School signs and banners

School signs and banners fall into two groups: banners on the railings that talk to parents and the local community (admissions, open days, inspection results, sports day), and permanent signs that manage the site (reception and visitor routes, playground rules, car park safety and toilets). Banners change with the school year; signs stay put for years, so they are worth choosing in a more durable material. Here is what schools and nurseries typically order, with real sizes and “from” prices.

School banners through the year #

All our school and education banners are printed on 440gsm PVC with eyelets, from £38.45 for 4 ft × 2 ft (1219 × 610 mm), with standard production of 4 working days. The school railings are free advertising space that every parent passes twice a day, so a few well-timed banners go a long way.

When	Banner	What to put on it
Autumn term	Admissions open banners	Headline, application deadline and website, large enough to read from a car
Autumn and spring	Open day banners	Date, time and “all welcome”; leave the year off if you want to reuse it
After an inspection	Ofsted banners	The outcome in words, quoted exactly from your published report
Summer term	Sports day banners	A reusable design without the year, for the finish line or the field fence
All year	School banners	Name, crest and colours, or a welcome at the gate

Nursery and day care banners, graduation banners and freshers week banners follow the same pattern and price. If sustainability matters to your governors, PVC-free banners start at £36.70.

Sizes that work on railings and fences

For a gate or a short run of railings, 6 ft × 3 ft (1829 × 914 mm), from £57.12, is readable from across the road. For a long frontage or a playing field fence, 8 ft × 3 ft (2438 × 914 mm) from £68.33 or 10 ft × 3 ft (3048 × 914 mm) from £79.99 carries a headline that drivers can read. Banners over 3 m on any side add a one-off £15 oversize delivery charge. Our guide on what size banner you need goes further, and how to hang a banner covers cable ties and tension on railings.

Ofsted banners: getting the wording right #

Schools and nurseries can celebrate an inspection outcome in words, but quote it exactly as it appears in your published report, with the year. The Ofsted logo is Ofsted’s own mark, so do not add it unless you have permission, and check the current Ofsted guidance before you order, because the way Ofsted reports outcomes has changed in recent years. The Ofsted pages on GOV.UK are the place to check. A strong quote from the report often reads better on a banner than a single word anyway.

Permanent school signs and banners for the site #

Permanent school signs and banners have a different job: getting visitors to the right door and setting rules for the grounds. Our school, park and community signs come in A3 (297 × 420 mm), A2 (420 × 594 mm) and A1 (594 × 841 mm) on 3.5 mm Correx, 5 mm Foamex or 3 mm Dibond, from £28.97.

Visitors and the front entrance

• Visitor Entrance, Reception and Reception with arrow signs, from £28.97, so visitors never walk into the playground looking for the office.
• Visitor Parking and Parents Fasten Seat Belts signs for the car park, and Car Park Speed Limit 5 mph Watch for Children signs where cars and pupils share space.
• Danger No Admittance Visitors Report to Reception signs from £5.28 for doors visitors should not use.

We do not list a dedicated safeguarding sign. Schools usually want their own wording, names and photos of the safeguarding leads, so a printed Foamex board is the better fit: indoor Foamex boards start at £22.01 for A4 (210 × 297 mm) and can carry exactly what your policy says.

Playground and grounds

• Playground Rules and Playground Rules in Set Hours signs for shared or community-use playgrounds.
• No Dog Fouling, Keep Dogs on Leads and Children’s Play Area No Dogs Allowed signs for fields and gates.
• No Loitering on School Property, Alcohol and Drug Free School and Photo and Video Free School signs for boundaries and entrances.
• Bullying Stops Here for corridors and playground walls.

Inside the building

Boys Toilets and Girls Toilets signs start at £4.30 for 150 × 150 mm in self-adhesive vinyl, with Accessible Toilet and Baby Changing signs in the same sizes. Fire exit and fire assembly point signs come from the fire safety range; your fire risk assessment sets where they go.

Choosing the material

Match the material to how long each of your school signs and banners needs to last. Correx is light and cheap, fine for a term-time sign cable-tied to a fence. 5 mm Foamex suits indoor walls and sheltered spots. 3 mm Dibond is the one for a sign on the gate or the field fence that has to last through weather and the odd football.

Open evenings and events #

Open evenings are when school signs and banners move indoors, and prospective parents form a view in the first few minutes.

• Roller banners: roller banners from £65.33 at 850 × 2000 mm stand in the hall or by department tables. Keep the key message in the top two thirds, because tables hide the bottom.
• Presentation boards: Foamex presentation boards from £40.15 for A2 (420 × 594 mm) for department displays and prize walls.
• Posters: from £20.42 for A5, with A1 (594 × 841 mm) from £24.02, for corridor displays and event notices.
• Flyers: from £19.42 for book-bag drops about open days and clubs.

Ordering school signs and banners #

Plan banners around the school calendar, not the week before: standard production is 4 working days for banners, 3 for most Correx and Foamex signs and 4 for roller banners, counted from when your order and artwork are confirmed. Delivery is £7.95 per order to UK mainland addresses, free when the goods total is £99 or more, and we can deliver to the school office. If you need a layout built from your crest and wording, typesetting is £15 and design from a brief is £35. For a whole-school sign set, send the list through get a quote or call 0161 315 1151.