What blinds are best for the classroom?

Whilst this depends to an extent on what type of classroom you’re dealing with and the challenges that come with the room/window (and possibly the class itself), child-safe blinds for classrooms are a must-have.

Your other main considerations are likely to be controlling and filtering or blocking the light as relevant, and protecting the blinds from damage; and cost is often an important consideration for those looking to buy classroom blinds too.

This blog post will provide a simple reference guide covering everything you need to know to make an informed decision on what blinds are best for the classroom.

What blinds are best for the classroom in terms of child safety?

All blinds sold legally in the UK are child safe, and so this isn’t actually something that you need to be overly concerned about when shopping around. Blinds sold in the UK must meet or exceed the current safety standard, which at the time of writing (January 2023) is EN13120.

It’s really important to bear in mind that for a blind to be child safe and so, conform to the safety standard, it must also be hung/fitted in accordance with the supplied directions. These often involve the use of cleats or P-clips to secure the control cords and hold them out of the way, or a breakaway fitting to prevent chains or cords from forming a noose, instead allowing them to part under pressure.

If you’re choosing fabric blinds for the classroom, these also need to be fire retardant; which again, all good quality commercial fabrics used within the UK window blinds industry already are. It is also worth noting that Venetian blinds (made from enamel coated aluminium) and faux-wood blinds (made from rigid PVC) are fire retardant too.

What blinds are best for the classroom in terms of value?

I say value specifically rather than cost; because the cheapest blinds you can buy and those that give you the best performance and longevity-to-spend ratio are definitely not the same thing! Flimsy off-the-shelf readymade roller blinds will be the cheapest type of blinds to buy in terms of initial outlay; but what blinds are best for the classroom in terms of value? I’d suggest made-to-measure vinyl or PVC roller blinds from a reputable retailer like us!

The cost per blind won’t actually be that much higher than you’d pay for low-end readymade polyester roller blinds, but our offerings will remain in good functional and cosmetic order for a decade or more of daily use within a classroom environment. Readymade roller blinds generally require replacement within a couple of years; and that’s based on domestic usage, not classroom usage too.

Other low-cost classroom blinds that are a hardwearing and economical choice are PVC vertical blinds, and aluminium Venetian blinds. A little higher up the price scale you might want to consider faux-wood blinds, which are the most hardwearing type of blinds of all, and have the lifespan to bear that out; but that may be outside of the reach of schools and educational establishments working to a tight budget!

I would suggest that Roman blinds, real wood blinds, and day and night blinds respectively are a poor choice for classrooms; these are all on the higher side of the price scale again, and potentially, aren’t a good choice for classrooms because they’re not designed for a lot of potentially rough handling or getting in a mess.

What blinds are best for the classroom if you need to use a TV or projector as a teaching aid?

If you use a TV or projector in the classroom or otherwise need to show visuals to a group, you might want to consider blackout blinds to darken the room to the maximum extent to allow for this.

Your main choices of good blackout blinds for classrooms are blackout roller blinds and blackout vertical blinds; roller blinds generally being the most effective.

Venetian blinds and faux-wood blinds will achieve an almost complete blackout when closed but will still allow a small amount of diffuse light through due to their slats, which may well be no problem for many classrooms, but is worth noting just in case.

What blinds are suitable for classrooms with very large windows?

If the classroom you’re shopping for has very large or particularly, tall windows, your choice of blinds might be somewhat limited. Faux-wood blinds are too heavy to be made in very large sizes, and whilst roller blinds are lightweight and can be made in widths of up to 3 metres, they do top out there. You can use several roller blinds side by side along a wide window, but generally, vertical blinds for classrooms with very large or tall windows are the best choice.

Vertical blinds can be made in any width of your choosing, and you can choose which side of the window you’d like the open stack to sit on, or split them in the middle and have half on each side.

What blinds are suitable for classrooms that get too much direct sun?

Even if you don’t need to block the external light entirely with blackout blinds, the ability to control the light and negate glare is still really important for classrooms.

Direct sunlight can distract both children and teachers, cause the room to overheat, result in screen glare, and even cause tension headaches due to squinting thanks to the brightness.

Both vertical blinds and Venetian blinds for classrooms allow you to tilt their slats or louvres respectively in order to filter the light, without blocking it out entirely.

You can also consider dimout (as opposed to blackout) roller blinds, although these may make the room a little bit too dim for optimum vision and performance!

What blinds are suitable for classrooms where practical (or messy!) work takes place?

If you’re shopping for blinds for a classroom that’s used for practical work or anything likely to get messy (such as arts and crafts) waterproof blinds are a must-have. Either PVC or vinyl roller blinds or vertical blinds respectively tick this box, as do faux-wood blinds. Venetian blinds are almost entirely waterproof aside from their lift cords, so these will generally be ok too.

Any questions?

If you have any questions about what blinds are best for the classrooms you’re shopping for or would like a quote for a full building, please drop me an email and I’ll try to help.