-friendly efficiencies such as; electric forklifts, all low-energy LED lighting, well insulated offices with double-glazing and 5-star, energy-efficient, Daikin reverse cycle heating and cooling units.
Our whole ethos is making things as simple as we can for the customer, and keeping our products clean is no exception!
Whiteboard surfaces can be cleaned every day with a clean, dry cloth. Most markers usually clean off quite easily, but some colours may be a bit more stubborn.
The best way to get a proper clean is to wait until the ink is dry – 5-10 seconds after using marker. If you wipe wet ink, you may cause smudges which will need more effort to clean; a damp cloth should help.
Make sure you only use whiteboard markers on whiteboard surfaces.
A more in-depth clean is a good idea from time to time: ask about our spray on whiteboard cleaner, it’s great for removing all residual ink. Never use any cleaning product that contains bleach, mineral turpentine, acetone or methylated spirits because it will damage your whiteboard’s surface.
For Melteca, Formica or woodgrain finishes, use a soft clean cloth to avoid scratching or damaging the surface, and apply a gentle cleaning product to the cloth first rather than directly to the surface.
For really stubborn marks or stains use Handy Andy or dilute household bleach 1:3 with water, then wipe down with a warm damp cloth.
For smearing, finger marks, marking from cold or hot dishes and stickiness, use a wipe or 2 of acetone (available at pharmacies) then wipe with a dry cloth.
Newsprint is easily removed with meths or turps.
Rust disappears with vinegar or lemon juice.
Pencil marks are easily dealt with using water and a damp cloth.
Felt pen or dry marker, methylated spirits or acetone will do the trick.
Paint or glue – acetone or lacquer thinners and glue solvents from a paint shop.
After any of the above methods, let the surface dry completely then wipe down with a soft cloth and a gentle cleaner.
Textured finishes, like wood grain for example, might need the occasional use of a soft brush to remove the residue that some cleaners leave behind.
Never use any abrasive cleaners or harsh chemicals on any desks, tables or other products. Use of aggressive cleaners like Jif, Vim, Ajax, oven cleaners, undiluted bleach, and cleaning materials like wire wool, scouring pads, sandpaper etc. will damage the surface and may affect your product guarantee.
We recommend fabric over vinyl for soft furnishings, but both finishes should be professionally cleaned when needed.
Absolutely!
We have dedicated area sales consultants who bring a raft of solutions and ideas to every meeting! While they make routine rounds of their areas on an ongoing basis, you can always arrange a meeting with them online, get directly in touch with them, or call our head office to book a face-to-face appointment.
All NZ Registered Schools don’t need to open an account, as they already have a credit account with class*. So whether your school places an order online, via email or over the phone, we’ll take care of the paperwork and send you a confirmation.
And if you’re not a school, you still don’t need an account as such to shop online, as we accept bank transfers and credit card payments.
Unlike most other suppliers, all our prices include freight, so there are no nasty hidden surprises at the end of a quote! This makes it much easier for you to budget for furniture.
Freight-inclusive prices are to main centres on both the North and South Islands – Note; deliveries to rural schools, residential addresses and multi-level businesses may incur extra charges but we’ll make you well aware of those in good time.
We also offer freight options. A lot of our items come in kitset as standard, which is more cost-effective from a freight point of view. However, if you’d prefer to get them fully assembled just let us know and we’ll quote accordingly. The icon on each product page will let you know how the item is sent out.
Any order under $500 attracts a $40 “pick and pack” handling fee.
