01733 511121

[email protected]

£0.00 0
Your shopping cart is empty
FREE DELIVERY ON ALL ITEMS To Mainland UK *

How to Partition A Classroom

Posted By:

Early Learning Furniture

Date:

08 February 2022


When faced with an empty or unfurnished classroom space, it can be difficult to see the finished picture. Of course, you start with the basics; storage furniture, desks and chairs - but where do you go after that?

School Room Dividers play an important role in the final design of your classroom space. Whether you use them to reduce noise, to section off parts of the room or for hygiene purposes, you’re looking for practical dual-purpose products or those which fulfill a very specific function - we have a wide range of products to choose from. 

We’ve rounded up the four main styles of classroom partition with a breakdown of how you can use them most effectively.


Standard fabric classroom dividers are most commonly found in classrooms and educational settings. These are incredibly popular for a number of reasons; they are affordable, lightweight, practical and available in a range of colours and styles making them easy to fit in with your space and decor. 

Easy to move around, these cost-effective classroom partitions can be used in a variety of ways. You can use one (or link several) to divide up a classroom either by partitioning a corner area for reading or play, or divide a room down the middle to accommodate two different classes or activities in one space.

Classroom partitions such as our Standard School Office Screen have a lightweight internal board construction covered in a layer of fire-rated commercial-grade fabric in 8 colour options. Their construction means that, in addition to their use as classroom dividers, they can also be used as display pinboards. You can use them to pin up learning aids, classroom decorations or student work.

In addition to our single freestanding fabric classroom partitions, we also sell Concertina Screen Classroom Dividers in a range of sizes. Set on lockable castor wheels, these mobile screens fan out to cover large areas, perfect for dividing larger spaces such as big classrooms or school halls - and they easily fold down again into a compact unit for storage.

Another popular style of fabric classroom divider is our fabric desk dividers. Our Standard School Office Desk Screens are supplied with brackets to fit classrooms desks 17-33mm thick. They can be used in classrooms or study rooms to create private desk spaces for individual working, or can be set up between students on long desks for exam privacy.

Sound Absorbing Acoustic Screens

Acoustic classroom partitions are constructed in a similar manner to the standard fabric screens, except they have a layer of 18mm-thick insulating acoustic foam between the internal board and the final fabric layer. This helps to prevent echoing in a classroom, reducing noise and creating a more productive learning environment.

Available in both freestanding and desk divider styles, acoustic classroom screens are an excellent choice for noisy school environments. You can use them in exactly the same way as our standard fabric partitions; to partition off different spaces for play or learning or between student desks to create a sense of peace and privacy. They are especially effective for partitioning off quiet reading areas (as they help to mute unwanted noise) and are a great tool for special needs classes where children have learning disabilities that can be negatively affected by too much noise. 

School Room Dividers

Classroom Dividers

FRONTIER® Free Standing Office Partitions

FRONTIER® Free Standing Classroom Partitions

Introducing a series of acoustic panels to your classroom can also make it easier for students to hear and understand the teacher. Classrooms typically have hard floors with minimal soft furnishings, which means the sound bounces easily off many different surfaces. This can make it hard to understand what a teacher is saying, particularly in classes with younger students and lots of chatter. Acoustic screens help to prevent sound reverberation, making for a more productive (and less distracting) learning environment.

Wipe-Clean Classroom Dividers

Since the arrival of the pandemic in early 2020, we’ve been seeing social distancing screens set up in all sorts of different locations - including schools. Although they have never been mandated for use in classrooms, wipe-clean dividers can serve a variety of different purposes within a school classroom environment.

While social distancing measures are being kept to a minimum in schools, particularly early learning facilities, the benefits of choosing wipe-clean dividers for classrooms go far beyond Covid. Classrooms have always been breeding grounds for bugs and illnesses, particularly during the winter months, resulting in staff and student sickness which also spreads to the students’ families. While installing wipe-clean classroom dividers cannot prevent this entirely, choosing smooth surfaces which can easily be sanitised, removing all traces of viruses and bacteria, can promote a healthier and more hygienic school learning environment.

Within our range of wipe-clean classroom screens, we have a variety of transparent dividers that are made from Perspex acrylic or toughened safety glass. These lightweight partitions allow light to pass through them, maintaining a bright atmosphere for your classroom. However, as these designs are see-through, they may prove distracting if you’re using them to divide off play or reading areas from the main classroom area, as students will be able to see their friends completing different activities. 

School Room Dividers

There are alternatives to screens and dividers that can make more sense if you’re looking for a more permanent classroom partition solution. Products like the Bubblegum 6 Cube Horizontal Room Divider offer a comprehensive way to divide off a part of your classroom. Whether you use it as a standalone partition or you fix it atop the corresponding classroom cupboard module, it serves a dual purpose - offering both helpful storage space for books, toys and other classroom accessories as well as for segmenting up your learning space. 

Made from lightweight but durable MFC in a Japanese Ash finish and accentuated with bright, playful colours, the Bubblegum range offers practical classroom furniture with a coordinated look. Match the hues or mix up the colours to create a welcoming classroom atmosphere for young students.

Using school furniture as a classroom divider creates a permanency to your classroom space which can be extremely helpful for younger students, or those with learning difficulties, who find change disruptive and distressing. Shelving units are also a practical choice for creating a reading corner, as you can use the compartments to store and display books from which students can self-select their favourites. Another benefit to using classroom furniture as room dividers is that you never need to find anywhere to store these products, as they remain in their own space as part of your classroom design. 

Browse our full range of classroom dividers. Or for more information and advice about setting up your classroom space, Contact Us or call us on 01733 511121.

Permalink:

https://www.earlylearningfurniture.co.uk/blog/how-to-partition-a-classroom.aspx


Browse Our News Archive

202220192018201720162015