afPE Health & Safety Update – Control Measures Around Hygiene

02/09/21

The team would suggest that the hygiene routines have to be based on whole school policy, which will be based on government guidance. Consistency across subjects is key. This is a school decision. Please see the latest operational guidance from 27th August. Through each school Risk Assessment they will decide how best to implement the below. This question relates to bullet points 1 and 2 specifically. SLTs will need to decide what is an appropriate cleaning schedule in schools. Colleagues should also have contingency measures in place to be able to step measures up and down relative to your specific settings.

Control measures

You should:

1. • Ensure good hygiene for everyone.

   • Maintain appropriate cleaning regimes.

   • Keep occupied spaces well ventilated.

   • Follow public health advice on testing, self-isolation and managing confirmed cases of COVID-19.

Ensure good hygiene for everyone

1. • Hand hygiene

   • Frequent and thorough hand cleaning should now be regular practice. You should continue to ensure that pupils clean their hands regularly. This can be done with soap and water or hand sanitiser.

   • Respiratory hygiene

   • The ‘catch it, bin it, kill it’ approach continues to be very important.

   • The e-Bug COVID-19 website contains free resources for you, including materials to encourage good hand and respiratory hygiene.

   • Use of personal protective equipment (PPE). Most staff in schools will not require PPE beyond what they would normally need for their work. The guidance on the use of PPE in education, childcare and children’s social care settings provides more information on the use of PPE for COVID-19.

Maintain appropriate cleaning regimes, using standard products such as detergents

1. You should put in place and maintain an appropriate cleaning schedule. This should include regular cleaning of areas and equipment (for example, twice per day), with a particular focus on frequently touched surfaces.

2. PHE has published guidance on the cleaning of non-healthcare settings.

3. Further H&S information and updates will be available on the members’ area. If you have any enquiries please contact the team directly.

4. afPE Health & Safety Team