My new science lab is finally finished.  Thanks to all the people who contributed to my blog post and my TES thread on lab design.  Designing a lab takes some thought, considering the needs of the students and what teaching styles will be used.  Inevitably the design will be a compromise and may not be the best for everything.

Remember my layout was based on teaching science to pupils who have special educational needs, within an 11-19 special school.  My needs (and therefore solutions) may not be the same as for a mainstream science lab.

I eventually went with a more traditional layout of a lab with rows where I could see all the pupils doing practical work.  I’ve listed some of the considerations to think about if you are going through the lab refit process.

This is the photo album showing the new lab all finished.  Click on a picture to see it in more detail.

Points to consider (with the benefit of hindsight)

• How are you going to use your lab – where will gas, electricity and interactive whiteboard wiring run?  This will influence your final design.
• Make sure you agree as much as possible in writing – especially where fittings are to be removed and replaced after the refit.  This ensures that they will be looked after properly during the process.  Get contact number and email address of the person who will be project managing, and make sure they have yours.
• Check with other schools that have used the company and supplier of furniture.  The company who did our refit were very willing but ESA McIntosh was unable to meet the agreed delivery dates.  This meant we had a stripped and empty room which was out of use for two and a half weeks of term time.
• When the work is finished, check carefully and document in writing any defects or things you need putting right.  Have an experienced eye check over again (e.g. site manager)

What could have gone better?

• My blinds were creased and soiled during storage.  Fortunately they cleaned up reasonably well and a good steaming made most of the creases drop out.  Steam is also handy for removing labels and stickers stuck to walls and desks!
• The layout makes access to the sink difficult, students don’t seem to have realised that we have two sinks and all flock to the same sink.  Pupils need directing to sinks to stop traffic jams.
• Mobile furniture gives some flexibility.  I didn’t go for service islands because of the expense of laying conduits in the floor, and I didn’t want my gas taps round the edge of the room (so pupils work with their backs to you).
• White walls, ceiling and black floor makes a small room seem bigger.
• Neutral colours work better than strong colours like red, which some pupils don’t find as comfortable to work in.  They also make the lab feel more spacious.
• Organised storage – Pupils like to know where everything is, and that equipment is arranged so that the most commonly used pieces of apparatus are the easiest to access.  This may sound like common sense but it took a few reorganisations before we hit on a way of storing equipment that minimised traffic jams and students squeezing past each other.
• Check the dimensions of store cupboards.  Mine are deep enough for standard folders (not lever arch files) but only the bottom shelf is tall enough for ring binders, with folders having to be stored horizontally on top shelves.
• Make sure all cupboards are locked with a master key (I had 14 similar individual keys for my small lab, telling them apart is difficult).
• Check that you have sufficient drawers to store all your glass-wear, check the cabinet descriptions (in my case a drawer unit was a cupboard with a drawer on top, not a unit full of drawers).
• Stools – try and get stools that don’t make holes in the floor.  There are stools on the market that rest on a bar rather than individual feet.  This removes the problem of stools with lost or worn feet making holes in the floor covering when students swing on them.

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions about our refit.