He launched his own company because he wanted to take products right through from design to the point of sale, but it also meant that he could concentrate on his two areas of interest: education and rehabilitation.
'All our products are designed for the professional environment with the emphasis on high quality,' says Chris.
Active Learning was launched with the Dublup Ball Pool which was a new product in the UK. He approached NES Arnold which included the Pool in its catalogue and the company took off. Most of the Active Learning products continue to be sold through the educational catalogues which now include Hope and Galt, but it is also possible to buy directly.
The popularity of ball pools has waned in recent years but, meanwhile, Chris and his team have been busy developing a new range of softplay items - from play mats to entire softplay room installations. One example of the latter is a softplay room with a seaside theme which was recently installed in a nursery in Sheringham in Norfolk.
Active Learning also produces a different type of product - the Baby Evacuation Trolley. Chris was inspired to design this after visiting a nursery where he was amused to find a nursery had a supermarket trolley on standby as part of its safety procedure. Each local authority requires nurseries to have an emergency procedure so that children and staff can be evacuated at once with no re-entry into the building.
However, with the usual ratio of one to three in a baby room this means that staff from other parts of the building have to be enlisted to carry the children out. The Baby Evacuation Trolley, which has been developed in conjunction with Nottinghamshire Fire Service, can be used by two members of staff and holds up to six babies. The Trolley has a steel frame and industrial strength castors plus brakes at either end. The compartment is divided into three sections to accommodate different aged babies up to around 18 months old.
The Trolley costs 215 and has stimulated much interest - at the end of last year 1,000 had already been sold. For more information about this and the many new softplay products Active Learning supplies call 0115 9606111, www.activelearning-uk.com.
