7 Supplies For Primary School Teachers

Teachers can never have enough resources. Their homes and classrooms may be packed to the rafters with books, folders and stationery but there’s always room for more, and it won’t be long before they discover something else that would make their life of endless planning and marking that bit easier.

We’ve put together a list of some of the most essential supplies for primary school teachers.

A good printer (and plenty of ink)

Teachers never watch a whole TV programme or film without having to pause it so they can print something off. The printer is in fairly constant use so it’s vital to buy one that is up to the task. Buying a cheap printer is a prime case of false economy as it will probably stop working reasonably quickly, so it pays to shell out a little more up front for a printer that will last.

Running out of ink is nothing short of a disaster when there’s resources to be made for the next day, so it’s vital to have enough ink cartridges in standby. Ink can be expensive, but if you have an HP printer then you can sign up to their Instant Ink service where you have a monthly subscription and all the ink you need.

Laminating machine

Making resources is a big part of a teacher’s life but they don’t want to make the same resources over and over again if they don’t have to. This is where a laminating machine will come in handy. They can print off their resources, run them through a laminator and there they have resources they can use time and time again until they start to look tatty. They can be drawn on and wiped clean and are ready for the next class to use.

See our great range of laminating machines, and don’t forget that the machine is pretty useless without a constant supply of laminating pouches, so it’s always useful to have plenty of those to hand too.

Diary

Teachers’ lives are pretty hectic, and it’s easy to miss something, whether it’s a meeting or topic schedule. This is why a diary or planner is so important. Everything can then be kept in one place, which should make it easy to keep track of everything going on. With cloud technology, it’s also easy to see across tablets, phones and computers exactly what’s in your diary and update accordingly.

Trimmer

A trimmer or guillotine will make cutting out resources a lot easier, particularly if there’s a fair amount to get through, although it can’t really help with the more intricate cutting out. Holding a pair of scissors for too long really isn’t comfortable, but using a paper trimmer can make the whole process a lot easier and quicker.

Take a look at our range of trimmers and cutters.

USB drives

So much of a teacher’s life is now spent on a computer, creating resources and lesson plans, and quite often they’ll have to take those things with them to school to print off or to give to other teachers. USB sticks are incredibly useful, not just for transporting such important documents, but also ensuring there’s a backup copy in case something happens to the original. We’d recommend having a handful of USB drives and backing up everything at least once to be on the safe side.

See our full range of USB flash drives.

Strong bags

For teachers, going to school in the morning is akin to heading out on an Arctic expedition with the number of bags full to the brim with this, that and the other. Therefore, it’s pretty important to have a number of good, sturdy canvas bags so that they don’t split and send books spilling out everywhere.

Online resources

Teachers have to come up with so many lesson ideas and resources that it can become a little overwhelming, but there are a number of excellent websites that can make this a lot easier. Sites such as Twinkl have a huge number primary resources available for teachers to use and customise for their class. These can really cut down on the time it takes to plan and create lessons.

Are you a primary school teacher? What are your essential supplies?