Keeping schools clean during COVID-19 is vital for protecting the wellbeing of students, teachers, and administrators, as well as their families and the wider community. Public and private primary and secondary schools and colleges should have a clear school cleaning plan for school re-opening and ensure education can continue throughout the term.
Your school may need to agree on additional cleaning hours from school cleaning companies to ensure professional standards are maintained. A professional cleaning contractor will implement infection control for dangerous viruses and bacteria.
Cleaning should be carried out at least daily and preferably twice daily, where objects and equipment are touched regularly. Your classroom cleaner will be happy to provide bespoke services to fit around the school’s schedule.
Cleaning and Disinfecting
School cleaning and disinfecting are critical in the fight against COVID-19. The service your school uses should kill the SARS-CoV-2 virus and remove it from objects and surfaces to stop the virus spreading from person to object and from object to person. The process is vital when different groups use a classroom, and you should consider an extra clean before another group uses the space.
Highly trained cleaners use the best equipment and specialised cleaning products to ensure hygiene and cleanliness. To slow the spread, you will need to integrate new cleaning regimes into your daily plan and ensure special attention is given to objects touched most frequently.
Frequently touched objects include door handles, school equipment, computer keyboards, lockers, drinking fountains, light switches, and windows. The needs should be assessed for hallways, classrooms, staff rooms, toilets, kitchen areas, and furniture.
The difference between cleaning and disinfecting
Cleaning physically removes bacteria, viruses, germs, impurities, and dirt using a detergent. It does not kill germs but lowers their numbers.
Disinfecting kills germs using chemicals but doesn’t clean surfaces.
Your school cleaning company should follow the correct process: clean with detergent first and then disinfect, using trained staff wearing appropriate PPE. They should carry out the service when children are not present to ensure they do not breathe in toxic vapours.
Visibly soiled surfaces and objects should be cleaned straight away, using gloves if bodily fluids or blood are visible. If your staff undertake spot cleaning, they should be careful not to mix cleaning chemicals and use only the amount stated on the label. They could consider wearing eye protection to protect against splashes.
You should also ensure a deep clean is conducted if your school has a suspected case of COVID-19.
Hand Hygiene
Your school should promote hand hygiene and establish a good culture and routine. The virus can spread when a person touches a surface where the virus is present, and that person then touches their nose, eyes, or mouth. You should ensure you have adequate supplies of alcohol-based (at least 60% alcohol) sanitisers, disposable hand wipes, or sprays, to stop people from getting sick.
Hand washing should occur at critical times, such as before and after the school dinners and when visiting the washroom. Hand washing should last at least 20 seconds. Hand hygiene is just as important as school cleaning in limiting the spread of COVID-19.
For more details on how we can provide a professional cleaning service to your school, contact our team today on 0800 086 9214 or email sales@ratcliffe-cleaning.co.uk
