How clean is your classroom, really? The desks may be clear and the floors may be relatively free from debris, but this is still a question that can be harder to answer than it first appears.
With so many people in one space, and particularly if those people change throughout the course of the day as different lessons take place, there’s a spread of germs and general dirt that’s unavoidable.
But it can be addressed in a way that reduces germ transmission and makes these spaces as clean as possible for those using them. This does, however, require concerted effort and a commitment to establishing and maintaining procedures - and it’s an area where a lot of schools are falling down, according to a recent Teacher Tapp survey.
Only just over half of those teachers surveyed were confident in the procedures that they had in place to stop the spread of germs, leaving a significant proportion who were not confident.
Fighting germs in the school classroom
Furthermore, a quarter of teachers reported that their confidence would increase if more communication and training were offered. A very small proportion reported that they would be much more confident.
So what would a better approach to classroom cleanliness look like in practice? Professor Valerie Edwards-Jones, an independent microbiologist and consultant, explains the need-to-know elements of keeping your classroom clean.
The first thing to bear in mind, she says, is that the amount of germs in the air will depend on the time of day and how busy the room has been recently.
“Probably the lowest count would be a Monday morning,” she explains. “But normally, classrooms will have high numbers of airborne organisms, because of the frequent movement of pupils and the numbers of people within them. Frequent occupation of classrooms means the numbers of airborne organisms can be high, increasing the risk of transmission.
“Good ventilation is therefore vital when individuals are in the same room together for long periods. Ensuring a space has good ventilation will ensure movement of fresh air and will hopefully reduce the number of airborne organisms within it.”
This is perhaps not the most pleasant mental image, but it’s one that can be useful to share with young people, Edwards-Jones explains, as a reminder of the importance of paying attention to hygiene and cleanliness in the classroom whenever they can.
“Staff should be encouraging pupils to understand how easily germs are spread,” she continues. “The pupils can look after their own space and also their own health if they understand the consequences of not doing so.”
She says teachers can make a difference by simply reminding pupils to wash their hands frequently and keep their desks clean.
“Because of Covid-19, we’ve all learned good practice. Not just to reduce the effect of Covid-19 but all of the other diseases we routinely pick up from surfaces from people not washing their hands and from sneezing over surfaces. The common cold and the flu that we can get in the winter months - if we continue doing things like washing our hands and keeping surfaces clean, that will help prevent a spike of other illnesses, not just Covid-19,” says Edwards-Jones.
She also proposes that schools ensure that staff have a supply of antimicrobial wipes handy to use in their classrooms, such as Clinell Universal Wipes, which are currently used in nine out of 10 NHS hospitals.
She recommends explaining to students that surfaces need frequent cleaning (which doesn’t always happen), because numerous people touch them, and that “if they do not wash their hands, all sorts of germs can be transferred from hands o nto surfaces and from surfaces to other people’s hands”.
Edwards-Jones also highlights the usefulness of taking a visual, practical approach to demonstrating the spread of germs.
“Primary children can be shown how easily germs spread by using glitter to imitate germs and see how far they spread,” she says.
This involves getting groups of students to dip their hands in glitter and then wash them to varying degrees: some thoroughly for 20 seconds with hot water and soap, some with water alone, some not at all. The resulting sparkly carnage should serve as a fun, useful lesson for pupils (although your cleaners might not be so enthused about it).
So with some simple changes and increased awareness, you can make your classroom a much cleaner place for everyone.
Clinell Universal Wipes are an award-winning product invented by two NHS doctors, who are passionate about reducing infection. The wipes are proven to kill the Covid-19 coronavirus in 30 seconds and are the NHS’ number one most used disinfectant wipe, trusted by nine out of 10 NHS hospitals to help safeguard patients and healthcare workers from the risk of infection
