FEATURES OF LITTLE STEP
One Little Step for your classroom, one giant leap towards a fantastic learning environment
Put your shoes in the cubby and pop your slippers on, grab your book from your tray and curl up on the comfy bench to read. Later on you can pull out the shoe cubbies to create tiered seating where you can gather with your fellow pupils for some group work. It’s all in a day’s work for Little Step.
Little Step has so much to offer, its name is rather misleading. ‘Little’, in Learniture terms, means it’s designed for KS1 and 2. ‘Step’ is because it morphs from an upholstered bench with integrated shoe cubbies and tray storage into tiered seating, simply by pulling the shoe cubby drawers (which also have an upholstered top) forward.
The comfortable seating is upholstered in Cordura fabric, which the army uses to make its backpacks, because it’s pretty much indestructible. Cordura is black so it won’t end up looking grubby, it won’t matter if someone drops a felt tip or a whiteboard pen on it and any other spillages just wipe off with a damp cloth. The seats are padded as well so they are really comfy place to sit, whether you’re reading or in a group discussion. By adding your own coloured cushions you can make LittleStep a welcoming place to hang out.
Lots of schools ask their KS1 pupils to wear indoor shoes or slippers. Pupils take off their shoes and pop slippers on to help keep the floors clean and so they feel more comfortable. Each Little Step gives you a place to store eight pairs of shoes, or you could use the spacious drawers for storage. Trays are also ubiquitous in primary schools and each Little Step hold eight of them, installed with ‘stop and tilt’ runners so you can’t just pull them out.
Little Step can be used to create a beautiful ‘Gather’ zone where you gather a group of pupils for an activity or task. Tiered seating means everyone can see the teacher and the teacher can easily make eye contact with everyone, which leads to better engagement and less attention-wandering. It also enhances a collegiate feeling, that you’re all in the learning together.
Line up three Little Steps along the back of the classroom (and add a dry wipe Learning Board behind it) and it would look fantastic, solve two key storage problems and create an agile, multipurpose learning zone at the same time. One giant leap indeed!
Benefits of Little Step
Multifunctional
Use these fixed items of furniture as an independent or guided reading bench, a comfy place to sit and think, for tiered seating for group work and as storage for shoes and trays.
Tiered seating
Everyone loves tiered seating because you can gather, comfortably, together for work or to hear a story. It enhances a feeling of collegiality and helps bonding between classmates.
Creates an instant ‘Gather’ zone
A special place where pupils can come together in groups small or large (depending on how many Little Steps you install!).
