7 things to consider before buying a school locker
For headteachers up and down the country, the end is almost in sight. That perfect moment when the end of the school year approaches, and you have the long summer holiday to take a deep breath before planning for the next academic year.
Before you enjoy a well-deserved holiday, have you considered if any work is needed at your school? Now’s the time if you want to be ready for September. One area you might have considered are your lockers, do you even have any? Maybe it’s time for a change.
Why do I need school lockers?
With so many pupils and staff moving around, schools are busy environments. Keeping floor spaces and corridors clear is essential for remaining compliant with H&S and fire regulations. On top of that, storing belonging in a locker helps to make the school look tidy and presentable. No more wasting teaching time cleaning up communal areas or missed lesson time locating lost items!
What to expect from a locker supplier
You’ve decided that lockers are for you. But jump on to any search engine and you’ll find hundreds of companies selling lockers that, on the surface, appear to be very similar.
Look for a supplier who will work closely with your school to understand your requirements and what you need from your locker. They will need to cover seven key areas:
- What is my locker for?
The obvious answer is a place to store students' belongings. But have you also considered how the lockers could benefit your school in other ways?
For example, we have lockers that are suitable for charging laptops, you can opt for plastic ones that are ideal outside or even water resistant laminate lockers which are perfect for wet areas like changing rooms. You may even want to consider some of our specialist lockers and cupboards which have been designed for the safe storage of hazardous substances – ideal for the science labs!
- Do I have enough space?
Don’t let your lack of available space hold you back. That’s where the Whittan range of flexible lockers comes into play.
The modular design of our LinkLockers works seamlessly to offer the greatest flexibility. Plus, with a wide range of different sizes, we can design these lockers to entirely fit your space. Go with anything from our full, quarter or three-quarter height lockers right down to our incredibly small quarto or sixto - handy for stacking or bolting together when filling awkward spaces such as over doorways or beneath benches.
- How big should my locker be?
This is an easy area to forget, yet it’s critical. There is no point getting a whole range of lockers installed if they aren’t big enough to hold students' coats and bags.
Flexibility is key. Does the frame of your locker have the adaptability to create different internal configurations? How many shelves are inside and how many doors are on the outside? Our everyday lockers have everything from a single door to six compartments – plenty of choices!
- How do they look?
Do you want your students to take pride in their new lockers? Why not make them fun? You can get the doors of our LinkLockers in 11 standard colours. Or for additional choice, our laminate door options and you have hundreds of colours to opt for.
Go fun with the design, choose your school colours, create a checkerboard effect or mix and match. The choice is yours.
- Are they secure?
There’s no point in a locker if it’s not secure! But what lock option do you choose? Coin locks could become a pain if students continually ask staff for change. Alternatively, padlocks offer the best security, but what if a key is lost? Maybe you choose a combination lock or go hi-tech with an RFID lock. Decide which one works for your school.
- Are they practical?
With so many bodies moving around the school, litter and dirt will inevitably gather in the nooks and crannies. You can easily avoid these issues by adding a sloping top to your locker so that clutter can’t accumulate. We can also provide stands for your lockers that make cleaning underneath them possible.
It’s also worth noting that our lockers all come with ActiveCoat protection, which is a coating applied to the lockers to reduce the transmission of harmful bacteria.
- How much will they cost?
We know school budgets are stretched, which is why you need to make wise decisions when buying new equipment. Our lockers cover a range of prices from our cost-effective steel lockers through to our premium laminate solutions. We will work with your school to create a solution, budget and timescale that works for you.
It isn’t all about the upfront cost either. You also need to consider the durability of your storage to deliver the best return on your investment. Our high-quality lockers have been designed and tested to ensure they are built to survive everyday wear and tear.
Get in touch with Whittan
We work closely with schools, colleges and universities across the country, to provide safe storage solutions and peace of mind. Our cost-free site surveys and design service ensures you get the right locker for you and our installation teams are used to working to strict requirements, so we can ensure all work is completed out of school hours. We also manufacture our lockers in the UK so that we can respond quickly to your needs.
