Cleaning classroom

[Q1w2e3]

I’m a teacher who is on immunosuppressant drugs. I have no faith that school is cleaned properly so I am planning on cleaning the desks etc myself. What would be the best thing to use? Antibac wipes? Dettol spray? Anything better? Thanks.

I’d stay at home! The ways schools are cleaned is rubbish if mine is anything to go by. Manky cloth all over. Dettol spray maybe? Or the old style dettol liquid made into a spray bottle

Dettol and kitchen roll for desks, chairs and other large surfaces. But antibacterial wipes for things like door/window handles, drawer and cupboard doors, light switches and don't forget blind cords.

The problem isn’t the desks, it’s the kids. The minute you’ve cleaned the desk, some kid will come and sit at it with their grubby hands and sneezy faces. You’ll be literally trying to hold back the tide.

I think getting some dettol wipes and cleaning your desk, your keyboard and possibly the door handle is reasonable, but basically just assume that your hands are covered in germs and wash them as much as possible.

I sympathise. I'm in a similar position. I agree that school cleaning isn't always great.
I'm not worried about Corona but in general I'm sick of getting ill from avoidable poor hygiene.

ask the school caretaker for some of the school cleaning chemicals. You won’t be allowed to bring in your own as school won’t have risk assessments etc for the chemicals you chose. If a child has a reaction to something you bring in the school would be in big trouble. (Did H&S training a few weeks ago and this issue was addressed!)

Pretty sure the ‘chemicals’ at my school are washing up liquid and one bucket for 10 rooms. And when norovirus went round smelled like the squirted a drags of bleach in as well

@whatsleep in your H&S training what did they say anything about schools’ legal requirements to be clean so staff and children don’t get ill?

TalkingOwl no, unfortunately they didn’t (the training was before we knew of Coronavirus)

whatsleep that’s a shame. Thanks for responding.

Have your school introduced compulsory hand washing? My dc school are washing hands as a class several times a day, when they get there and before and after play time and lunch time. Can you encourage this to happen, along with a lesson on how to wash hands correctly to try to help protect yourself too. Also, general lessons on catching sneezes, tissue usage and general good hygiene habits.

I run brownies and we spoke about all the above last week, we cover 4 schools. Only one if the schools had covered the above. I appreciate it isn’t the schools job to teach this, but surely at the moment, it could be slotted in somewhere?

If school allows, then a Milton solution is your best bet. Make up, clean all high touch areas etc.

Also check out the Facebook Post about how to get 30 children to wash their hands for the required time, genius and definitely better than the kids own interpretation of adequate hand washing

Thanks, everyone. I’m in a high school so pupils have been told to wash hands but it’s not being enforced in any way.

Our ‘chemicals’ appear to just be whatever is living on the disgusting cloth!

Cleaning will only stop the spread if the person with the virus is no longer in school. So unless a confirmed case not much point. As the person will be touching everything and breathing everywhere.

A little spray of glen 20 should be required in every classroom in every school as everybody knows kids are great at spreading germs.
I also think if a child sneezes or coughs they should be asked to ho wash their hands.
When I was at school our librian was strict and if u didnt use a tissue or hanky he would give u some toilet paper he always had one handy lol.
This was a good thing as kids are touchimg the books he later then touched so i think it teaches kids personal hygiene its always good for them to get in the habit.😁