Stafford Grammar School, which joined the Continuous Advancement Programme (CAP) in 2018 to raise standards of Housekeeping and Cleaning, has achieved the scheme’s Gold Award following the latest audit in June 2019. The school achieved a silver award at its first audit one year ago. Gold now represents a fitting reward after a year of unstinting commitment.

Aiming to demonstrate excellence in everything, the school seeks to inspire staff and pupils by striving for the highest standards. A clean environment is the first step in establishing the right conditions for learning in a community that all can be proud to support. The school chose CAP as its partner to focus on maintaining and improving the high standards of housekeeping and cleaning throughout the buildings and the campus as a whole. CAP offers a straightforward approach, with benchmarking and auditing that’s easy to understand, and supports achievement through partnership and constructive action.

John Downes, the school’s Bursar, commented, “We have steadily been working towards this goal, so this is a great outcome for the School and importantly the Housekeeping Team. CAP is proving to be an excellent programme to support our great team.”

CAP Chief Assessor, Ian Jackson, added his congratulations to all involved at the school, saying, “With the key goal of the Programme being focused on progressing the school’s service to the benefit of the pupils, this is a great result achieved through steady, sustained progress. Well done to all involved.”

Raising housekeeping standards throughout an entire school is no easy feat, particularly in areas devoted to subjects such as Design & Technology and Art. Recognising the challenges, the school also sees the value in overcoming them to create a clean environment that not only aids health and safety but also enhances efficiency; lessons can start more quickly, extending learning opportunities, and progress smoothly with fewer stoppages to deal with unforeseen issues such as misplaced equipment. It all helps to raise personal standards and aspirations among the pupils and enhances respect for the school as an institution. CAP’s clear structures and pragmatic philosophy, underpinning the fine attention to detail and emphasis on long-term commitment to excellence, provides the platform for this to become real and deliver tangible advantages.

The Continuous Advancement Programme is a progressive development scheme focused on the private healthcare and education sectors. Individual programmes for housekeeping/cleaning and catering recognise their unique challenges and the potentially transformative effects of continuous improvement. The journey can start with a 30-minute assessment call, which is easy to book on our enquiry form.