The Impact of Cleanliness on Learning in Higher Education

Cleaning in education is essential, and you've probably seen cleaners all throughout your school life working tirelessly to provide you with a clean and hygienic working environment. But more than just that, did you know studies suggest that the cleaner a building is, the easier it is to study and work.

Education Cleaning

A report entitled ‘Cleanliness and Learning in Higher Education', was conducted by Jeffrey Campbell, Ph.D, chair of the facilities management program at Brigham Young University. It showed that the level of cleanliness has a direct impact on the ability to learn.

The level of cleanliness and hygiene in a building has a significant effect on the mind set of students. A dirty, neglected environment can increase stress levels and therefore impact negatively on concentration and retention. An unhygienic environment can cause illnesses from person to person, but also to lecturers, which causes disruption to the course.

Clean Halls Correlate With Academic Achievement

The European Cleaning Journal recently reported on a survey conducted by Resource GB that suggested that ‘university students draw a direct link between their own academic achievement and the cleanliness of their campus and halls of residence.'

They concluded that ‘44 percent of students felt they would gain a better qualification if their campus and halls of residence were cleaner and more organised.'

Managing director of Resource GB, Andy Vaughan said,

“The evidence is clear that higher education institutions need to develop a consistently high standard of cleanliness throughout their facilities to ensure their students experience the best possible environment for learning.”

This should also extend to protecting the physical wellbeing of the pupils and teachers. Sickness and bugs spread very quickly in an environment where a large volume of students and lecturers come into close contact on a daily basis. This then leads to absenteeism and below standard learning quality, which affects students' grades and performances. Better attendance levels in both students and lecturers will lead to better results. It is important for universities and colleges to put into place a solid regular cleaning regime in order to bring out the best in their pupils throughout term time. Places that need special attention include classrooms, bathrooms, library space and student accommodation.

How To Provide a Clean Work Space For Pupils

The link between a clean work environment and academic success is evident, so what does this cleaning process involve and how can you bring students the safe environment they need?

Regular Cleaning

This type of cleaning is more for suited for upkeep as it is less time consuming and doesn't require as much attention to detail. You may choose to have cleaners weekly, or even daily, depending on the frequency of the site use.

Dusting, sweeping and mopping are all effective methods that don't take much time and can help prevent unnecessary build up of bacteria, negatively affecting pupil and staff health.

Deep Cleaning

There's no better time to give your educational institution a clean than when students are on their summer holidays. This will allow you to work uninterrupted and ensure pupils/teachers do not come into contact with potentially harmful chemicals.

Summer deep cleans are of paramount importance and should be top priority to ensure the continued safety of pupils and staff by providing a clean school for the start of the academic year. This can require more qualified cleaning staff equipped with a higher grade of cleaning products required as they are better for removing excess bacteria and other hazardous material.

Other essential tools used in this cleaning are:

• Floor sweepers
• Vacuum cleaners
• Heavy duty chemicals (Acids, Alcohols, Hydrogen peroxide etc)
• Mops

It's best to leave deep cleaning jobs for professionals as they will have the correct PPE equipment to safely. Rubber gloves, aprons and masks all help to minimise the risk of contact with hazardous substances.

Covid-19

The influence of Covid has made hygiene even more essential. As the national lockdown was lifted, the cleanliness of schools, colleges and universities has been emphasised. Now that mask wearing is no longer mandatory, student safety and capability of work should not be hindered.

Where Can You Deep Clean in an Educational Institution?

There are a multitude of areas that need cleaning across a business' site, and all require disinfecting, sweeping and cleaning. Some of these include:

• Offices
• Hallways/Corridors
• Classrooms (cabinets and bookshelves, carpets and flooring, desks and shared surfaces)
• Assembly halls and other large gathering areas
• Doors and other points of contact
• Student accommodation

Professional School Cleaning Services

It can be tough to manage large scale cleaning operations across your institution. As a company built around providing the cleaning available, we offer exceptional, reliable and experienced educational and school cleaning services across London and the rest of the UK. We provide clients with clean schools using the best industry standard equipment.

With several satisfied customers across the years, we're confident we can provide you with an excellent service. Please contact us to find out how our cleaning and janitorial services can provide you with a cleaner nursery, school, college, or university and become our next valued client today.