EDUCATIONAL & SCHOOL FACILITIES


Inadequate hand washing can also impact absenteeism in schools. The largest contributor to absences from school is illness, which constitutes almost 60% of all absences across schools in England. Annually, nearly 22 million school days are lost each year due to the common cold.


Teachers and pupils alike are missing school because of easily avoidable illnesses, which could be greatly reduced by correct hand hygiene techniques being taught, particularly in primary schools. Absenteeism in children can massively impact their learning and class performance. Absenteeism also affects parents, who are forced to take time off to look after their ill children.


WHAT CAN SCHOOLS


DO TO HELP? Every primary school in the UK is obliged to teach pupils how to maintain personal hygiene and improve their health and wellbeing as part of the National Curriculum. Schools must adhere to this and value effective hand washing as a priority within schools to improve attendance and reduce illnesses, and one way this can be done is by informing school children of the generally accepted technique for hand washing.


“Teachers and pupils


alike are missing school because of easily avoidable illnesses,


which could be greatly


reduced by correct hand hygiene techniques


being taught, particularly in primary schools.”


by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine unearthed that only 63.8% of primary school pupils regularly washed their hands with soap at school, a figure which dropped to 39% for secondary school pupils.


www.tomorrowscleaning.com


The correct technique is to wet, lather, scrub, rinse and dry, however this aspect of hygiene education isn’t being effectively taught in school. Many school children are unaware of the importance of correct and thorough hand washing, or the impact it may have on their health. If schools were to make the hand washing procedure fun, engaging and memorable for school children, then it is likely to increase overall hand hygiene compliance.


Teachers and parents also have a responsibility to promote hand hygiene awareness and compliance to school children. Both should be leading by example and be seen to wash their own hands frequently throughout the day, using the proper techniques.


In order to reduce germ transfer, it is advisable that primary schools set up a sealed cartridge soap dispensing system, a far more hygienic, economical and environmentally-


friendly option than bar soap or bulk fill systems. These dispensing systems are easy to operate for children, and maintenance costs are minimal for schools.


“Every primary school in the UK


is obliged to teach pupils how to


maintain personal


hygiene and improve their health and


wellbeing as part of the National Curriculum.”


To further encourage hand hygiene compliance and reduce the transfer of bacteria, schools must also understand the value of investing in brightly coloured and attractive dispensers to help engage children in the hand washing process. In addition to these visually enticing dispensers, schools should also ensure that education materials are in plentiful supply throughout the school. Posters for children on how and why they should wash their hands with soap are crucial to reinforce the message, as is providing teachers with well thought-out lesson plans and activities on the topic.


The importance of hand hygiene is a decidedly overlooked issue by most education systems, but it must be prioritised to combat illness and disease in schools. Effectively conveying the importance of hand hygiene compliancy from an early age and getting children into the habit of washing their hands as part of a daily routine at school and at home will help to ensure that this practise becomes part of their lifelong routine.


www.debgroup.com/uk Tomorrow’s Cleaning July 2016 | 55


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