Edu-Quip is part of the Office Reality Group, and has been created to further their offering of educational furniture and to provide a one stop shop dedicated to schools, colleges and universities. Edu-Quip team continue to add products, visuals and informative content to the site with a view to making the user experience a good one. please visit: https://www.edu-quip.co.uk/

1. The COVID-19 crisis has left the education sector with a far-reaching
health and safety legacy. Never has the need for infection control been
more acutely understood.
This must include an emphasis on the less obvious ways viruses and other pathogens
pass from person to person - touchpoints! The diverse and many places that students
and staff casually touch each day.
How can UK schools reduce and manage touchpoints to support better hygiene and
safety standards?
Risk assessing touchpoints
It starts by doing regular evaluations of all the places that come into frequent contact
with fingers and hands.
High-risk touchpoints in your school toilets are probably more obvious but should
include paper towel dispensers, hand dryers and door frames.
School kitchens have been subject to demanding hygiene standards for some time. So,
you will have touchpoint cleansing routines firmly embedded there. However, look for
new fixtures in schools that offer a risk, including the infection control screens erected
around food serving staff or reception teams. They too are a touchpoint hazard!
Some risk spots are clear, such as bannisters, door handles and light switches.
However, your list needs to include telephones, shared classroom equipment, the
edges of teachers' desks, backs of chairs and the walls and frames around doors.
Keyboards, mouse and mat sets and other commonly used gadgets also need specialist
cleansing on a frequent basis.
Classroom mapping:
One of the most important measures is carefully planned educational layouts. Not just in
terms of keeping social distance targets. For example, do you have enough school
desks and a timetable that limits the number of times students ‘hot’ desk’?

2. The use of smaller items of school equipment needs to be orchestrated to factor in
thorough cleansing between users too.
It’s also important to invest in a children’s school desk that can stand up well to constant
cleaning. This increased emphasis on infection limitation is likely to be long term.
Consider too whether there are doors you can wedge open without breaching fire
codes, and ways to avoid constant use of bannisters and handrails while maintaining
safety.
Rules for surface cleansing
The British Institute of Cleaning Science has created an excellent colour-coded system
for segregating and organising your substances, cloths, gloves and other equipment.
These guidelines make it easy for both professional cleaners and school staff to know
what to use and how to respond to cleansing tasks appropriately, minimising cross-
contamination.
For more help on modern classroom furniture that supports touchpoint cleaning
routines, please get in touch.