Tuesday 7 April 2015

Lockers for Schools

Lockers are being used more and more in the school environment. In primary schools they help to keep the children's belongings separate and tidy, and to teach the pupils how to take responsibility for their own things.

In secondary and high schools, lockers are more secure and allow students to store their belongings safely. They also provide privacy to students during a sensitive time in their lives.

Primary school lockers
Many primary schools are now replacing their coat pegs with lockers, primarily to save space and improve the image of the school. Coat pegs can look fairly untidy to visitors.

primary school lockers

Primary school lockers tend to be only around 1.3 metres in height so that school children can easily access them. They are usually coated with an antibacterial finish to help to combat the many bugs that primary school children swap between themselves.

Lockers intended for use by small children are often available in a range of bright colours, which allows them to fit in with the style of most primary schools, where a bank of grey lockers would look out of place. Schools can also choose to colour code their lockers, so that reception pupils may have yellow lockers, year one pupils may have red ones and so on through the year groups. This makes it easier for the children to find their own lockers in areas where several year groups share a space and also brings some colour to the school.

Most primary school lockers come with a cylinder lock and two keys, but keys are usually only issued to the older pupils. Perforated or transparent lockers are particularly well suited to primary schools because the children can more easily identify their own locker if they can see their own belongings inside. However, it does also allow them to see what other children have in their space which can tempt them to enter lockers other than their own.

primary school lockers

Many primary schools purchase open lockers (those without doors) for their pupils so that they can more easily access their belongings.

Most primary schools have strict rules concerning what can be brought into school so there shouldn't be anything of any value in a primary school locker. This means that security is not so much of an issue, and lockers are used more to keep belongings tidy and clean, as well as to teach children the value of having their own personal space, and the responsibility that it entails.

For pupils in the last year of primary school, security and privacy are more important so it becomes more important that they can lock their lockers and that no one can see inside them.

Secondary school lockers.
Lockers for older children need to be more secure than those in primary schools because they could contain mobile phones, money, medication or personal items. Sturdier lockers tend to be used and keys are issued to all pupils who are issued a locker.

In schools that are experiencing problems with lots of contraband items being brought into school, which can range from iPads, to cigarettes and alcohol, right up to drugs and knives, transparent lockers may be installed. This sacrifices the privacy of students but is often deemed necessary.

primary school lockers

A spare key is kept by the school so that they can replace lost keys or access lockers if they suspect that there's something in there that shouldn't be. Secondary school students will regularly lose their locker keys and having new keys cut can get very expensive. For this reason, many schools offer to pay for one replacement key but will charge pupils for all additional keys required. This helps to reduce the cost to the school and also encourages students to better look after their keys.

Quiet lockers.
A large group of students all accessing their lockers simultaneously can make a huge amount of noise. For this reason, many schools opt for special quiet lockers. They tend to made from steel and to be fitted with rubber door linings, quiet latches and door stiffeners to reduce the volume generated by opening and closing locker doors, and minimise the disturbance to other pupils in the school.

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