We are always looking for ways to make the most of our small indoor area.
Because we use a room in the village hall, space is at a premium. Furniture has to be portable and easy to store. Fitting bulky equipment into the storage cupboard at the end of the session became such a challenge that we decided we needed to create bays that would give us more space.
Many of the beautiful open-shelved units available in catalogues were too expensive and difficult to store. Nonetheless, they provided us with a good starting point to come up with our own design.
We commissioned a local joiner to make us a set of nine screens with removable 'feet' and carrying handles. The screens were then painted in a neutral colour.
When they were finished, we experimented with different screen arrangements until we came up with the right combination.
We decided to use the screens around the home corner, book area, construction area and office. Once they were in place and children were familiar with their permanent positions, we were able to think about how we could use them to enhance provision in each area.
In the home corner we attached plastic hooks to the screens to hang kitchen utensils, a clock and a calendar. We also bought storage trays from a DIY store and slid them on to a track on the screen in the construction area.
Duplo is sorted into the trays and children are able to select bricks as they need them.
We intend to introduce similar storage systems in the office and to use the book area screens as display surfaces for rhymes and poems.
At the end of the session, the trays are removed from the screens - still containing equipment - and stacked. The screens are lifted out of their 'feet' and stand flat against the wall in our cupboard. So simple and inexpensive - and so effective!
The pre-school manager, Jane Corkhill, spoke to Jane Drake, their partnership advisory teacher.