How a revolution in the design and manufacture of classroom chairs can save your organisation hundreds of pounds as well as reduce maintenance costs and improve your students’ comfort & concentration……… 

Introduced  in 1996  the “one piece” Postura chair was the first classroom chair to be manufactured from a single mould of polypropylene.  Today hundreds of thousands of these chairs are in use throughout the UK in schools, colleges and nurseries.

What’s so special about the “one piece” Postura chair…..?

Before the introduction of the Postura chair, most classroom chairs were  made either of wood or  a metal frame  which was fixed to a polypropylene “shell” (the seat)  by screws or rivets.  If you have ever worked in a school then you will almost certainly  have come across broken or vandalised chairs ………How do they get broken?

The weak link is the fixings which join the shell to the frame. They can usually be unscrewed or damaged, either deliberately or by the constant stresses and strains of wear by students for several hours everyday, week after week, month after month and year after year.  Sometimes they can be repaired using a replacement shell or frame but more often than not such repairs tend to be of a temporary nature.

The Postura chair has done away with all this.   Its one piece design means there are no screws or rivets to be broken or damaged.  When you take delivery of Postura chairs you get a TWENTY year warranty with each one. That’s how confident are the manufacturers that you’ll get at least twenty years of trouble free use from each chair.

How can the Postura chair save us  hundreds  of pounds?

Simple. The warranty covers any possible manufacturing defects for 20 years.

This means that you’ll get 20 years of trouble free classroom seating from as little as 35p per term per chair…and this cost is based on the largest size, being used by ages 11 upwards…for primary and nursery schools the cost is even less !  So you can wave goodbye to broken and vandalised chairs…..no more time wasted in repairs, no more “wonky” chairs, no more expenditure for replacements when they have become unrepairable. It all adds up to big savings when you switch to Postura classroom chairs from the traditional classroom chair.

What about improving students’ concentration….?

If you’ve ever sat on an uncomfortable chair you’ll know….well, how uncomfortable it is. You  change your position, you fidget, you can’t sit comfortably and if you’re in a meeting the chances are you’re just as concerned with your sitting position than concentrating on what is being said.  It’s no different with your students, which is why the Postura chair was designed to be ergonomically beneficial …… to be comfortable and encourage good posture, so students can concentrate on lessons rather than continually trying to make themselves comfortable.

………..and here’s an additional reason to order Postura chairs now.

Central Educational Supplies Ltd., one of the leading distributors of Postura chairs in the UK, have held their 2017 prices throughout 2018….so your organisation can make even greater savings when ordering from this company.

If you’d like to know more about these excellent chairs or make an order, please visit the website of: Central Educational Supplies Ltd,  www.centraleducational.co.uk

or phone 020 7515 1797 and ask to speak to Martin Evans.  If you prefer to email then it’s info@centraleducational.co.uk or fax  020 7515 4420

P.S. orders are usually delivered within 7-10 working days.

Anger is a primitive response that everyone has, but when students can manage their anger life is so much better

There are several ways of classifying emotions, and one that is often found helpful contains four emotional pairs: joy-sadness, anger-fear, trust-distrust, surprise-anticipation.

Psychologists have long argued about the best way to list all emotions, but whatever approach is used anger most certainly is one of the fundamental human impulses.

And because anger is so basic to the human psyche it is hard to control simply by saying “don’t get so angry.”

The tendency to get angry is innate, automatic, and, when triggered, very fast and we have it, because in earlier times getting angry automatically could enhance one’s chances of survival.

But, obviously, the classroom is not a life or death struggle, and thus anger in the classroom  is not helpful.  However helping students control angry reactions not just to everyday experiences but to accumulated problems across time can be difficult.

For anger expressed in the classroom can leave the teacher in an invidious position, wanting to offer emotional support to a student in difficulty, while at the same time having a duty towards everyone in the class.

And yet it is possible for students with anger issues to be fully integrated back into mainstream schooling.

This approach involves not just managing a student’s behaviour but also seeking out and dealing with the issues that are causing this behaviour as well as helping the student find the best emotional coping strategies to resolve the problem.

And this is what NLP4Kids offers: helping students communicate their thoughts and feelings with others, helping them make meaningful relationships, and ultimately helping them improve their employment opportunities all through bringing their anger under control.

If you feel that you have some students in your school who are not reaching their full potential because of anger and related issues, you may find our website helpful.

We have already worked with numerous schools across the country and now have additional time and funding available to come to your school and work with the students you nominate. There are more details of our work at http://nlp4kids.org.uk/schools-co-uk/

If you would like to discuss the options without any obligation please do call 0345 3192 666 or 0203 6677 294 or email gemma@NLP4Kids.org

Gemma Bailey 

Director of NLP4Kids

 

How to break into fashion as a clothing designer

Working in fashion is a dream for many people — some have a creative flair when it comes to clothing and others aspire to learn the workings behind creating a garment. But how do you land a job in this field? Is there any preparation you can do to better your chances of landing this sort of role?

Retailers of men’s blazers and other menswear essentials, QUIZMAN and retailers of maxi dresses Quiz Clothing give us their top tips for breaking into the industry:

The UK fashion industry

Globally, the fashion industry is worth 2% of the world’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and between 2006 and 2016, it grew steadily at 5.5% annually, despite economic turmoil. With this growth, comes a range of employment opportunities. In the UK, around 555,000 people are employed in fashion, textiles and fashion retail. And, with the growth of online usage by consumers, more opportunities have become available for people to get involved in the industry remotely.

One key role in the industry is a clothing designer.

What does a clothing designer do?

As the title suggests, the main role of a clothing designer is to create designs for garments before they go to production. There are a range of industries that you could work in; high fashion, designer ready-to-wear fashion, high-street fashion, children’s wear or costume designer. The role of a costume designer is different as it’s the creation of looks for TV, film and theatre. This might involve designing pieces from scratch or pulling together outfits from a costume wardrobe. You may find a niche that you focus on too such as menswear, hats or accessories.

Being a fashion designer is a fast-paced and demanding role. Many designers work against a set of design instructions called a brief — this might have been set by the creative director or the party that is going to sell the garments and it’s their requirements for the design.

Naturally, you need to be able to create fashion sketches and technical drawings. This could be by hand or through computer aided design. Not only is this useful for those who might be buying your goods, but it’s essential for the manufacturers who must have accurate measurements to work against.

A creative eye will help you produce concept and mood boards. These are arrangements of images, materials, patterns and pieces of text that create a collage that can be presented to others. Mood boards can represent the theme of a design collection or one garment and it represents your inspiration behind the piece. If you are pitching a collection to a potential seller, this will help them get an idea of the type of clothing that you produce and see if it’s in line with their own brand.

You’ll also be required to do some budgeting. This is to estimate costs for materials and manufacturers and you may have to negotiate with suppliers to try and gain a better price. Many fashion designers have budgets to work against and this can also be a constraint to their creativity.

A big part of a fashion designers’ role is to spot and forecast trends. This might be trends in styles, colours and prints. Designers then need to be able to replicate these popular styles in their own work.

Although it can be a stressful role, it can also be highly rewarding to see your designs come to life. Think you’re up to the challenge? What grades and experience do you need to succeed?

Relevant subjects to study and work experience

There are some things that you can do to further your chances of becoming a fashion designer.

Studying Design, Textiles and Fashion related subjects are all good ways of building up your knowledge in the field. These subjects will also build your experience of technical drawings and fashion sketches, whilst developing your understanding of style and design.

Higher education qualifications such as an undergraduate degree will be helpful too. Courses at different universities vary but you will find degrees related to fashion design at many universities. Related topics such as fashion marketing, buying, graphic design and textiles would be useful too.

There are apprenticeships available in fashion too. You may start out as a design assistant and learn the workings of the trade before progressing yourself. This is a great way to gain hands on experience without full-time education.

Build up a portfolio of your work. This could be mood boards that you’ve made, technical drawings, or photographs of pieces that you’ve created. Many colleges, universities and employees will ask for these as you go through your career so it’s a good idea to start creating one as soon as possible.

The sector is very competitive when it comes to jobs so make sure that you’re networking when you can and meeting people in the industry. Try and get work experience in studios or workshop where you can so that you can understand what goes on in these spaces and talk confidently about it to future employees.

 

Sources

https://fashionunited.com/global-fashion-industry-statistics

https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/retail/our-insights/the-state-of-fashion

https://fashionunited.uk/uk-fashion-industry-statistics