Deciding when its Time to Replace School Lockers

Posted by Nata Rukhadze on

School lockers are an essential part of the educational environment, providing students with a secure space to store their belongings. Are you unsure if your lockers simply require some maintenance or a replacement? It’s conceivable that Helmsman can assist with the upkeep and servicing of the lockers rather than having to buy new ones if yours are growing old, have creaky doors, or have lost keys. Our team of highly qualified engineers will maintain your lockers in excellent condition.

In this blog, we will explore when it is the best time to replace school lockers, considering factors such as safety, functionality, and overall aesthetics.

Some signs to look out for:

Physical Wear and Tear

Lockers endure a significant amount of physical stress from daily use. If you start noticing rust, dents, broken hinges, or malfunctioning locks, it may be an indication that the lockers no longer provide the level of security and functionality required. Regular inspections can help to identify these issues early on.

Outdated Design and Feature

Educational sectors should adapt to meet the evolving technological requirements. If the features on your school lockers fade to enhance convenience and security, it could be time for a change. Modern lockers might include advanced locking systems, better ventilation, as well as charging lockers to charge electronic belongings.

Safety Concerns

In every kind of learning environment, safety comes first. Lockers that have loose doors, sharp edges, or malfunctioning locking systems should all be fixed right away if they provide a safety risk.

Next steps in replacing school lockers

Material

Before you do anything else, you should consider the materials and the kind of locker you want for your school. Even though metal material is a traditional locker, you may wish to upgrade to laminate lockers where the doors are solid grade laminate and mild steel carcass construction, it is composed of a more durable and unlikely to scratch or dent. Whilst laminate is more expensive, compared to metal lockers however it has more value towards the material as there wouldn’t be any replacement needed due to dents or scratches.

Design

Next, you’ll need to think about what will be going into the lockers and how much space you’ll need for each compartment. Here at Helmsman, we have a variety of stages in the education sector. KS1 is 1250mm high whereas KS2 lockers are 1600mm high and available in 1 or 3 compartments, which is suitable for secondary and above. For both lockers, bespoke sizes and solutions are also offered.

Whilst our standard range is available up to 6 compartments which would mean that more students you will be providing for.

Accessories

Keep in mind it’s not only about the lockers inside space. There are several more accessories, locking choices, and numbering options that are available for both laminate and metal lockers. Sloping tops are a popular option as they prevent the increase of dust and prevent the top of the lockers from being used as storage which can create a safety hazard if any items fall off.

Timing

Although the summer holiday may seem a long way away, it’s never too early to get in touch with us and start planning on replacing school lockers. You don’t want to miss the boat since there isn’t much time during the summer holiday to get repairs and replacements done. It’s possible that the laminate colour you’ve chosen has a longer lead time than anticipated or that you want our skilled staff to install the lockers during the busiest part of summer break. It’s also a good idea to plan ahead rather than wait, as all of our lockers are made to order.

Contact us today at 01284 530495 for more information about our school lockers or get your quote here.

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Why buy school lockers instead of renting?

Posted by Jess Fry on

With the modern schooling world providing students with more, and often heavier items to carry around during the school day, the benefits of school lockers are clear. Of course, with many locker providers around the UK, and both purchase and rental options, it can be overwhelming to think about where to get your school lockers from.

Of course, whilst renting lockers can have its positives, there are also lots of benefits to purchasing lockers instead of renting.

Access

Firstly, should you purchase your own lockers, you can also buy a master key for the locks. This can be kept on-site, perhaps in the reception or office area of the school, and allows easy, immediate access to the lockers. This is particularly handy if a student misplaces their school locker key, or if access is needed to the lockers for security purposes by the school.

Security

On the subject of keys, many rental locker companies can require students to return their keys at the end of the school year, so that the lockers can be reallocated to students the following year. This can pose a security risk if keys are not returned or could mean that the rental company requires access to the lockers during the school holidays to replace locks. This could pose an inconvenience as staff members would be required to come in during the summer break.

Repair

A common problem with school lockers is that they can be broken by students, whether this be with graffiti, dents, marks, or other damage. Should you rent your lockers, you’ll need to arrange for an engineer or service member from the rental company to come in to fix them. This can mean lockers are out of action for extended periods of time. Your own lockers can be maintained by yourselves, most damage caused by students could be fixed by your own caretakers and the lockers be useable much quicker.

Cost

Rental lockers might seem like a financial benefit for schools, particularly with budgets being cut and pennies being saved. However, rental lockers aren’t free. The parents of school children pay a yearly fee for the lockers, and in the current cost of living crisis, this may well be another thing parents just cannot afford. This can mean some students end up carrying around heavy bags all day simply because their families cannot afford to pay for a locker.

Of course, if you do decide to go down the route of purchasing lockers for your school, this can be costly. Whether you’re planning on purchasing metal lockers, laminate lockers, or something else entirely, it’s important to make sure you are buying lockers of high quality and from the right supplier. There are a lot of locker companies in the UK, many of which claim to be the UK’s leading suppliers. We at Helmsman are one of the UK’s largest manufacturers, meaning many of these suppliers will purchase their lockers from us to sell on. By coming directly to the manufacturers, you can avoid the extra margin charged by the suppliers and get the best price for your lockers.

Want to know more, or are thinking about replacing your school lockers? Contact our helpful Sales Team today on 01284 727626 or fill in our contact form here.

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A Guide to School Lockers

Posted by Jess Fry on

With many people’s memories of school featuring lines of lockers filled with books, bags and stationery, have times really changed that much? Are lockers still as important in the modern schooling world?

The short answer would be yes. The number of books and stationery the average student needs on a day to day basis hasn’t changed all that much, especially if you consider adding a laptop or tablet to that load too. Medical experts specify that children should not carry more than 10% of their body weight, particularly on their backs. A recent study found that some children are carrying up to 20%, exceeding this recommendation. Lockers are a perfect solution to this problem.

There are many other benefits to providing your primary school or secondary school with long lasting lockers too:

  • They can provide space for staff to keep their belongings secure during the school day, away from reach of children.
  • Pupils have a safe place to store items, rather than the commonly used classroom drawers. This can be particularly useful for items such as phones and tablets, or other items that you don’t want distracting in classrooms.
  • Students can also gain a sense of responsibility for their own belongings and encourage them to keep a tidy workspace.

There are a variety of options when it comes to choosing school lockers. Our simple guide will help you decide what’s right for your school.

Size

Many other lockers suppliers only offer a full-size locker and a Low-Level Locker. However, with over 40 years of experience working with the education industry, Helmsman has determined the ideal height of our school lockers for different age groups. Due to this, we manufacture three standard heights of school lockers.

  • Key Stage 1 Lockers at 1200mm
  • Key Stage 2 Lockers 1600mm
  • Full Sized Lockers at 1800mm

Of course, as we manufacture all our products to order in our Bury St Edmunds factory, we can also provide bespoke sizes and solutions for your school lockers. Whether this is to fit in a specific sized area, or to allow for additional compartments, we can discuss a fully bespoke option for your project.

 Compartments

Important things to consider when choosing your compartment options are how many students you are needing to cater for? What items will they be keeping in their lockers? And do you expect either of these answers to change in the future?

Our Key Stage 1 and 2 lockers can be supplied with 1 to 3 compartments, and our full-sized lockers can be manufactured with 1 to 6 compartments.

Material

Before deciding what material you want your lockers to be manufactured from, you’ll need to decide on a few other factors first.

Where will the lockers be situated?

If they are going to be in a potentially wet area like a changing room, you’re going to need wet specification lockers with the body manufactured from stainless steel and aluminium. If they’re going in a corridor, you’ll just need a dry specification locker produced from mild steel.

What are they being used for?

The standard choice for school lockers is usually metal. Our metal locker door frames have added strength and security and can be manufactured from mild steel or zinc-plated metal. If your lockers are in high-traffic areas and likely to be bumped, scratched or caught, a laminate door provides a more heavy-duty option.

What’s the budget?

If you’re looking to keep costs down, a metal locker door will be the cheapest option, and our Helmsman lockers will stand the test of time. However, for a long lasting, heavy duty and more stylish looking locker, you could consider laminate doors. Whilst they are a more expensive option, the material will do much better at withstanding scratches, dents and scuffs, and perhaps save you money on repairs in the long run.

Colour

Helmsman’s school lockers come in a variety of colours and finishes. Our metal lockers can be powder coated in a range of colours, from the classic Royale blue to Pumpkin orange or Blush pink. We also have a selection of brilliant laminate suppliers, meaning we can offer bright pops of colour, wood effect laminates, and even carbon neutral options. We can match your school colour scheme, or even provide different coloured lockers for different sections of the building to help split up the allocation process, it’s entirely up to you.

Locks

As standard, our School Lockers come complete with either Cam locks or Hasp locks included in the price. These are both great options for primary and secondary school lockers, with the students simply needing either a key or a padlock. Master keys can also be provided for cam locks should students lose their keys.

Other options include combination locks, digital locks and more.

Extras

We offer a variety of extras with our lockers at Helmsman. A particularly popular option with school lockers are sloping tops. These are designed to stop any items from being placed on top of the lockers, keeping the area tidy and clutter free. Stands can be provided to lift the lockers from the ground, and seat stands can be a helpful addition to lockers within changing rooms.

For more information on our primary and secondary school lockers, or to talk to a member of our experienced team, call us on 01284727626 or click here and fill out our contact form.

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Replacing School Lockers

Posted by Jess Fry on

Do they need replacing?

There are many reasons why you might think the lockers in your school need replacing. Perhaps they’re looking old and worn out, maintenance bills are piling up or you simply just need to cater for more students than before. Whatever the reasons, it is worth thinking about replacing your school lockers with plenty of time to prepare.

Unsure about whether your lockers need replacing or just some TLC? If your lockers are getting old, have creaky doors, or have keys missing, it’s possible that Helmsman can help with the maintenance and service of the lockers rather than having to purchase new ones. Our service team consists of highly skilled engineers to keep your lockers as good as new.

However, there will be occasions where your lockers are approaching the end of their life and need replacing. If your metal lockers have started to rust, from exposure to moisture, or the wrong cleaning products, they will likely need replacing before the rust spreads and affects the appearance and usage of the lockers.

Maybe your lockers have been repaired a few too many times and the maintenance is becoming too costly. At this point, it can be helpful to weigh up the cost of repeat repairs versus the cost of new lockers which don’t require expensive upkeep. If the parts you require are no longer available due to the age of your existing lockers, this may also be a reason to upgrade the lockers to avoid having to pay out for more difficult to source items.

If the use of your lockers has changed, and they are now too small or too large for the intended users, an upgrade could be helpful to save space or provide a more user-friendly option. As lockers can have a relatively long lifespan, it might be that the school has changed its layout since they were installed. If you’re wanting to move the lockers to a different area of the school, and the area won’t fit as many lockers, it could be a great time to upgrade them, or if the area has more space perhaps, you’ll want to purchase more.

If priorities have changed, for example, you require lockers that are intended for use by more than one individual, the locks you have might not be providing what you need. Plus, with new technology available you may have a need for extras such as heated or charging lockers.

 

What are the next steps in replacing your school lockers?

So you’ve decided you do need to upgrade your school lockers; now there are a lot of things to consider before you place an order.

Material and finish

Firstly, you’ll need to think about what material or type of locker you want for the school. Whilst the traditional school locker is made from metal, it may be that you want to upgrade to a more long lasting material such as a laminate locker. These are made with a mild steel carcass and have solid grade laminate doors, providing a more heavy duty product which is less likely to dent or scratch. Whilst a laminate locker is more expensive, the upgrade in material could pay for itself in the long run by being easier to keep clean and damage free, resulting in less maintenance costs.

Sizing

Lockers can come in all sorts of sizes and designs, so make sure to think about which is going to be the best option for your school lockers. Within Helmsman’s School Locker range we cater for KS1 students, KS2 students, and our standard locker range is suitable for secondary schools and above. These range from a height of 1200mm, up to 1800mm, however as we manufacture our lockers in house, to order, we can cater to any specific needs you may have.

Design

Next, you’ll need to think about what will be going into the lockers and how much space you’ll need in each compartment. Our KS1 and KS2 lockers are available in 1-3 compartments, whilst our standard range is available in up to 6 compartments. The more compartments you choose, the more students you can provide lockers for, however, this does mean each individual compartment will be smaller. So it’s important to think about what your lockers will be used for.

Accessories

Don’t forget, it’s not just about the internal area of the locker. Both laminate and metal lockers can come with many additional extras, locking options, finishes, and numbering choices. Sloping tops mean that clutter can’t be stored on top of the lockers and potentially cause damage and locker stands can be provided with cladding to stop things being lost underneath.

Timing

Whilst the summer holidays might seem a long way away, it’s never too early to contact us and get the ball rolling. With the short window of time in the summer holidays to get repairs and replacements sorted you don’t want to miss the boat. It might be that the laminate colour you’re wanting is on a longer lead time than expected, or you’re wanting the lockers installed by our professional team in the peak period of the summer break. Plus, with all of our lockers manufactured to order, it’s better to be prepared sooner rather than later.

Take a read of our Education Brochure here to find out more about our range of school lockers, cubicles and other products.

Contact us today on 01284727626 for more information about our school lockers and talk to our team about the different options available to you. Alternatively, send us a quote request here.

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An Education on Lockers

Posted by Kamile Speteliunaite on

When we think about school lockers, those of us of a certain age remember banks of grey metal lockers in changing rooms or small compartment storage in hallways where you swapped out your books for whatever classes were in. They were loud, uninspiring and unattractive.

Today, lockers are an integral part of everyday school life and increasingly form an essential part of the design of the school. The addition of colour, either as part of the school’s identity or to delineate different age groups and areas, has transformed the appearance of lockers, while their use has changed over the years.

Evolution

Locker manufacturers are constantly developing their products to adapt to modern life. From student lockers to staff lockers, uniform lockers and now PPE, manufacturers such as Helmsman Lockers and Cubicles are always innovating to create the best fit for purpose equipment.

Student lockers

From giving students a sense of identity and ‘contributing’ to health and safety and security, lockers are a way of life for them and form an integral part of the performance of the school. They often provide the school equivalent of a watercooler area where students meet and socialise with those, not in their classes. Functionally they reduce loss and crime allowing for the safe storage of personal items, expensive smartphones and electronics while psychologically they offer so much more.

Teacher lockers

It is amazing how often schools have lockers for students while leaving no provision for other people by offering them mere pigeonholes. Often overlooked as part of the design process, lockers are just as important to staff and teachers as they are to students. The ability to lock away personal items and have the facility for storing uniforms is important. Staff charging compartment lockers are ideal for storing personal bags and items and charging personal phones and other electronic equipment. Modern compartment lockers now come complete with plugs and USB sockets to store phones, tablets and laptops safely, while charging them at the same time and in between their busy schedules.

Post Pandemic teaching

Over the coming years, ‘pandemic’ lockers will be needed to allow for the regular changing of clothes, storage of PPE and other items designed to minimise cross-contamination and infection.

The latest Government guidelines on operation guidance for schools gives best practice advice for schools and colleges and encourages storing as much personal equipment as possible, including bags and coats, to minimise transmission.

More information on lockers and their specification, as well as about cubicles, vanity units and seating, is available from Helmsman on 01284 727626 or email sales@helmsman.co.uk 

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