Schools should be clean and tidy, well maintained and in a good state of repair at all times. This will ensure a pleasant, functional and hygienic environment for children and staff. It will also guarantee that your school is complaint with government health and safety regulations.
The large volume of people using the building can cause a rapid build-up of mess and dirt. In order to reach an acceptable standard of cleanliness, you must ensure that your school is cleaned every day. It also needs to be checked over regularly by qualified school maintenance staff. However, managing in-house school cleaning and maintenance staff can be expensive and time consuming. I therefore suggest outsourcing contractors to help bring down your school’s operational costs.
What to Look for in Your School Cleaning and Maintenance Services
Choosing the right school maintenance and cleaning contractor depends on a number of key factors.
First of all, you can single out reputable contractors by checking their client lists and asking for references. If they work for higher-profile clients who have great things to say, you’re onto a winner.
The company should also operate outside of school hours for minimal lesson disturbance. Make sure you choose a school cleaning firm that offers flexible working hours. Cleaning duties should be conducted either early in the morning or late in the afternoon / evening, with larger jobs being carried out over the weekend.
You should also ensure that the company you choose for your school cleaning services understands exactly what there is to do, and defines what duties are to be carried out on a daily and/or weekly basis. This leaves no room for misunderstanding.
When looking through the company’s school maintenance and cleaning policies, check that they have suitable measures in place to ensure that they are meeting government health and safety regulations as well as the guidelines set out by COSHH (Control of Substances Hazardous to Health).
You should also check their policy for hiring staff. Since they are to be given access to school property, the company must ensure that all school cleaning and maintenance staff are suitably qualified and experienced and have undergone adequate screening. Background checks are essential, even if the staff will be working when the children are not in the building.
Make sure the contract you sign has a provision for compensation, applicable in the event that the standard of cleaning isn’t up to scratch.
Many cleaning companies are now offering greener school cleaning services, using environmentally friendly cleaning materials where possible. Be sure to consider this when choosing your school cleaning contractor.