Today and tomorrow's cleaning for the Education Sector
Nina Wyers, Marketing & Brand Director at The Floorbrite Group, discusses the future of cleaning in education and school facilities.
Aside from the impact the public health crisis has had on the NHS, the impact on our schools and education system has also been far-reaching, with many challenges still ahead. As a mother of three boys myself, ranging from Primary to High School age, I sympathise with all parents and teachers. From managing the home-schooling during lockdowns, to the dual classroom versus virtual teaching methods adopted during COVID isolation periods as class bubbles are compromised (I’ve had at least seven of these), and the all-round operating of schools and colleges, having to make rapid decisions often without much information or clarification from the government.
In these uncertain times, the environment in which the education sector functions is constantly changing, the rules in which they operate are constantly under review and can change at very short notice. Though the government and education system’s best efforts were to minimise disruption to our children’s education, the pandemic has revealed many inequalities facing schoolchildren, from inadequate internet access and lack of devices to unstable homes and food insecurity, these societal challenges have left a generation requiring varying levels of learning support.
Looking ahead, there has been talk about how to close the gaps in learning by extending the school day, creating afterschool, weekend and even summer learning programs. This may be the main challenge facing the education sector, yet they are being challenged on multiple other fronts too with the knock-on effects following these decisions being made. If learning is to be extended, how is that managed, facilitated, supported?
As a leading contractor in the cleaning industry, Floorbrite’s experience has been to support our customers
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with expert advice in our field so that the hygiene of their education facilities is one less area to worry about. We have found that our education sector customers, both existing and new, are looking most for flexibility and partnerships with good levels of communication that can be reactive to the ever-changing landscape.
With limited budgets they also require transparency. Previously, output specs may have been the norm, but input specifications driven by hours and budgets are now essential to manage every penny efficiently. As schools’ requirements change, so then do the shift patterns of service providers and the necessity for additional hours to ensure a complete wraparound service. These are the challenges now across many sectors, not just education.
In March 2020, we never envisaged still dealing with the upheaval of COVID-19 over a year later, however, as we are looking to the September 2021 school intake, this is clearly still the case.
Schools and colleges should now have a clear plan. Your school may have needed to agree on additional cleaning hours to ensure professional standards are maintained and a professional cleaning contractor will have implemented infection control for harmful viruses and bacteria. Your cleaning should be being carried out at least daily, and preferably twice daily in high touchpoint areas.
Cleaning versus disinfecting
You should be doing both. Cleaning is to scrub an area with detergent or soap and water to remove dirt, grime and surface biofilm, while disinfecting means applying a chemical to kill the residual germs and viruses that remain afterwards.
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