Cleaning for Schools

Cleaning inevitably involves the use of plenty of cleaning products. There’s an unmistakable (hopefully pleasant) odour that greets you when you walk into a room that’s just had a thorough clean. 

But what if your client (or their clients) can’t be in an environment that smells of cleaning products?

This was the situation we found ourselves in when tailoring a cleaning schedule for an educational establishment near Redditch recently. 

What is Chestnut Place?

Chestnut Place is a small educational setting for academically able students aged 16+ with Autism or associated need who require a tailored approach to their education. It is operated and owned by Wider Plan. Chestnut Place seeks to maintain a calm and predictable environment within the building, enabling anxious students to feel secure.

The Client’s Problem

We have completed work for Chestnut Place’s parent company, Wider Plan at their other site, and the management had been impressed with our cleaning operative’s work. They also liked our company’s ethos and values. 

So, they reached out to us when they wished to expand their educational facilities for older teens in Sambourne, near Redditch by creating Chestnut Place. Having renovated a building to their exact specification, they required an initial deep clean, followed by a regular daily clean Monday to Friday.

The building’s ground floor consists of a reception and office, with teaching spaces, a sensory room, kitchen facilities and a number of washrooms. There are stairs leading up to the first-floor offices and seating area. 

Because of their neurodiversity, many of the pupils at the school are hypersensitive to scent and need as calm an environment as possible during working hours. Too much input affects their ability to learn. Too much noise, smell, visual stimulation or sensory input can really damage their concentration and cause a lot of personal distress to the children. 

Our Solution

Mindful of their sensory needs, Sean met with the management and provided a quotation, along with a detailed cleaning schedule.

We ensured that all the products we intended to use were minimally fragranced and that the cleaning was scheduled outside of student hours. This would limit the exposure children had to additional adults, ensuring that they felt as calm as possible during school hours. It would also leave time for any residual smell from the products to dissipate before the children came to school the following day. 

Once the quote was accepted by Wider Ambition, a local operative who already worked for us and wanted additional hours, was interviewed for the position. Even though they already knew the standards of service we expect, a site-specific induction was still given, paying close attention to Health and Safety. 

As there are children on site, we performed further disclosure barring checks and we have ensured these are in place.

Our operative’s work is monitored to ensure that the quality of the cleaning provided at Chestnut Place is of a high standard.

The Result

The leadership team at Chestnut Place are pleased that their educational facility is a clean and safe environment to welcome the students into each day. The non perfumed cleaning products ensure that their students feel nothing but reassurance from their clean spaces. They can learn and grow in confidence in a hygienic environment.