October 25, 2021
School cleaning checklist
Classrooms
- Clean all doors and door handles
- Wipe down desks and chairs
- Clean and vacuum the floor (mopped if a hard floor)
- Empty bins and replace bin bags. Bleach bin periodically
- Clean any shared supplies (like stationery or art supplies)
- Clean light switches and any other plug sockets
- Clean skirting boards
- Clean windows and windowsills
Toilets
There is no doubt that toilets and bathrooms are a germ hotspot. In these environments, germs can easily spread from one person to another. A stringent cleaning process is absolutely necessary in these areas of every school. As is the best in personal hygiene habits, something you can help create with our blog on encouraging pupils to wash their hands.
- Bleach & clean all toilets and urinals – ensure any part of the toilet that comes into contact with skin is rinsed thoroughly after cleaning).
- Ensure toilet holders are well stocked
- Fill up hand towel and soap dispensers
- Clean tiles and mirrors
- Clean and wipe sinks
- Wipe doors, door handles, hand dryer buttons and cubicle locks
- Mop floor
- Empty bins and replace bin bags. Disinfect bin periodically
For more information on how you can increase hygiene in toilets, click here.
Staff room and other offices
Staff members should be well onboard with all the school’s endeavours to stay clean and hygienic. With this in mind, hopefully your staff rooms and offices shouldn’t need too much regular attention. Still, these areas will need a once over and are an essential for your school cleaning checklist.
- Doors, door handles and cabinets cleaned
- Light switch, plugs, kettle and microwave cleaned
- Computers, keyboards and mouse wiped down
- Tables and chairs cleaned
- Sink and kitchen top cleaned
- Windows and windowsills cleaned
- Mugs, cutlery and other food and drink utensils washed
- Floor cleaned and vacuumed (mopped if hard floor)
Hallways, entrances and the hall/gym
These types of areas are your biggest footfall zones. Many visitors coming from outside the school contribute to the crowds in these areas. Your main hall/gym are also a potential hotbed for germ spreading. Therefore, these are some of the most important areas for your cleaning schedule.
- Floor mopped and vacuumed
- Door and door handles cleaned
- Windows and windowsills cleaned
- Benches or other seating areas wiped down
- Sports equipment sanitised after use
- Changing rooms thoroughly cleaned
Kitchen and canteen areas
Wherever food and beverages are being handled, germs can easily spread. With the right buy in from those in school, hopefully these areas can be kept clean. But you’ll still need to get in there with sprays and buckets handy.
- Bins emptied and occasionally bleached
- Floors mopped and vacuumed
- Chairs and tabletops wiped down
- All food preparation areas and equipment thoroughly cleaned
- Windows and windowsills cleaned
- Door and door handles cleaned
- Food containers, trays and cutlery washed
- Vending machine buttons wiped down
The key daily focus areas
Central to any effective cleaning routine is a focus on surfaces that we regularly encounter. Perhaps you find your cleaning resources are stretched thin and only have time to do a quick once over. In this case, focus on anything you think lots of people will be touching, or breathing on, the next day. Examples include:
- Door handles and doors
- Desks
- Windowsills
- Stationery
- Light switches
- Chairs
Think beyond what we touch directly too. We all touch our shoes every morning to put them on, passing germs onto them. That can then be transferred to school carpets and hard floors and picked up by someone else walking on them. In turn, they then touch their shoes and transfer germs onto other surfaces.
As a result, floors in heavy football areas like hallways, entrance areas and assembly halls should be prioritised for a daily clean.
How often should I clean the school?
Resources are stretched thin across most schools. Sometimes it can be easy to dimmish the importance of cleaning (especially when we reach a post-Covid world). Schools should be cleaned every day, but we know how difficult it is to dedicate the time required. So, focus on the essential areas we detailed above, limiting the transfer of germs each day.
For everything else, set out a weekly rotation so nothing goes too long without a deep clean. For our entire catalogue of cleaning supplies you can buy click here.
What will I need?
A good strong cleaning regime can only be maintained with the right supplies. Take a glance at your cleaning cupboard – does it have everything you need for effective cleaning?
Here at Chespack Hygeine, we specialise in all areas of cleaning and hygiene. We provide information and solutions to ensure your school or workplace is as clean as it can be. For more information on the importance of a school cleaning checklist, click here. Or for a free audit of your organisation, contact us.
