Can the right education furniture boost a child’s reading skills?

Fostering a love of books is the cornerstone of education, especially in the early years, but boosting an enthusiasm for old fashioned paper, in the face of endless screen technology, can be a challenge for even the most talented teacher. Research from the University of Salford in 2015 highlights the importance of clever classrooms in bolstering performance and notes that the impact of carefully considered educational furniture works alongside factors like light, colour, and air quality to improve performance by as much as 16%. In this article we look at how choosing the right education furniture can boost a child’s reading skills.

Why bookcases are important

• Organisation

A good quality bookcase means you can keep your books organised, so it’s easy for students to find what they are looking for. Whether you need to organise by subject or reading level, keeping everything in place will make things easier for you and your classrooms, and minimise any barriers created through frustration at not being able to find what is being sought.

• Accessibility

Freedom to choose a book is an important part of developing a genuine love of reading and good quality educational furniture means you can be confident that even younger children can pick out a book of their choice without any additional safety concerns.

• Added appeal

Using colour to highlight your bookcases will add appeal to what may otherwise seem fusty; an exciting colour like yellow will draw attention and inspire children to explore the shelves.

What if my classroom doesn’t have room for a bookcase?

Space is often at a premium and a full-size bookcase may not be a practical option. For this situation, choosing something like a mobile base unit is ideal. It can be used to create a book nook, where pupils can select as they wish and feel they still have a choice. You can take advantage of having a flat worktop to display the books, making it easy for younger pupils to choose. Manoeuvrability means it’s easy to create a special reading area, as well as being easy to keep books neat and tidy at the end of the reading session.

The concept of a clever classroom is deceptively simple and making straightforward changes like choosing the right educational furniture is invaluable in helping children garner a true love of the written word.

How to boost reading skills – where to find out more

If you are looking for classroom and education furniture, then David Bailey can help. We manufacture a range of classroom furniture including wall units, base units, storage trays and mobile furniture. Our focus on education and school furniture systems combined with over 35 years expertise in designing, manufacturing and installing nationwide, ensures that we can meet your project requirements. Our products are specified by a wide range of architects and installed across education facilities including nursery, primary, secondary, college, universities and special needs, including Headington Girls School, Oxford; Farnborough College of Technology; and Yateley Community School. You can read more of our education case studies here.

See our full range of education furniture here. Or get in touch to discuss how we may be able to help your latest project.