School Cleaning Services

The maelstrom of circumstances that have led to this academic term’s attendance battles requires more than just periodic deep cleans. It is going to take consistent, high-quality, informed regular school cleaning services to ensure as few people get sick as possible. Education settings have been through a time like no other since the start of 2020, and as we approach half term, it is a timely reminder that the news is full of rising Covid-19 infection rates in education settings. The BBC has reported that other viruses are running rampant, as reduced contact during successive Lockdowns has detrimentally impacted people’s immune systems.

After months in-and-out of school, a spiraling Covid-19 infection rate, and one of the worst cold seasons in living memory, it is no surprise that schools are trying to limit the spread of all infections to keep children well. Many schools have requested additional deep cleans, and we have been involved with many in the Worcestershire area both before, during, and after the pandemic. But we are pleased to be able to offer a variety of school cleaning services, including regular daily cleaning, to help keep everyone in school and learning.

With the introduction of academies, it is more commonplace for schools to outsource their cleaning to a professional company as it frees the Leadership Team up to focus on the educational challenges the school is tackling.

A primary school in rural Worcestershire wanted to employ a contractor to oversee their daily cleaning requirements and contacted us. The school, rated “Good” by Ofsted, provides nursery and First School level education from Reception to year 4. The senior leadership team recognised the importance of providing a safe clean environment for their staff and pupils and approached us, as a local company, for a quote.

What are some of the challenges the school had?

After the initial visit and quotation, the head along with the board of Governors approved the cleaning budget. Two operatives were employed, after a thorough vetting process, that included references, background checks, and an enhanced DBS check. They were inducted onto the site and our contracts manager worked with them at the commencement of the contract to ensure the level of cleanliness met with Cleaning Technique’s high standard. There were three main problems that the school were faced with:

1. Young children are often “super spreaders”!

Schools are increasingly needing to have to ensure environments are hygienic as possible due to their role in teaching personal hygiene to very young children. No one wants seasonal viruses running rampant amongst staff. Not only does it impact staff health, but frequent sick leave is costly to cover and disrupts the consistency of children’s education. There is a strong correlation between inconsistent teaching and poor attainment in children, with the impact felt most during the earliest years of education.

2. A rigorous and energetic working day

Good teaching often means plenty of mess! Most teachers teach their class to tidy up after themselves, but the inevitable busyness of 30 plus young children in a classroom means a degree of grime remains at the end of every day.

3. Schools operate to a strict annual timetable

It is not possible for schools to have “shutdowns” to facilitate deep cleaning of the building or carpets, upholstery, or floors. Schools have to adhere to the term schedule demanded by their Local Education Authority.

How did Cleaning Technique help?

1. A focus on touch points

In a bid to reduce the impact of seasonal viruses on attendance, the two operatives provide five hours of cleaning, every day during term time. They focus on touchpoints, such as door handles and light switches.

Focusing on touchpoints to reduce staff illness.

Alongside this, our operatives would thoroughly sanitise and wipe in the five classrooms and nursery room. This includes tables, chairs, sinks, vacuuming of carpets, and mopping of all hard floors, including the assembly hall.

The school has several toilet blocks, an additional disabled toilet washroom area for assisting children with additional needs, a staff toilet and kitchen that is cleaned daily. Close attention is paid to colour coding guidance using separate mops, buckets, and cloths for toilet and kitchen areas to mitigate the risk of cross-contamination.

At Cleaning Technique, we always use the best cleaning products to ensure excellent results. All of our staff are trained in Control Of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) regulations and how to use these products in the most effective way.

2. A daily “reset” that allows for a fresh start

As you can imagine the classrooms and school has high traffic each and every school day, complete with glitter, glue, and food on many surfaces. Our team rises to the challenge each evening to ensure that each day the teachers and support staff enter a building that is fresh and hygienic to enable them to educate the children, who will be the adults of tomorrow.

3. Periodic deep cleaning for schools

Although regular daily cleaning provides a reset that allows normal school activities to resume each morning, the frequency of use the school endures means a deep clean is required during holiday periods.

Each year we provide holiday cleaning and a deep clean of the assembly hall with specific buffing machinery. This allows the school to keep its high-traffic areas in a state of good maintenance.

School cleaning services

The headteacher has been delighted with the work that our team have been putting in to the school. She writes:

I have been very pleased with the standard of cleaning and professionalism of the staff. The school feels clean and fresh everyday.
Rachel Hughes, Head Teacher

For more information on Cleaning Technique and if you would like to experience what a difference our team can make to your school please contact us. We are really looking forward to hearing from you.