Ergonomics at School

Two boys are sitting on different sized VS chairs Stakki

Never before in history have people spent so many hours a day sitting as they do today.
Children and adolescents sit in the classroom, on the school bus, doing their homework. And not forgetting the time they sit at home eating, in front of the computer, in a waiting room. This has consequences for their health.
As holistically thinking designers of school and office spaces, we help to make sitting better and healthier for all age groups - that also means: more dynamic.

A girl jumps on a padded mat from the FloorFriends series by VS

This is not just about furniture...

...but also about a holistic look at the workplace and the surrounding space. Because ergonomics (from the Greek ergon = work; nomos = law) is in a broad sense the science of the laws of work.
The focus is on the person, with their characteristics and needs. Working and learning conditions - including lighting, acoustics, air quality and furniture - must be adapted to them and not vice versa.
On this page you will learn everything about ergonomics at school.

Do you want to know more about Ergonomics at Work? Click here.

For most of the time...

... children and adolescents are in classrooms – and, with the spread of all-day schooling, for even longer than in days gone by. Ergonomics is therefore especially important and requires a room design that promotes the physical, mental and social developments of adolescents as extensively as possible.
In many respects, children are different from adults - primarily in terms of their size, but also in their need to move and many other special characteristics.

Whereas, ergonomics previously...

... focused on the development of posture, specifically the back, thanks to new scientific findings, demands have broadened. It is far from just a matter of matching the furniture to the needs of the pupils in terms of orthopaedics and hydromechanics. Rather, it is about ergonomic requirements for physical, mental and spiritual health in a much wider sense.

That means...

...when we design a classroom, we look at the entire space and its effect on the sensory system and well-being. As well as back-friendly working and learning spaces that encourage movement, lighting conditions and colours, acoustics and air quality also play a role.
But this holistic view is by no means universally accepted. There are still many classrooms where pupils work at inappropriate furniture: in an uncomfortable, forced posture on rigid chairs and with furniture that is too big or too small. No thought is given to an ergonomic-systematic (learning) room concept.

Different Needs
A well thought-out ergonomic room and furnishing concept considers the needs of everyone working in the school, that is children of different ages as well as the teaching staff. They all have their own demands of their learning and working spaces.
Dr. Dieter Breithecker, Bewegungswissenschaftler

Boy in motion next to tent and padded mats from the VS FloorFriends range

Pre-School and Primary School Children

The younger a person, the greater their need to move. A child discovers their world through activity. Regular and varied physical activity is an important requirement for a child’s brain receiving the impulses it needs for its neuron networking.
This needs rooms that permit needs-based activities - with indoor and outdoor spaces that ‘invite’ spontaneous and intuitive movement. If these spatial requirements are not in place, this has negative consequences for the whole development of a child - not just physical, but also cognitive and social-emotional development.
Why is this? Static and passive sitting and physical inactivity do not place enough demands on the vestibular and proprioceptive system. But this sensory system is important for the perception in processing physical position and movement in space, the tensing of muscles and sinews, tactile stimuli - in other words, for the whole perception of self.
Not even sports offerings can make up for what is lacking in sensorimotor stimuli in everyday life.

Young woman sitting with a tablet on a red stool from the ClubLounge series by VS.

Children in Mid- and Late- School Ages

Adolescents have different movement needs from children. Sensorimotor development comes to an end with puberty, and hormonal changes come to the fore. Muscular and skeletal growth occur at different rates, which results in awkward proportions. Movement and coordination suffer.
All of this means that the urge to move diminishes significantly with puberty. It will never occur to any child that ‘hanging around’ could be attractive, but an adolescent will - and we should give them the right to do so.
Nevertheless, at this age, too, regular changes in position, i.e., different postures and dynamic sequences are important for physical and mental vitality. The posture and motor system is now finally developing and is particularly susceptible. Learning rooms should therefore be designed for adolescents so that different learning situations require changes in posture.
If a pattern of everyday working life involving moving becomes a habit at this stage, this will shape the pupil’s future life and make an important contribution to preventive health.

Young woman in a yellow dress sits on the ergonomic stool Hokki by VS

Teachers

Schools must also be a workplace for teachers, where they feel comfortable and can develop their potential. From the point of view of posture and movement ergonomics, this is on the one hand about the appropriate design of the teaching rooms, but also of the staff room and other work rooms and retreats.
When considering the ergonomic needs of adults, the focus is often on back health. This is supported just as much by the appropriate furniture as it is by a room design that enables changes of position and rhythm.
Implemented consistently, this is how lopsided and poor posture can be avoided and stimulating, back-friendly behaviours fostered. Both help to prevent or alleviate back problems and enhance performance and well-being.

Ergonomic School Furniture

A young woman sits sideways on a turquoise PantoSwing-LuPo cantilever chair by VS.

Three students at two school tables FlipTable by VS, one as a sitting table, the other as a standing table

A child on a Compass-LuPo children's chair next to an adult on a large Compass-LuPo chair by VS

A man bends to the right on a yellow JUMPER Air Move by VS, the seat shell tilts to the side as well

For healthy and productive learning, growing bodies need desks and chairs adapted to their size that support their animated and spontaneous sitting patterns.

At least a third of the chairs and desks in a classroom should be height-adjustable, and supplemented by two to three standing workstations.

If the school furniture is not height-adjustable, the existing chair and desk sizes should be allocated as suitable for the children. Adjustment - whether by height adjustment or allocation - should be done twice a year.

Chairs that we would especially recommend from an ergonomic point of view have a freely moveable seat that enables tilting to the side as well as forwards and backwards. In the process, the posture can constantly change intuitively - very like when standing freely. That is good for the musculo-skeletal system and helps to satisfy the natural urge to move. Disruptions to lessons - often caused by forcibly restricting this need to move - are reduced.

What characterises good room furnishing design?

A room design conducive to development and learning contains furniture that:

can be adjusted for height, thus taking account of the fact that children and adolescents grow and have individual body proportions
recognises the physical and mental need for changing postures, in other words, promotes dynamic sitting and a regular switch from sitting to standing
allows learning close to the floor up to Year 6 if possible
can be used flexibly so that it’s possible to change between different learning methods and organisational forms without a great deal of effort
offers opportunities to withdraw to meet the needs of the natural rhythm of tension and release, stress and recovery
serves the needs of a varied learning group of different pupils, and
takes account of specific individual needs, enables inclusion and participation.

Sitting time of children and adolescents (10-17 years old)
(Source: Statista 2022)

11 %

sit for less than 6 hours per school day

53 %

sit for 6-8 hours per school day

27 %

sit for 8-10 hours per school day

7 %

sit for 10-12 hours per school day

2 %

sit for more than 12 hours per school day

Versatile Ergonomics

Noise is disruptive. It causes stress and impairs learning: this was the case even in the days of teacher-centred teaching. However, new teaching methods with pupil-centred forms of working and collaborative learning generate even more noise - even with good discipline.

Studies show that high noise levels in lessons lead to disruption of concentration and learning, aggression and discipline problems. Conversely, good acoustic properties in a room lead to more effective lessons: pupils can concentrate better and are more attentive. Their ability to understand language increases. Learning objectives are achieved more quickly. Social behaviour increases, and physical stress reduces. Lessons become less stressful for everyone.

The size and distribution of sound-absorbing and noise-reflecting surfaces have the greatest influence on the acoustic quality of a room. For new buildings or renovations, capital investment in room acoustics is therefore a must. To absorb sound, the ceiling is usually used as the largest continuous free space in the room. This measure is supported by furniture and room dividers with porous or soft surfaces that absorb sound and improve the acoustic climate in classrooms.

We take in around four-fifths of the information from our surroundings through our eyes. Visual perception is significantly influenced by light. Too little or too much light, too many or too few contrasts, light from the wrong direction, reflections, shadows ... these all have an influence on how well we see and how well we can take in information.

For most learning environments, the right light is of central importance to the intake of information: light not only wakes you up, it also brightens and has a positive impact on learning performance and concentration. Light is also key in setting our body clocks. It helps us to orientate ourself in space and time. Daylight is especially important: people need it to stay comfortable, attentive, capable and healthy.

A school consists of a large number of different learning and working areas, each with their own requirements. Its lighting should be designed with this in mind. Wherever possible, natural daylight should be used, and practically combined with artificial light. The following aspects are important:

Illumination levels
Brightness and light distribution
Dazzle, reflections, and shadows

Unlike with light, hardly any blanket statements can be made about the effect of colours. How we perceive a certain colour depends on individual, cultural or traditional factors. But one thing can be said: the intensity of a colour is generally more important for the effect it creates than the colour itself. Glazed colours are mostly perceived as more natural and pleasant than stronger shades. Used over a large area, colours have a more intensive effect, but are also more distracting than individual colour accents. Strong colour contrasts attract more attention than gentle colour graduations. Too many different colours in a room are perceived as irritating.
Beyond their debatable effect on the atmosphere, colours also perform objective functions in room design. Above all, along with light, they help to create structure and order in a room, divide zones and influence levels of brightness. Coloured furniture as well as coloured painted or accented walls can fulfil this role in a classroom.

The air quality in classrooms is, above all, influenced by the levels of carbon dioxide. It there is too much, comfort can be impaired, and performance and the ability to concentrate are limited.

CO2 in a room’s air is mainly caused by human breathing. Regular and correct ventilation is therefore important in classrooms. A ventilation break of two to three minutes after every 20 minutes of teaching is recommended. Around a third of the air in the room is replaced in the process. The room's temperature is maintained.

Experience shows that people ventilate regularly only if it can be done without a great deal of effort. Windows should therefore not be permanently blocked by furniture. Mobile furniture allows free access to windows to be easily managed, even in flexible room concepts.
In addition to the CO2 levels, variables such as temperature, humidity and draughts determine whether we feel comfortable in a room and can learn well.

Recommended Products for More Ergonomic Learning

Hokki

Hokki playfully supports permanent position changes and blurs the boundaries between sitting and moving. Sitting on the Hokki therefore relieves the motor system, encourages motor skills and stops attention from wandering.

Ergonomics at School | VS