June 6, 2019
I recently attended a conference organised by BAISIS that turned out to be a highly informative event with some fascinating workshops. In particular, I was engaged by a presentation from David Bara. He is the Senior Lecturer of Special Needs at the University of East London.
David made some incisive points about the importance of pastoral care and of understanding cultures within pupil groups. This resonated with my perspective and personal experience in schools. Over the years as CAP Chief Assessor, I’ve witnessed the best and worst of these practices.
It made me realise that I take much of my knowledge and many of my insights for granted. I know that housekeeping in schools is about so much more than tidiness. I also know that it’s a competitive market out there for independent schools. That’s one of the reasons progressive schools join the CAP programme; to differentiate themselves from other schools.
To make a tangible difference – the kind that sets a school apart – I have seen that the best housekeeping teams will combine the diligent pursuit of cleanliness with an intrinsic empathy for the needs of students. Sometimes it’s natural: the housekeeping team is blessed with empathetic people. Other times it’s less so, but it can be taught. That’s where we come in.
Everything outside the classroom is where a difference in housekeeping gets noticed. None more so than to influential visitors and decision-makers – like parents looking for the best school. It’s also noticeable (often immediately) to our CAP Awards assessment teams as they inspect and measure a school’s housekeeping performance against benchmarks.
To create the ideal environment for pupils, schools and housekeepers need to understand how cultural differences impact everyday aspects of school life. Things like sleeping arrangements, mealtimes, the use of bathroom facilities and personal privacy. These are absolutely imperative. Without doubt, planning and implementing your housekeeping provision to accommodate the specific needs of pupil groups is best practice. And it will get noticed.
There’s a compelling commercial consideration too. As CAP Assessors, we are graciously granted uniquely privileged access to schools participating in the CAP programme. It gives us unparalleled insight. In turn, that allows us to formulate the most effective Action Plan for each school – a roadmap for improvement that’s specifically tailored to them.
What we invariably see are improvements in housekeeping effectiveness and cultural awareness driven by our CAP Action Plan matched by budget savings. On average, that saving is an impressive 22%.
At first glance that seems unlikely. Maybe even a preposterous notion! How can a better service cost less? When you factor-in the service enhancements and efficiencies we help to identify, and how our Action Plans guide housekeeping departments in implementing them, it makes complete sense. We think it’s is a virtuous circle.
If anyone is interested in looking into this further, I’m always happy to talk about that virtuous circle and my preposterous notion. Sharing knowledge is a core part of the CAP philosophy. We really can demonstrate – using real and measurable examples – how integrating pastoral care effectively into housekeeping services not only provides a differentiator that’s recognised and valued by parents when selecting a school but also saves money.