A question about 'learning environments' or classrooms

[SarfEast1cated]

Sorry for bombarding you all with my questions, I just prefer your opinions to those I have seen on the TES boards. Feel free to ignore me.
As you may know I have new job as an NQT in a local school. The school prides itself on its displays in communal areas (which are lovely) but I am also expected to follow school guidelines (8 pages document) for my classroom. Almost every surface needs to be covered in informations and laminated and backed on different coloured card.
To me (a layperson really), the classrooms look really busy and covered in stuff. Do children absorb all of this information, or do you think that they (as I would) just blank it all out?
I will (of course) follow the guidance of my schools, but wondered what you thought. I would really appreciate your opinions, or recommended papers on the subject.

I used to work in a school like this, '3D and interactive' displays that had to be updated half termly It took up a ridiculous amount of time and was in no way of benefit to the children. I can't stand wasting my time making things look appealing to adults, same goes for making.

I left!

Marking*

I really don't mind doing it if it works, but it all seems a bit OTT.

It's time-consuming, mostly not used, distracting, and for autistic children especially, a horrible environment to try to learn in.

I used to think fantastic displays looked wonderful. Now I think that covering boards with light backing paper and having up minimal, neat clean displays is the way forward.

I teach autistic children and the busy walls certainly wouldn't be good for them. Tonnes of research about the need to keep visual stimulation down to a minimum for them.

However, as an NQT I think you will just have to go with the school's way of doing it. Is there prescribed content that has to go up? If not, people here can probably give you ideas of displays that actually work.

I have a maths wall where I have exemplifications of the calculation strategies we are learning up. I find they refer back to this quite a lot.

I also have a response to reading board. When they have finished a book they can write a book review- or more simple response- and I put it up with a photocopy of the cover. Other children then go and have a look at the board when they need a new book to see if there is anything they fancy. I encourage them to ask the person who has already read it questions about how they found it- there is a little prompt card to take to support this.

I agree. I am a TA in a primary school, and the least artistic one there. The pressure to have the most amazing displays is immense; they all have to have an element of 3D and lots of bells and whistles. I have to admit on the whole most look great (down to creative staff, rather than the children"s efforts) but very few are an aid to learming.

Can't remember what year group you are having Sarf but 'communication friendly spaces' link is worth a look. The message is all about making the learning environment more human;
I think it’s essential to tune into the environment from the learner’s perspective. To do this, it is really important to observe, reflect and then make informed decisions about the way that children and families interact with the environment

Thanks everyone. I'll be in Y3 and as you say Lowdoorinthewal1 I won't be able to change the policy of the school, but there is just SO MUCH to look at. Everywhere you look there's a times table card, or a key word display, and I have been told to put stuff on the windows too. I'm more of a 'less is more' kind of gal, so goes against my aesthetics a bit.
I like working walls and I really like the children's work being up there, it's just everything else.

Lowdoorinthewal1 thanks for the link and for your ideas too, will look at them carefully tomorrow.

My school wants 3D, useful displays - but not covering every surface. I couldn't stand that, makes me itch. Mine are confined to the boards, with only a few things on the walls/washing lines.

I have a big centrepiece in the middle of my 'topic' boards, with things around it. EG. big cutout of Henry VIII I traced onto card from the IWB (and the kids coloured) in the middle, then some work or questions from the kids around it. Takes up space, and looks good! If you haven't done any work yet, print some speech bubbles and get the kids to write what questions they want to answer about the topic. Bonus points if you have photos of them doing over-acting 'thinking' expressions to go with them!

We're supposed to change our displays 'at least every long term' but in practice no one in the school has ever changed a maths display mid-year. We do a new topic every week, how could we? I change my English every term, and 'topic' or art ones whenever we get more work which can go up. Spanish and maths have stayed the same all year, and we have a 'where are the class from in the world' display which is also evergreen.

This is a bugbear of mine. Children need to be 'trained' to make use of stuff on the walls, if it's to help them with their work. Our Maths Board is good in that there;s a flow chart pointing t their 'journey' through the topic we're currently doing.

I think displays generally create visual clutter - very difficult for inattentive children to filter out. I can't help feeling it's all about 'being seen to do stuff' rather than actually doing it

I think that as cuts to Support Staff bite, whistles and bells displays might become a thing of the past

Oh, interesting. I am not a teacher, but thought I'd comment anyway, hope you don't mind. I recently heard a programme on radio 4 where they were talking about some research that has been done showing that children learn better in a very plain, even boring, environment. I think the gist was that children's brains are far better than adult brains at noticing details, even or especially details that are not necessarily relevant to the thing they've been asked to concentrate on or details which they've been told specifically to ignore. Therefore dull environments made them more likely to concentrate on the lesson.

I hate these busy, overcrowded boards which are overwhelming as every inch of wall space (and often windows as well) smothered in something or other make the classroom dark and suffocating. Fully agree with other OP that the displays are quite often very competitive and frequently portray the talents of the staff more than the kids. I rarely see the kids even gazing at them let alone benefitting from them..but, of course we all do as we are told and follow the guidelines, pointless as it is.

I'd like to listen to that radio programme MinisterForSmallFountains do you remember what it was called?
Yes heyday I will spend a week of my holiday lining a perfectly good classroom with paper anyway, because it's my first school job and I don't have the guts to say no! Also NotYoda it is expected in my new school that the teachers will want to do their own rooms.
It's made me resentful before I've even started!
Thanks Doomhutch for the tips above, I feel a lot better about making my own lifesize Roman now!

Just checked schedule and I think it was All In The Mind, episode for 14th June, 'Awareness in children', research by Vladimir Sloutsky, a psychologist. It is available to listen again. I hope I've remembered it correctly.

Thanks Minister for going to so much trouble I really appreciate it. I'll listen to it in the morning.

In my school in lreland department inspector commented on colleagues walls saying they were too busy and that she personally wouldnt be able to learn in such an envirnoment.
Here we never, as far as l am aware, have policies on wall displays. Its totally up to individual teachers. l do like ones that are helpful to the dc and not just for a show.

I have two intelligent, high achieving but autistic children & that kind of classroom is a nightmare for them.

My son has just been asked to leave one school because he has meltdowns in the classroom. He needs a calm environment with just clear relevant not distracting displays.

I teach Y3/4

Anything colourful/remotely busy goes on the back wall in my classroom - and it's all the children's work, nothing downloaded, printed off, laminated. None of the dangly stuff hanging down obscuring the board. Displays are changed regularly, neat backing paper etc. but the brightest colours stay in the store room.
The front of the room is calm so there are few distractions to take the children's eyes away from what they are supposed to be concentrating on. I thought more about it last year because of the particular group of children I had but it makes perfect sense.

That's really interesting, goingmadinthecountry - I have the same thing without realising it.

My classroom is very square, with windows down one side and internal windows on most of the opposite one. I never really thought about how all my 'big' displays are at the back (working wall and our 'where we're from in the world' are at the side/front), but now I'm going to keep it like that by design!

What really annoys me about these beautiful displays is that no child can possibly read them or make use of them, all the writing and pictures are too small.

My walls are ridiculously simple- 100 square/number line, huge posters- but useful.

David Didau's blog on wall displays. He references the Michaela school in the London borough of Brent which has no displays. www.learningspy.co.uk/myths/is-displaying-students-work-worth-the-effort/

vlad