Poor educational
performances in many of our schools are increasingly being
linked to shabby
and deteriorating facilities within these failing
establishments.
Schools are special environments that exist for the purpose of
teaching and learning. But, for
effective learning to take place, it is essential that the
right educational environment is created.
Schools with unappealing surroundings are likely to experience
a rising number of complaints
about environmental quality and health. This will inevitably
be combined with a decreasing
interest in either teaching or learning.
Carpet can help to create appealing and attractive school
environments where teachers want to
teach, and students want to learn.
Studies of high performance schools have found that
academically successful establishments
radiate a sense of well-being that is the essence of a healthy
environment. These schools convey
a message that someone cares.
Healthy and effective school environments result from a
passionate desire and determination
to achieve excellence. High performance is inevitably the
hallmark of a well-managed school.
High performance schools also tend to manifest common traits
that are complemented and
enhanced by carpet. For example:
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A high
performance school is designed to reduce stress, and will
be comfortable and heated
to a consistent temperature. Carpet is soft and radiates
warmth. |
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Successful
schools provide both space and opportunities for students
and teachers to spread
out, reflect, interact, exchange information, and to
examine and test ideas.
Carpet provides a convenient and comfortable surface upon
which teachers and students
can sit – hence the popularity of ‘carpet time’ as a key
element in learning to read. |
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A top school
will strive to achieve student-friendly conditions
throughout the entire building.
Its attractive and inviting appearance ensures that
students and teachers want to be there,
and that the school is embraced by the local community.
Carpet colours and patterns are
designed to be aesthetically pleasing and inviting. |
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Good quality
schools enhance the atmosphere of learning through
adequate natural lighting
and effective noise control. Carpet dampens noise, absorbs
light and reduces glare. |
Taken
together, carpet boasts qualities and environmental benefits
which can play a significant
role in attracting students and teachers, and in creating a
productive learning environment.
CARPET AND
SCHOOL SAFETY
Slips, trips and tumbles can be painful, costly, and
dangerous. Falls are second only to road
traffic accidents in the number of people they kill.
Children of 10 or under form the second most likely age-group
to be injured by falls. The
possibility of a tumble can never be eliminated entirely, but
in wet conditions a slip is twice as
likely to occur on a hard surface as it is on carpet. Hard
surfaces are also less forgiving, and are
therefore more likely to result in severe injury.
Despite these obvious facts there has been an alarming trend
away from carpet installation in
schools, especially in hallways and on stairs, where more
accidents occur. Slick, hard surface
hallways become accidents waiting to happen amid the commotion
and bustle of a typical
school rush on a rainy morning. Carpet can play a vital role
in keeping our children safe at
school.
In addition, all DESSO carpets meet and exceed the European
Fire retardant requirements
NEW RESEARCH SHOWS PEOPLE LESS PRONE TO ALLERGIES
New research shows that people who have carpets in
their bedrooms are less prone to
allergies.
Reports from Sweden during the 1970‘s claimed that carpet
was a source of harmful
contaminants that could trigger allergic reactions.
Carpet’s share of the Swedish
floor covering market subsequently dropped to just 2 per
cent by 1992.
In the early 1990‘s, two professors from the Swedish
Institute for Fibre and
Polymer Research published research that significantly
challenged the previous notion
from the 1970‘s.
They found that occurrences of allergic reactions in the
general population had
increased dramatically since 1975 – as Swedish consumers
and officials reduced
their use of carpet!
LIGHTING
AND NOISE CONTROL
Natural lighting, glare reduction and noise control have all
been proven to make an important
environmental contribution to good educational performance.
Carpet absorbs light, reduces glare and, essentially, soaks up
unwanted noise. Teachers and
students can only communicate properly if they can hear one
another – and that means noise
control is critical!
Normal speech can easily echo throughout the entire school
building, but the installation of
carpet makes sound control both simple and economical to
achieve.
This was demonstrated at the Charles Young School, where
student reading skills improved
greatly after refurbishment. Carpet controlled sound, and also
enabled open classes and flexible
teaching as the floor space could now be fully used during
lessons.
Separate research carried out in California has shown that
“without carpet, effective sound
control in open space classrooms is virtually impossible to
achieve.”
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