PAL is an easy to use classroom and nursery seating system for kids of 1-12 years of age who have mild to moderate postural needs. It was designed by Leckey, a team of experienced therapists and engineers that was established in 1983 to research, design and develop products with a focus on posturally supportive products and practical solutions for daily life challenges.

PAL stands for Posture + Attention = Learning. The designers work closely with locally based therapists and children’s career to develop an understanding of their needs. The chair is intended to aid those with disabilities and to improve quality of life and equal learning opportunities for children with postural needs.

The seat is adjustable from three points (width of the sitting area, depth of the sitting area and the height for leg lengths.) The chair comes with a combination of pelvic belt and soft side pads which improves pelvic stability. In addition the backrest and armrests are angle adjustable. These features are designed to give improved stability, which helps to reduce fatigue and allows a child to concentrate for longer and helps with fine motor activity. The chair is fully adjustable via a series of holes that are drilled into the arms, back and legs which allow for tailored adjustment for a child’s size and needs. This enables a physical therapist to quickly assess and instantly adjust the chair. The holes also allow for a range of accessories to be bolted on to extend functionality, such as castors, stabilisers, activity tray or a footrest should these be needed in the future development of a child. The chair is produced in a range of 4 different sizes as well as 4 different colours. This example is intended for a child between 4-8 years old.

This chair was acquired as part of the Shekou Project, an international partnership between the V&A and China Merchant Shekou Holdings (CMSK) to open a new cultural platform called Design Society in Shekou. The chair was included in the inaugural exhibition, ‘Values of Design’, in the V&A Gallery at Design Society to showcase a range of different types of design thinking to aid those with disabilities.