More Than a Coffee Break: Why Staffroom Design Matters for Teacher Wellbeing in 2025

According to the Teacher Wellbeing Index 2024, 78% of education staff reported workplace stress, with poor staff facilities cited as a contributing factor by 42% of respondents.

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Teachers Deserve Better Than a Fold-Out Chair and Cold Cupboard

In the push to improve student outcomes, the spaces used by teachers are often forgotten. While classrooms are modernised and student wellbeing is prioritised, staffrooms remain cramped, neglected, or altogether non-existent.

But in 2025, with recruitment and retention in crisis, that’s no longer sustainable. If we want to keep our best teachers, we need to give them spaces that support their wellbeing.

Why Staffroom Design Matters More Than Ever

Teaching is high-pressure work. Staffrooms are meant to offer respite, a place to decompress, recharge, connect with colleagues, and prepare for the rest of the day.

Yet many staffrooms are:

• Overcrowded or undersized

• Poorly ventilated, dark or cluttered

• Equipped with outdated or uncomfortable furniture

• Lacking private zones for reflection or sensitive conversations

• Treated as an afterthought in refurbishment priorities

The result? Teachers are left with no real space to recover or collaborate, which contributes to stress, burnout, and low morale.

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The Link Between Space and Staff Retention

There’s a clear connection between physical environments and how people feel at work. Just as a well-designed classroom can improve focus and behaviour, a well-designed staffroom can improve retention, productivity, and team cohesion.

Benefits of improved staff environments:

• Reduced stress and better emotional regulation

• Improved collaboration and peer support

• Greater sense of being valued by leadership

• Easier transition between lessons and duties

• Boost in overall job satisfaction

In short, happy staff = better outcomes for students.

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What Makes a Great Staffroom?

 It’s not about luxury, it’s about intentionality. A great staffroom should include:

• Comfortable, varied seating (individual and communal)

• Quiet zones for planning or unwinding

• Storage for personal items, resources and work

• Natural light, good acoustics and ventilation

• Calming, clutter-free colour schemes

• Meeting spaces for collaboration and catch-ups

• Kitchenette or refreshment area

• Charging points and device-safe zones

Every teacher uses the space differently, so flexibility is key.

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How Brookhouse Helps Schools Rethink Staffrooms

At Brookhouse, we believe great environments enable great people. That includes the staff who keep your school running.

We’ve designed staffrooms for all types of schools, and we know what works.

Here’s what we offer:

• Ergonomic, space-conscious furniture that suits all needs

• Built-in kitchen units and secure storage

• Space planning for quiet vs collaborative zones

• Bespoke colour palettes to match school branding and create calm

• Refurbishment scheduled during term-time or holidays

• Durable materials for long-term use and low maintenance

• Full design-to-install service, with wellbeing as a core design principle

Whether you’re upgrading a cupboard-sized space or creating a multi-use lounge, we make sure every square metre supports your staff’s wellbeing.

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Final Thought We ask teachers to go above and beyond every day. The least we can do is give them a space that restores, respects, and re-energises them.

Let Brookhouse help you create a staffroom that works just as hard as your teachers do.

Ready to put your funding to work?

Get in touch with Brookhouse on 0345 383 0050, or email us on inspire@brookhouseuk.com

Let’s design a space that enables success.