Promoting
better toilets for pupils| Promoting
better toilets for pupils |
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Cleaning and Hygiene Schools are required) to ensure the health, safety and welfare of pupils (Education (School Premises Regulations, 1999, England & Wales)). The provision of clean and well maintained toilets and hand washing facilities is a basic requirement in any workplace or educational setting but takes on an added importance in the close confinement of schools.
Find welcoming, bright, fresh and clean toilets with toilet paper, soap and hand drying facilities, and there's likely to be a high degree of school pride, as well as a general feeling among pupils that they're being looked after and feel safe. How schools can benefit from focusing on good hygiene standards
Barriers to clean and hygienic toilets The main hurdles to adequate cleaning of school toilets include:
Why school toilets are breeding grounds for infectious diseases Toilet areas in schools are the primary source of infection for pupils and can spread infection from person to person. School toilets are ideal breeding grounds for pathogens (‘pathogen’ means harmful micro-organisms) that can be harmful to health, as toilets are damp and humid – and sometimes warm. Viruses, in particular, can be excreted in large numbers in respiratory secretions and faeces. In toilets they are most commonly spread during flushing and touching contaminated surfaces. e.g. frequent hand contact surfaces such as toilet flush handles, door handles, locks, light switches, washbasins, taps, hand dryers and waste bins - or drinking water facilities in the vicinity of washrooms. Infection can then spread from person to person and throughout the school. Infections and illnesses that can spread in washrooms Rotavirus – these are transferred from hand to hand and live on hard surfaces in toilets and washrooms and cause fever, vomiting and diarrhoea Faecal Coliforms – these are found in faeces and contain germs that thrive in unclean toilets and washrooms. Some of these can be very serious such as:
Parasites – such as protozoa and parasitic worms that can be transferred in toilets and washroom by hand contact. Parasitic worms grow in the gut and can cause liver, lung, brain & lymphatic damage Illnesses such as norovirus, swine flu and hepatitis A can spread rapidly through a school community. Community Acquired MRSA currently in the USA where it has been hospitalizing school-aged children with pneumonia or bloodstream infections Common communicable infections such as colds and flu In schools the younger the child the higher the risk. There will also be pupils of all ages who are more vulnerable than others to infection due to health conditions and weakened immune systems. Pupils’ days lost from school are related to transmissible infection. Pupils with a tummy bug with diarrhoea or vomiting are likely to leave behind pathogen organisms in the toilet itself, in the air and on surfaces. For some harmful bacteria, and particularly viruses, the dose needed to cause infection can be very small. Whilst a healthy adult may be resistant to quite a large dose of salmonella, to take just one example, the risk to vulnerable groups such as children can be much greater. Schools may not always know when a child has a tummy upset or diarrhoea. Pupils and parents may be embarrassed to reveal the real cause of absence. It is also important to know that pathogens are often shed before children have symptoms of illness. Furthermore, children can still be excreting pathogens after they have apparently recovered and returned to school – for at least two weeks after the symptoms have subsided. Some people carry gut pathogens around with them without even knowing. To leave facilities hygienically clean, it is advisable to use toilet cleaning products that disinfect. Plugholes and U-bends in washbasins and showers constitute major reservoirs, which will routinely support large bacterial populations which are difficult to remove and so require regular disinfection. Damp cleaning cloths, utensils and mops used in toilet areas can become contaminated with harmful bacteria and become a breeding ground where bacteria can multiply rapidly and during cleaning can spread bacteria to other sites and surfaces. The same applies to non-disposable hand drying towels which is why their use in schools is discouraged. A hygiene audit of 20 independent schools in England by Albany Healthy Schools in 2010 found that:
A lesson from the E. coli outbreak in Wales The report into the September 2005 E-Coli outbreak in South Wales that affected 42 schools, left 28 children hospitalised and killed 5 year-old school boy Mason Jones, found that hygiene standards were ‘below what was required to prevent disease transmission.’
Among the recommendations was one to local authorities that all school Governing Bodies should review their regimes for cleaning toilet facilities for pupils. The Welsh Assembly Government has now produced a Best Practice Guidance for Primary and Secondary Schools in Wales which refers schools to our website. Welsh school inspectors (Estyn) also reported that toilets in half of secondary schools and a quarter of primary schools inspected in Wales were dirty or unacceptable. The hygiene debate With conflicting information on hygiene it can be difficult to know who or what to believe. We read that we are being ‘too clean for our own good’ and as a consequence are compromising our immune systems and encouraging conditions such as asthma. At the same time we are reminded to protect ourselves and children from harmful bacteria and viruses. Poor hygiene standards contribute to the almost ten million cases of infectious intestinal disease each year in the UK as well as the transmission of respiratory disease (which account for about 47% of GP visits for under -15s). Infections such as dysentery, hepatitis A and threadworm cause regular outbreaks in schools. The common cold and flu are spread through cross-contamination. While it is impossible and even undesirable, to remove all the pathogens from our schools and homes, our public health experts advise that schools need to take steps to reduce the number of pathogens to a safe level to help protect children from preventable illness. A good balance between over-protection and under-protection is to particularly target hygiene efforts where they make the most difference – on the most risky sites, surfaces and situations. In schools, toilets and washrooms head the list as they are generally the primary source of infection for pupils. Germs quickly multiply in washrooms areas and are spread around the school. Frequency of cleaning The frequency of cleaning and maintenance procedures will depend on how many pupils use the facilities and whether they have good toilet habits. When cleaning is only done once daily, it is much more likely that the toilets will become unsanitary and the insidious principle of “Well, it’s already a mess, so why should I make an effort?” is likely to hold sway. In the vast majority of schools, toilets should be cleaned at least twice a day. One of these should be during the school day between peak periods of use. – with consideration made for pupils who require these facilities at this time. While it is undoubtedly preferable for cleaning to be carried out by professionally trained staff, we recognise that it may not always be easy to increase contractual arrangements. Some schools have arranged for one or two members of support staff (e.g. lunchtime or playground assistants) to clean the toilets between morning break and lunchtime. While cost is a consideration, adequate funding has to be prioritised. It is not unusual for toilets in shopping centres, hotels and offices to be cleaned several times a day. Additional cleaning during the day is a visible sign that the school is investing in pupil welfare and removing the anonymity of cleaning which in turn encourages pupils to become allies with their cleaners and to adopt positive behaviour. Increased cleaning also maximises value for money by increasing the lifespan of facilities. Back to top Concentrate on high risk communal areas, starting with the toilet and washroom areas, and educate children to clean and dry their hands effectively and particularly after visiting the toilet and before eating. These measures will go a long way towards preventing the person-to-person spread of infections and keeping pupils and staff healthy. Viruses, germs and bacteria also cause the bad smells associated with unhygienic toilets and washrooms. Our perception of cleanliness is largely through smell. Our 10 point plan for schools is based on the essential elements of proactive hygiene education, effective management and whole school involvement:
Lighting Well lit toilets are important in toilet areas. A toilet area might be hygienically clean but not look clean and this is usually down to the lighting. Not only does good lighting make a toilet area look cleaner, but it also makes pupils feel safer and enables cleaners to clean better. Deep cleaning Deep cleaning is an essential supplement to regular, standard cleaning. It requires specialist equipment and training. Deep cleaning removes the build up of dirt, scale, bacteria and smells, including in areas that cannot be seen and areas that are hard to reach. Deep cleaning should be carried out on all the toilets in a school, whatever their age, and whether they are for pupils, staff, or visitors. In most schools it should be carried out a minimum of two to three times a year during schools holidays.Click here to read more about deep cleaning. Toilets certainly look much more pleasant with a toilet lid that is closed. But what about the hygiene and health aspects? While most pupils are unlikely to come into direct contact with pathogens when using the toilet, when toilet or urinals flush, splashing or aerosol formation occurs. An invisible cloud of fine droplets is thrown out and up into the air and lands on surfaces and people. The first published study in 1975 put the potential distance at about 8 feet (2.4 metres) and revealed that significant quantities of microbes are deposited on surfaces and float around in the air for at least two hours after each flush. Closing the lid reduces the aerosol effect by around 80 per cent. Did you know that the ceiling can be a potential source of odours? Colorado State University was surprised to find its ceilings glowing yellow under a black light. Flushing of toilets without lids and urinals had dispersed a fine cloud of aerosol-mist where it lay deposited on the ceiling. Seeing where the toilet water goes Here's a simple way of seeing how that cloud of water droplets can travel.
If the above experiment is done with young pupils, this will encourage them to flush with the toilet seat closed. Encouraging pupils to shut the lid Obviously, having a lid is important in the first place. Encouraging pupils to put down the lid before flushing is not easy. Children are no different to adults who may prefer to avoid touching the toilet lid or perhaps they have simply never been taught to close it before they flush. Faced with having to touch the toilet lid some leave without flushing. You can download our cleaning and hygiene resources for schools:
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During the period after the outbreak it was confirmed that standards in schools were variable. There was a lack of focus and leadership in many schools – no one took sufficient interest in or responsibility for the toilets. In some instances: