Sophie Halliday, Founder of The Sample Project, on repurposing discontinued samples for education

What is The Sample Project?

With schools facing continuous cuts, battling with historic deficits, and recovering from the pandemic, children more than ever need a rich start to their education. The Sample Project aims to support primary schools who are struggling to provide effective continuous provision within their Early Years Foundation Stage settings, using discontinued or out of season material samples. Every year, interior designers throw out tonnes of end-of-season samples from luxury fabrics to elevator door samples. One industry’s trash is another’s treasure!

How are the samples used by educators and learners?

Children’s imaginations work best when they are exposed to interesting and open-ended provision. Drawing from Froebel’s Gifts Theory, The Sample Project offers children a chance to explore different materials to make sense of the world around them. The beauty of using donated sample materials lies in their powerful and open-ended nature. Children can manipulate them in different ways, making endless opportunities. When children are playing with ‘loose parts’ it is amazing to see the different ways they interpret the materials and expand and build upon what they know.

When teachers see children playing with samples, they see every single area of their learning being exercised. Samples are an invaluable resource to every early years setting and help children develop, extend, and push their imaginations to new dimensions. Schools are facing extreme budget cuts and are struggling to provide their settings with quality, durable and sustainable provision.

Samples not only allow children to create endless opportunities but also can be used for many, many years, meaning end-of-season samples don’t have to end in a recycling bin but can live on in classrooms across the country.

How did you come up with the idea for The Sample Project?

I studied Graphic Design at Kingston University and worked for a short while as a designer for a Design Council funded company called Creative Homes. We supported families with young children to build positive routines such as toothbrushing, toilet training etc. I realised my interest was more based around children’s learning than designing and so I moved into education. I still love designing and have written a few picture books for young children.

One evening I went to my husband’s workplace, at an architectural studio in Brixton, and was amazed by the golden tiles and velvet fabric catalogues, mesmerised by the metal circles and vibrant floor samples. All these treasures were sitting in an enormous bin ready to be thrown away. I rescued everything I could possibly fit into my bag and strapped it to my bike, to take to my classroom. It was then that I thought of the potential relationship between design practices and schools.

What are your hopes or projections for The Sample Project?

I hope I can reach as many schools and homes as possible. There are challenges associated with scaling up. Ideally, I would find people to work with that could facilitate scale.

How can people support the project?

People can help by getting in touch via email (sophie@thesampleproject.com) with any interesting surplus materials they have, or by buying a box for your local school. For every box I sell I give a free one away to a school or nursery.