Solway Early Years Storage 9 Tray

Solway Early Years Storage 9 Tray brings nine separate storage spaces into one classroom unit, making it easier to organise resources by activity and find them again. With Gratnells Cubby Trays, rounded bull-nosed edges and connecting bolts for compatible Solway units, it offers a practical base for nursery resources, creative materials and everyday early years organisation.

Give Resources a Recognisable Home

Use each tray for a clear category: drawing tools, suitable construction pieces, matching games or materials for a planned activity. A consistent location helps children learn where to look and where to return an item. Adults can adjust the selection to the children's age and access needs.

Picture or word labels supplied separately can make the arrangement easier to explain. Match the label to the actual contents and review it when the activity changes. An uncluttered tray with a specific purpose is often easier to manage than a mixture of unrelated resources.

Nine Trays for Flexible Organisation

The unit accommodates nine Gratnells Cubby Trays, with clear or magnolia options. Clear trays let users see contents through the sides; a magnolia option gives a more uniform appearance. Choose the available tray option that suits how the storage will be used.

Each tray measures H150 × W260 × D310 mm. These are tray dimensions, not the overall furniture dimensions. Consider the size of the resources you want to store and avoid forcing oversized items into a tray or allowing them to obstruct neighbouring storage spaces.

Make Choosing and Tidying Part of the Activity

Introduce one tray at a time and demonstrate how to take out an item, use it and return it. Children can practise sorting by the category used in the unit: matching pieces belong together, drawing tools have their own tray and unfinished activities return to an agreed place.

These routines provide opportunities for classification, positional language and purposeful communication. A child asking for the tray ‘beside the crayons’ is using language to solve a real task. Independence should match the child's ability to access and handle the stored items; adult help remains appropriate where needed.

Plan a Connected Solway Storage Area

The supplied connecting bolts allow the unit to link with compatible Solway storage pieces. This can help a setting organise a longer storage arrangement around the resources used in that area. Other units are separate purchases.

Plan access, doorways and the space needed to remove trays before assembling a layout. Keep heavy or unsuitable resources under adult control and follow the assembly instructions for joining units. The furniture is supplied flat packed, with instructions for adult assembly.

Practical Uses Across the Week

A nursery can reserve trays for resources that remain available every day and use others for changing themes. A classroom art area might separate drawing, collage and pattern-making materials. At home, the same nine-tray arrangement can give games and creative resources distinct places.

Review contents regularly rather than simply filling every tray to capacity. Removing damaged pieces, checking that sets are complete and returning misplaced items keeps the storage useful for the next activity.

Prepare Trays for a Specific Learning Task

A tray can hold the selected resources for a short matching or sorting activity rather than an entire collection. Choose a manageable quantity, explain what belongs in the tray and check it together at the end. This makes the task easier to prepare again and helps identify a missing component.

For creative work, separate tools from consumable materials where practical. Staff can replenish the relevant tray without disturbing other activities, while children learn that different resources have different storage needs. Do not use a tray's apparent capacity as a reason to overload it.

Balance Accessible Choice with Adult Oversight

Decide which resources children may select independently and which require an adult's involvement. The same storage system can contain both, but access arrangements should make that distinction clear. Keep unsuitable small parts or tools out of unsupervised reach.

A child can practise choosing between two available activities before managing a wider selection. Reducing the number of choices at first does not reduce the usefulness of the nine-tray unit; it lets the setting organise spare resources while introducing access gradually.

Review What the Organisation Is Achieving

Notice whether children can find the intended item, whether trays are returned to the right place and whether labels match the way users describe the contents. A simple change in grouping may solve a recurring difficulty more effectively than adding more labels.

For example, if a project repeatedly needs resources from several unrelated trays, staff may prepare one temporary project tray. Afterwards, return the pieces to their usual categories. The unit supports both a consistent long-term arrangement and a short-lived activity setup without requiring new furniture.

Why Choose Solway Early Years Storage 9 Tray?

Nine separate trays make organisation visible and adaptable. The Gratnells Cubby Tray format, choice of tray colour and compatibility with other Solway units give buyers concrete options for planning an early years resource area.

Perfect For...

• Early years classrooms and nurseries.
• Preschool resource organisation.
• Art and construction areas.
• Home learning and playrooms.
• Settings extending a compatible Solway storage arrangement.

Product Features

• Storage for nine Gratnells Cubby Trays.
• Clear or magnolia tray options.
• Smooth bull-nosed edges.
• Connecting bolts for compatible Solway units.
• Flat-pack supply with assembly instructions.

Specifications

• Product: Solway Early Years Storage 9 Tray.
• Tray quantity: 9 Gratnells Cubby Trays.
• Dimensions of each tray: H150 × W260 × D310 mm.
• Tray colours: clear or magnolia, according to the selected option.
• Assembly: adult assembly required.
• Connecting bolts: included.
• Other Solway units and activity resources: supplied separately.

Care and Use

Assemble and connect only as instructed. Check fixings regularly, position on a suitable level surface and follow any supplied anchoring guidance. Supervise access to stored resources and do not allow climbing on the unit.