Time to upgrade your school door mats and other campus safety matting? Start here.


It’s critical that school and university campus buildings and facilities are in tip top shape year-round to protect students, staff and visitors from slips, trips and falls.


A high volume of foot traffic means schools, universities and colleges need surfaces that are resilient, slip-resistant and hard-wearing. Depending on the size and layout of your school, university or college, you’ll need protective mats for:

Tips for choosing school door mats

  • First, check that all entrance mats are still doing their job. If any are no longer effectively scraping shoes and wheeled traffic clean and absorbing liquids, it’s time to consider replacing them – a good quality entrance mat should prevent slips and trips, protect floors from damage, and reduce cleaning intervals.

  • Consider the local weather throughout the year – if snow or heavy rain is likely, make sure to choose winter-ready mats with extra-absorbent carpet inserts and great drainage

  • Think about the environment – do you need surface mounted walkways or recessed entrances? Are there any exterior accessibility needs, such as mats that won’t interfere with wheelchairs and other mobility aids?

  • Are the campus entrance mats for temporary or permanent use (e.g. for see how a West Sussex school used Frontrunner Plus for portable classrooms during construction)?

Want school door mats in your school colours, or want your school logo on the mat? Customisation is available for our Frontrunner Plus entrance mats.

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Floorline Water Polo is slip-resistant poolside matting with brightly coloured field markings.

Tips for choosing wet area floor mats

  • The perimeters of pools, shower areas and locker rooms can become slippery with just a small amount of water underfoot. When looking for extra protection for guests, students and faculty staff, make sure your pool, shower and wet area floor mats have excellent drainage

  • Choose a mat with an etched or embossed surface with adequate cushioning so it’s comfortable for bare feet, while still providing a firm grip underfoot to prevent slips

  • Look for mats containing antimicrobial and anti-fungal additives for continuous hygiene – a must-have in wet and humid environments where people are barefoot

  • Consider whether the mat is easy to clean, and easy to move to clean the floor surface below (we recommend a one-piece construction mat that can be lifted or rolled, rather than tiled mats)

  • Define your water polo field quickly and easily with Floorline Water Polo, a tri-coloured 15m roll that's seamless to install, light to carry and easy to store.

Fearing a slip and fall incident, the management at a Texas school pool wanted to install a slip-resistant walkway designed for bare feet.

Tips for choosing mats for kitchen, catering and bar areas

We recommend reading our guide on choosing the right mat for each zone of a kitchen, catering and bar based on its function. Here are the mats we recommend for these areas:

Plastex2021 Heronagrip Red 60cm 042
Vynagrip Black 0 6m 003 Large

Tips for choosing safety mats for labs and workshops hands-on facilities

  • If there are wood or metal offcuts mats, a slip-resistant mat with fall-through is critical for underfoot safety

  • Decide whether safety edging is needed to prevent trips when handling tools, delicate equipment or dangerous substances

  • For laboratory mats and matting for workshops where people spend long-hours on their feet, look for mats with anti-fatigue properties suitable for the type of work being carried out – this will aid concentration, and help reduce accidents and the cumulative damage caused by standing on hard floors

  • Choose anti-static floor mats for server rooms or laboratory environments where there’s risk of electrostatic discharge

Tips for choosing slip-resistant roof protection mats and walkways in outdoor areas

  • While single-ply roof membranes can generally withstand light foot-traffic, it’s not advisable to walk on them without a roof safety walkway as they can become very slick when wet. Large campus buildings often need maintenance on the roofs (for A/C units, solar panels, and more), and using roof protection mats to create safe pathways can help protect people working at heights:
    • Crossgrip PVC is a vinyl roof mat designed for the majority of types of flat commercial roofs
    • Crossgrip 20/20 combines all of Crossgrip PVC’s best features with additional four-way drainage and a 10-year warrant
    • Crossgrip TPO is compatible with TPO and EPDM roof membranes
  • For safe pathways in slippery areas (particularly outside in snow and heavy rain), look for a diamond cut pattern for excellent traction underfoot, and an open-grid for drainage

  • To ensure roof protection, look for roof walkway matting that sits at a raised height to help elevate workers off the roof surface

Plastex Crossgrip2020 On Site 030 Cropped

We’re here to help


We supply safety matting to some of the UK’s largest universities, and to schools of all shapes and sizes across the country. If you need matting advice tailored to your campus’ needs, send us a message.

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