Nursery World - Essential resources: Keeping movement fluid

Nicole Weinstein looks at the concept of ‘gracious circulation’ in classroom design – and the importance of exits and entrances when defining indoor learning spaces

Why entrances and exits are important for moving easily between activities.

Gracious circulation’ is a phrase used by Dr. Sandra Duncan, international specialist in early childhood environments, to describe the fluid movement of children within a space. Used frequently in the world of architecture and home design, the term looks at how a floorplan is designed to connect spaces so that people can easily move through a house. In the context of nursery classroom design, gracious circulation means laying out a classroom so that children can easily navigate the space without bumping into or touching each other – quite a challenge in a room of active pre-schoolers.

One way to effectively do this is by increasing the circulation pathways in defined learning areas by having at least two ways to enter and exit. This can be achieved simply by pulling out the short end of a cabinet or shelving unit that has been placed against the wall to zone off an area. Moving it two or three feet away from the wall creates another exit and entrance to the defined space, a move that nursery manager Naomi from Bright Horizons Tonbridge in Kent says is ‘game changing’.

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