The school holidays over Christmas mean a well-earned rest for both pupils and staff. But, there’s another way to take advantage of this 2-week school hiatus; a much-needed deep-clean.

When your school is empty you have the perfect opportunity to thoroughly clean those places that are impossible to clean on a day-to-day basis. A deep clean is the perfect way to supplement regular cleaning practices in schools of all types, ages and sizes.

Why is a school deep-clean so important?

With so many pairs of feet hurrying up and down corridors and bustling in and out of classrooms, schools naturally accumulate dirt and debris over time. Toilets, staff rooms, canteens and office equipment also take a heavy hit through catering for such large numbers of people for extended periods of time.

And, aside from the highly obvious and visible issue of an untidy appearance, a school that is left too long between proper deep-cleans can harbor hidden health hazards to both staff and pupils. Winter is a notoriously bad time of year for the spread of illness, particularly in densely populated environments like schools, and accumulating dust in carpets can trigger allergies. With this in mind, ensuring that the school is thoroughly cleaned ready for the New Year is essential for everybody’s wellbeing.

With very little time available for extensive cleaning during term time, taking advantage of an empty school over the Christmas holidays is a great idea. This way, every nook and cranny can be properly cleaned with no danger of students or staff slipping on wet floors or tripping over cleaning equipment.

What does it involve?

This will depend on the needs of your school and can always be tailored accordingly, but these are the main areas covered by a thorough deep-cleaning project:

• Classroom carpets shampooed and vacuumed
• Chewing gum removed from desks and floors
• Toilets deep-cleaned and disinfected
• Kitchens and canteens deep cleaned
• Parquet floors stripped and polished
• Sports hall and corridor floors cleaned and polished
• Office areas cleaned including desks, monitors and keyboards

How will this affect the school?

A well-kept school provides a healthy and worry-free learning environment which will have positive effects on everything from the pupils and staff to the reputation of the school itself.

Enthusiastic staff

Coming back to a clean, pleasant working environment will impact positively on the morale and productivity of your staff and teachers, who will be able to take pride in their school and feel comfortable during the working day. This is particularly important in this trying time of budget cuts and increasing workloads, which are already dampening morale.

Attentive pupils

Pupils need to be kept happy and healthy to ensure maximum attendance. A clean school provides a comfortable, hygienic learning environment where they can feel safe and cared for. With clean desks, hygienic toilets and happy teachers, your pupils have a much better chance at reaching their full potential when attending a school that they, too, can take pride in.

A spotless reputation

All schools and academies, both state and private, rely on good reputations to attract parents and pupils, so maintaining high standards of cleanliness is essential. Word of mouth from parents and staff along with the results of inspections can work wonders for the perception of your school if you present a well-kept building at all times.

Time and money saved

With such tight budgets to work to, schools cannot afford to replace IT equipment, kitchen equipment and carpets on a regular basis. It makes sense, therefore, to keep them well looked after to avoid expensive replacements or wasted time on temporary repairs.

How is Birkin different?

We’re education specialists who can help you with every element of school cleaning, from daily tasks to big periodical deep-cleans, but we also offer a great deal more.

Flexibility is our strong suit, and we provide a bespoke service for every school we work with based on their individual requirements. We understand that schools often need to be canny with their limited budgets, so we’re here to ease some of that pressure by tailoring our services to suit the funds available.

We also have a division especially dedicated to deep-cleans for schools that have just had extensions built, helping get the new builds ship shape and ready for use quickly and efficiently.

Is your school in need of a deep-clean ready for the start of the New Year? Give us a call on 01707 322 228 or email us at info@birkingroup.co.uk to book in your Christmas holiday deep-clean with Birkin.