NORTHERN IRELAND EDUCATION AND LIBRARY BOARDS BUILDING CLEANING SERVICE

Transcription

1 FUNDAMENTAL SERVICE REVIEW NORTHERN IRELAND EDUCATION AND LIBRARY BOARDS BUILDING CLEANING SERVICE CENTRAL MANAGEMENT SUPPORT UNIT A clean sweep for education DECEMBER 2007

2 FOREWORD I always used to officiate at school prize days in assembly halls adorned with golden honours lists of past pupils, who had achieved wonderful things. After due congratulations the slant of my speech was to intimate 'it's alright for you clever lot, but what is the use of a brain surgeon without nurses and cleaning staff to support them or secretaries to do the spade work for a judge? My first jobs were as a dustbin man and then as an apprentice plumber. It was at this time that the importance of the unassuming support workers came home to roost and that is why I am now so proud to be the President of British Institute of Cleaning Science and pleased to officiate at the annual CLEANEST GREENEST SCHOOL COMPETITION awards. The most satisfying aspect of life is being part of a team that enables society to work, and cleanliness in the home, school and workplace is of extreme importance. What is more, cleaning is so essential that it can be and should be interwoven in the school curriculum. It is history, science and social science with not only the rude bits left in but how the rude bits were taken out. Take a look at art and literature down the ages and it is there to see and read. Furthermore, with rural science coming back into the syllabus and the increased promotion of locally produced food cutting back on food miles, I can only guess what s around the corner. I am in favour of any move that raises the profile of cleaning in schools and fully support this review and its objectives of improving standards. David Bellamy (Professor David Bellamy is the President of BICS and promotes cleanliness in education through his Environmental Cleanliness Awards, which encourage primary school children to become involved in making the environment a cleaner, healthier, more inviting and safer place.) Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 2

3 CONTENTS Page Number REPORT SUMMARY 6 1. INTRODUCTION 9 2. TERMS OF REFERENCE CONTEXT RESEARCH METHODOLOGY SERVICE ACTIVITIES STAFFING PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT AND PROCUREMENT APPRAISAL OPTIONS PARTNERSHIP ARRANGEMENTS EQUALITY ISSUES SERVICE DELIVERY MODEL SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS 87 BIBLIOGRAPHY APPENDICES Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 3

4 APPENDICES APPENDIX TITLE 1 Best Value Project Board 2 Project Initiation Document 3 Central Steering Team 4 Consultation Working Group 5 Staffing and Operational Activities Working Group 6 Finance and Procurement Working Group 7 Partnership Arrangement Working Group 8 Consultation Meetings 9 Survey Questionnaires 10 Schools and Organisations Surveyed Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 4

5 ABBREVIATIONS APSE ASB BELB BICS CCT CEC CMSU COSHH COSO CST C2K DDA DE DID EFQM ELB EQIA ESA ETI EU FM IiP KPI LMS MIS MPI NEELB NI NIAO NICEM OGC OHSAS OJE PAT PFI PID PPP PRINCE 2 RPANI SEELB SELB SLA SPSS TUPE WELB Association for Public Service Excellence Aggregated Schools Budget Belfast Education and Library Board British Institute of Cleaning Science Compulsory Competitive Tendering Central Expenditure Costs Central Management Support Unit for Education and Library Boards Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Coalition on Sexual Orientation Central Steering Team Classroom 2000 Project Disability Discrimination Act Department of Education for Northern Ireland Delivery and Innovation Division European Foundation for Quality Management Education and Library Board Equality Impact Assessment Education and Skills Authority Education and Training Inspectorate European Union Facilities Management Investor in People Key Performance Indicator Local Management of Schools Management Information System Management Performance Indicator North Eastern Education and Library Board Northern Ireland Northern Ireland Audit Office Northern Ireland Council for Ethnic Minorities Office of Government Commerce Occupational Health and Safety Advisory Service Official Journal of the European Union Portable Appliance Testing Private Finance Initiative Project Initiation Document Public Private Partnership Projects in a Controlled Environment Review of Public Administration in Northern Ireland South Eastern Education and Library Board Southern Education and Library Board Service Level Agreement Statistical Package for Social Sciences Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Western Education and Library Board Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 5

6 REPORT SUMMARY The Central Management Support Unit began the fundamental review of the Education and Library Boards Building Cleaning Services in January This review makes recommendations for establishing a cleaning service in the proposed Education and Skills Authority. The review has examined key aspects of the service to identify strengths and examples of good practice and to highlight areas requiring further development. The main activities of the service are carried out in respect of internal cleaning of schools, branch libraries, controlled youth clubs and other educational estate. It is important to remember that the service operates in a changing environment within the constraints of limited resources. Total service expenditure is approximately 1.7% of the Education and Library Boards combined annual recurrent budgets. The review has been carried out using Best Value principles, through a process of Challenge, Compare, Consult and Compete, and in accordance with Projects in a Controlled Environment methodology. The process of gathering and examining qualitative information and statistical data, in conjunction with the consultations undertaken, has informed the findings, conclusions and recommendations. Through this process of examining and consulting, a number of key findings have been made, which are detailed in the following chapters: Service Activities Staffing Public Private Partnerships Financial Management and Procurement Appraisal Options Partnership Arrangements Equality Issues Service Delivery Model Funding for cleaning in Northern Ireland is delegated directly to schools, which can then decide on their choice of service provider. Comparisons with Great Britain show that, in the main, in GB the budget is held centrally by local education authorities and cleaning of schools and other properties is carried out solely by the authorities inhouse services. This system has facilitated a strategic approach to planning, investment, resource utilisation, quality control and efficiency savings within the Cleaning Service. In Northern Ireland it is evident that government thinking is geared towards supported autonomy, with maximum delegation of budgets to schools. With this in mind the review team acknowledges the importance of choice in order to ensure competition and to promote the delivery of quality and value for money services. Based on the evidence and research undertaken, it is a key recommendation of this report that a Northern Ireland-wide single Cleaning Service be established within the Education and Skills Authority, accessible to all schools that wish to purchase its services. Establishment of a single service would enable a range of benefits to be delivered, including: Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 6

7 Standardisation and consistency of service, including effective monitoring of quality standards across all schools and educational estate A choice of options, tailored to schools needs, in accordance with the move to supported autonomy A strategic approach taken to cleanliness in schools and the promotion of good hygiene practices Access by all schools to a central core of expertise and the provision of advice and support A reduction in the administrative burden on schools, and in particular for principals The delivery of economies of scale to improve value for money and the increase the effective use of scarce resources An increase in collaboration between schools e.g. sharing of cleaning teams and equipment The availability of value-added and specialist Cleaning Services The delivery of effective training and development of staff The ability to market and promote the service, reaching out to and recruiting from all sections of the community In addition to the Cleaning Service, the review examined the potential for setting-up a facilities management structure to deliver a range of integrated support services to schools and other educational estate. The establishment of a single Cleaning Service would facilitate such an approach. In light of the findings, the review team has reached a series of conclusions that describe the existing Cleaning Services within the Education and Library Boards. These conclusions have been classified as strengths and areas for development. Examples of which are listed below: Strengths: The service is highly valued and contributes to education at a strategic level A majority of schools receive a good or very good Cleaning Service There are high levels of customer satisfaction with cleaning The service helps to reduce the administrative burden on schools Good health and safety practices are adhered to across the service The service has extensive knowledge of the activities and priorities of schools Effective systems of accountability and reporting are in place A good level of compliance with equality legislation is achieved Areas for Development: There is the need to introduce an acceptable Cleaning Service standard that is applicable to all educational buildings Standardised monitoring procedures should be implemented in all locations to ensure the Cleaning Service standard is achieved and maintained Effective replacement cover procedures for absent staff are required Imbalances in the profile of the workforce should be addressed The planning process for new and refurbished buildings requires an input from the Cleaning Service Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 7

8 Recommendations It is anticipated that the proposed single Cleaning Service, through the adoption of good practice, will build on and improve the current standard of cleaning across schools in Northern Ireland. The report makes a number of recommendations to ensure best value and delivery of a quality and value for money Cleaning Service. These recommendations, which are summarised in chapter 13, are categorised under the following headings: Strategic recommendations Scope and standards Value for money Public private partnerships Consultation with stakeholders Members of the Central Management Support Unit would like to record their appreciation and gratitude to all people who have participated in and contributed to this review of Cleaning Services and expressed their honest and informed opinions. Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 8

9 1.0 INTRODUCTION The Local Government Act 1999, introducing best value, came into effect on 1 April 2000 in England and Wales as part of the Government s commitment to modernise public services. The Act, which primarily centres around a culture of continuous improvement with a focus on customers and quality, requires organisations to be committed to and undertake a programme of fundamental reviews. In Northern Ireland (NI), similar legislation was introduced for District Councils in April Formal arrangements came into effect for the education sector on 1 April 2003, through the Educations and Libraries (NI) Order In anticipation of this legislation, coupled with a desire to deliver quality services, Education and Library Boards (ELBs) entered into a voluntary arrangement in 1999 to develop a comprehensive approach to managing best value in the education sector. A Best Value Project Board was established (Appendix 1), the membership of which includes senior officers from ELBs, the Department of Education (DE) and the Classroom 2000 Project (C2K). Representatives with observer status include Trades Unions and the Staff Commission. The Project Board agreed the broader terms of reference for a Central Management Support Unit (CMSU). The CMSU is an interboard unit established in 1999 and its roles include co-ordinating the process of best value and conducting a programme of fundamental service reviews across ELBs. An agreed programme of service reviews was established on the basis of those services which: Constitute significant spend; Are the subject of an independent or external enquiry e.g. Northern Ireland Audit Office (NIAO); and Also have a significant focus on schools. Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 9

10 2.0 TERMS OF REFERENCE On 7 th March 2006, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Peter Hain MP, announced the exemption of Cleaning Services in schools from transfer to private sector contractors undertaking Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects. The Secretary of State emphasised the importance of securing value for money in all public services and that he intended to seek real efficiency gains from new public sector arrangements for the cleaning staff. He then requested a review of the Cleaning Services across the five ELBs to be undertaken with a view to ensuring that there are efficient and effective arrangements in place, which offer maximum value for money. In response to this announcement, on 22 nd September 2006, DE issued terms of reference for a fundamental review of the building Cleaning Service to the ELBs. The terms of reference were defined as follows: To clearly define the scope and standards of the building Cleaning Service; challenging and questioning the existing arrangements and producing meaningful comparisons and benchmarks, both internally and with other external providers To examine how current performance could be improved in value for money terms when considered as a whole service on a cross-board basis, and to anticipate how the service will operate on the implementation of the Review of Public Administration in Northern Ireland (RPANI) when cleaning staff will become the responsibility of a single employing authority under the proposed Education and Skills Authority (ESA), which is due to become operational in April To consider how the building Cleaning Service could be potentially delivered effectively alongside PPP contractors in schools, in particular interface arrangements and implications for costs To consult with key stakeholders; taking into account the requirements under Section 75 (Statutory Duty) of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 and make recommendations for the future management and delivery of the service The scope of the review included: Service Activities Scope of functions (core and non-core) Quality standards Service baselines Performance measurement Benchmarks and comparisons Value for money Fitness for purpose Staffing Staffing levels Productivity Recruitment and retention Training and skills Health and safety Attendance management Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 10

11 Terms and conditions of service Management and Supervision Structures Roles and responsibilities Communications Monitoring and control Public Private Partnerships Transfer of risk Interfaces with schools and PPP contractors Potential benefits Finance Levels and sources of funding Costs of service and unit costs Breakdown of expenditure Value for money Income generation Financial reporting systems Systems of reporting and accountability Financial indicators and targets Job evaluation Procurement ELB tendering arrangements Costs of purchasing Contract arrangements Value for money testing Sustainability Appraisal Options Economic appraisal Qualitative appraisal Equality Issues Compliance with Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 Recruitment of people from minority groups Partnership Arrangements Feasibility of in-house soft Facilities Management approach Suitability of services Comparisons with other providers Potential management and communications framework Potential benefits and drawbacks Service Delivery Model Preferred model Marketing the service Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 11

12 The review aims to identify strengths within the service, including examples of good practice, and areas for development. Where an example of good practice is attributed to a particular ELB, this does not preclude good practice in the same area in other ELBs. Good practice is recognised in relation to positive feedback from customers and stakeholders, adherence to sound management principles and for examples of creativity or innovation. To facilitate the review, a number of guiding principles have been agreed. These are: To identify and recommend best practice, from ELBs and other organisations To meet customer needs, where possible, at a local level To promote value for money in service delivery To ensure fitness for purpose of the building Cleaning Service Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 12

13 3.0 CONTEXT 3.1 STATUTORY FRAMEWORK AND POLICY CONTEXT Building Cleaning There is an extensive renewal and refurbishment programme for educational estate currently underway across NI. The Minister for Education, Caitríona Ruane MLA, recently stated It is a pleasure to see the direct results of funding that is being used for new school buildings. These new facilities will enhance the learning environment of the pupils and will be reflected in their work. She went on to say Bright and stimulating classrooms will assist in the nurture of confident, creative and articulate children. This report underlines the value of properly maintaining and cleaning the educational estate and thereby protecting the substantial investment in infrastructure. ELBs have no statutory duty to provide a Cleaning Service to schools, although there is a legal requirement for buildings to be clean, safe and fit for their purpose. Under the Health and Safety at Work Order (NI) 1978 standards of health, safety and welfare must be upheld with regard to pupils, staff, users and visitors. Senior ELB managers have emphasised the strategic contribution of cleaning. The Cleaning Service is an integral part in the education of our children. (Chief Executive, WELB) Budgets for acquiring the service are provided through the Local Management of Schools (LMS) funding formula. It is important to establish that schools currently have an open choice as to their Cleaning Service provider. The decision is completely at the discretion of a school s principal and board of governors. This allows schools to purchase the service from whichever source is considered to be most suitable. Senior managers stress the need for the Cleaning Service to demonstrate quality of service and value for money through benchmarking and performance measurement PPP PPP is a government-driven initiative for the delivery of modernised public services and infrastructure, where it represents value for money. The Private Finance Initiative (PFI) is an element of PPP whereby, in education, the private sector designs, builds, operates and finances a school and then leases back the school over a period of 25 to 30 years in exchange for regular payments. The benefits are that schools are built without the need for capital money up-front and risks are appropriately shared between the private and public sectors. As part of the arrangement, the private sector provides a number of support services to the school, such as maintenance. Underlying principles of PFI are founded on the search for sustained improvement and quality of service delivery whilst achieving value for money. A number of documents have been produced by the Treasury and the NI Assembly in support of this initiative referring to the significance of delivering value for money as part of the process. Government accounting defines value for money as the optimum combination of whole life cost and quality (or fitness for purpose) to meet the user s requirements. The definition goes on to make clear that value for money should not be assumed to mean the lowest cost option. The government only Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 13

14 uses PFI where it can be shown to deliver value for money and does not come at the expense of employees terms and conditions. In this respect, departments have continued to retain the right not to transfer soft service employees to PFI projects. According to the HM Treasury Report PFI: strengthening long-term partnerships, March 2006, soft services are seen as performing less well on average than other elements of the PFI framework. Under the current Government the use of PPP has increased in the education sector in NI. In pilot projects in schools, known as pathfinders, consortia from the private sector have been contracted to provide a full range of support services including maintenance, caretaking, catering and cleaning. In this type of scenario a school and its ELB have to manage an interface with a particular consortium with regard to a number of services and carry out a client role to ensure the required standards are being achieved. From March 2006, following announcements by the Secretary of State, the school catering and building Cleaning Services have been left out of the functions provided by private sector consortia within PPP schools. Although building cleaning has been excluded from the delivery of PPP contracts in schools, it is essential that the service demonstrates value for money through whichever method of delivery is chosen. 3.2 BACKGROUND There is a wide range of service delivery methods for cleaning that are currently employed across the NI education sector. This correlates to the high priority placed in DE s terms of reference on defining and challenging the arrangements. Building cleaning has historically been delivered through a combination of local authority provision and the schools employing their own cleaners. This provision has varied from organisation to organisation. Across ELBs, the service has evolved at a local level as a result of changing customer requirements and external factors (3.5). As part of these arrangements, the caretaker (now referred to as building supervisor) has normally been employed by the school to undertake duties, including cleaning, and also had responsibility for supervising the cleaning staff. In smaller schools, the building supervisor might be the only cleaner. Therefore the building supervisor has traditionally played an important dual role for the school and the service. In contrast to this, ELBs have employed cleaning site supervisors in some schools to oversee the work of the cleaning staff. ELBs also provide cleaning for some controlled youth clubs, branch libraries, board centres and other educational estate. Schools in the Voluntary Grammar, Grant Maintained Integrated and Irish Medium sectors frequently make their own arrangements for cleaning. These arrangements include using ELB services, employing their own cleaning staff or hiring private sector companies. The Education and Library Boards (NI) Order 1993 introduced Compulsory Competitive Tendering (CCT) for a number of educational support services, including building cleaning. The introduction of CCT led services to focus in great detail on efficiencies, costs and service specifications to ensure they were able to compete with Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 14

15 potential private sector contractors as part of the tendering process. The service in each board was successful in winning the contract to deliver cleaning to the schools. The Labour Government repealed CCT and launched the Best Value initiative, which became a legal requirement for ELBs in Best Value differs from CCT in a number of ways. It places emphasis on quality as well as cost, it applies to all services within ELBs and it promotes the concept of continuous improvement as opposed to more inflexible contract specifications. Best Value encourages services to improve quality on a continuous basis through the adoption of the Charter Mark, Investors in People (IiP) and the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) Business Excellence Model. In this less prescriptive environment, the Cleaning Service is able to develop standards and processes that are tailored to customers needs. As part of the RPANI, the five ELB s and other educational bodies will come together to form the ESA. Within the ESA it will be necessary to amalgamate services on a NI wide basis. 3.3 INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL FACTORS Factors impacting on the service come from two areas: internal and external Internal Factors Taking account of the need to develop a single service under the auspices of the ESA, it will be necessary to establish a degree of consistency and coherence in a number of areas. The service will be required to ascertain baselines of current performance as a starting point and to enable improvements to be measured. These baselines will include areas such as productivity, customer satisfaction levels and unit costs. It is envisaged that a range of performance indicators will be developed in line with these areas as part of the review process. Consideration will also be given to the effective use of appropriate management information systems to facilitate the management and measurement of performance. These systems may be employed with regard to attendance management, performance monitoring, accident-reporting and complaints procedures. In addition, a single service will need to develop common standards in respect of staff training, health and safety procedures, customer service, corporate identity and terms and conditions of service. Key to long-term success is the ability to provide value for money to customers. This can be demonstrated through a combination of measuring performance, customer feedback, stakeholder consultation, retention of customer base and benchmarking. The job evaluation process is ongoing. It is important that this issue is resolved in a satisfactory manner to ensure that pay is commensurate with the roles and responsibilities of the job. Clarifying and agreeing the role of the building supervisor will be a challenge that is crucial to the success of the Cleaning Service. The building supervisor is normally managed by the school or PPP contractor, yet is an integral part of the service through supervision of the cleaning staff and, often, with an individual cleaning responsibility. Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 15

16 It is appreciated that implementing change, as described, across a large service will only be achieved through a systematic planning process and over a suitable period of time External Factors From an external perspective, the service is facing a series of major service and contextual challenges, including: The RPANI leading to the ESA and subsequently a single Cleaning Service, which will require restructuring of the service to cater for a larger area of operations, effective communication systems and meeting the needs of a wider customer base, yet maintaining a local aspect to service delivery. The establishment of the ESA is presently at the planning stage and, inevitably, there is a lack of clarity in relation to organisational structure and locations. However, the purpose of the ESA to enhance the capability of schools and other education providers to deliver high quality education and raise standards and support the continued development of a highly skilled and motivated workforce. In addition to the ESA, it is proposed to establish a Library Authority for NI. The Bain Report The Independent Strategic Review of Education 2006, adopted as policy in NI by the Secretary of State, Peter Hain MP, makes recommendations with regard to funding, strategic planning, area based planning and sharing and collaborating. The results are likely to be seen through rationalisation of the educational estate, collegiate arrangements and the sharing of resources between schools. These results will inevitably impact on support services to schools, including the cleaning function. The Extended Schools and Full Service Schools Programmes, presently being rolled-out in NI, will have an effect through a greater requirement for cleaning and supervision as a result of increased usage and longer operating hours for schools. These may influence the current work patterns, costs and the recruitment and retention of staff. Equality legislation, and in particular adherence to Section 75 of the NI Order 1998, requires the public sector to consult with specified groups, ensure equality of opportunity and monitor compliance. There is currently a drive towards supported autonomy for schools, in which the funding of education is likely to become less centralised through the ESA. This reduces the level of money retained at centre, which might have an effect on any guaranteed funding for the Cleaning Service from year to year and reduce the incentives for future investment in equipment and training. PPP will bring about multi-interfaces in relation to the management of schools and services between the school, PPP contractor and in-house services. It will be important to have transparent and open dialogue, build good relations and agree clear boundaries and areas of responsibility for each party. On a day-to-day basis the Cleaning Service is subject to competition from companies within the private sector. Schools are free to select private sector providers to deliver their cleaning. As such, it is important that exemption from the PPP contracts does not lead to complacency and that the service strives to deliver value for money. A report by the Association for Public Service Excellence (APSE), in December 2005, highlighted the skill shortages and problems of recruitment and Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 16

17 retention in the cleaning, catering and janitorial services. The report identifies lack of investment in training, a perception of lowly status and competition for staff from other sources in the private and public sectors. A means of addressing these difficulties might be for organisations to adopt a soft Facilities Management (FM) approach, thereby increasing full-time posts, enriching jobs and eliminating the perceived stigma attached to cleaning. Environmental aspects of the Cleaning Service are increasing in priority. It is necessary to deliver a green agenda and set a good example in complying with legislation and best practice in the disposal of waste, energy usage and noise pollution. This fundamental review is being carried out against the background of these environmental factors. Therefore it is important that recommendations are made, which take account of the likely implications of these developments 3.4 SERVICE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES In each ELB, the Cleaning Service undertakes planning within the overall corporate framework. Strategic aims and objectives are aligned to those of the organisation through the delivery of a quality service and by contributing to a safe and healthy learning environment. Examples of these aims include to supply and maintain a quality driven Cleaning Service that will contribute to an effective teaching and learning environment, which is both safe and clean for staff, pupils, teachers and visitors and to continually strive to improve the levels of service provided through a process of implementing quality or by adding value. Our goal is the provision of excellence. In support of these high level aims, common operational objectives have been established in relation to: Customer care Productivity Protecting the environment Continuous improvement of service Training and development of staff Planning and objective setting are cascaded throughout the organisations by means of an appraisal process, in which members of managerial and supervisory staff are made aware of their responsibilities and contribution to the overall success of the service through their respective cleaning teams. 3.5 CURRENT PROVISION Staffing Arrangements Staffing levels employed by individual ELBs vary as a result of the different cleaning arrangements that have been established. In the Western Education and Library Board (WELB) all cleaning staff are direct employees of the Board, whereas in the Belfast Education and Library Board (BELB) nearly all staff are employed by schools. A significant minority of these schools operate under the Belbclean arrangement, whereby the board s Cleaning Service provides extensive advice, Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 17

18 support and training and does not directly employ or manage the cleaning staff. The remaining ELBs have a mixture of school and board employed staff, as detailed in Tables 1 and 2. Further staffing details are given in chapter Staffing Levels The Cleaning Service is a major support function in education, covering all locations and employing a large number of staff. Tables 1 and 2 provide details of total locations and employees working for schools and for the ELBs central services. Table 1: Number of cleaning staff employed at controlled and maintained schools and other locations managing their own Cleaning Service ELB Schools and Locations Cleaning Staff Belfast North Eastern South Eastern Southern Western 0 0 Totals 909 1,595 Source: ELBs Table 2: Number of cleaning staff employed through ELBs central cleaning arrangements ELB Schools and Locations Cleaning Staff Belfast* North Eastern South Eastern Southern Western 325 1,060 Totals 592 2,769 Source: ELBs (* schools in the Belbclean arrangement) Services Provided The Cleaning Service provides a number of core functions for schools and other board properties including: Daily, weekly and monthly cleaning tasks of classrooms, corridors, toilets and other areas Annual summer clean Training for staff in cleaning techniques, health and safety and supervision Advice and assistance in relation to recruitment, cleaning surveys, equipment procurement, safe use of materials and other aspects Additional cleaning for specific occasions e.g. school open days With regard to the training element, this is mainly carried out in accordance with standards for educational buildings, as defined by the British Institute of Cleaning Science (BICS). However, not all ELBs use the BICS accreditation process. Training is also provided, for example by BELB, to external organisations in the public and private sectors, as a source of income generation. In addition to the core functions, the service offers limited specialist activities such as external window cleaning (SELB) and training for building supervisors (all ELBs). Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 18

19 4.0 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY The purpose of a fundamental review is to improve the quality of services delivered with regard to efficiency, effectiveness and economy. This is achieved by firstly identifying areas for development and, secondly, by sourcing examples of good practice that can be disseminated and adopted. The methodology followed the four Cs approach of Challenge, Compare, Consult and Compete, drawing on the experience of previous service reviews carried out by ELBs and the CMSU. With regard to developments elsewhere, best value is changing in Great Britain from a procedural regime to a more flexible approach, deployed as appropriate within organisations. The new process relates to inform, consult, involve and devolve. This is a recent development and, therefore, the review of cleaning has followed the traditional four Cs methodology. The Best Value Project Board approved the methodology and the management of the project undertaken in accordance with government recommendations, using the Projects in a Controlled Environment (PRINCE 2) system. As part of this process a Project Initiation Document (PID) was produced (Appendix 2) detailing project objectives, scope, terms of reference, structure, risk log and timetable. A Central Steering Team (CST) was established (Appendix 3), the membership of which included service managers from each ELB, officers from Equality, Finance, Health and Safety, Procurement and CMSU plus representatives from the Delivery and Innovation Division of the Department for Finance and Personnel. The service manager from South Eastern Education and Library Board (SEELB) chaired the CST. In addition, four sub-groups were formed to manage the detailed workings of the review in specific areas: The Consultation Group (Appendix 4) was chaired by the service manager from BELB with the deputy chair from WELB and comprised representatives from school principals, school bursars, suppliers, CMSU, equality officer from the North Eastern Education and Library Board (NEELB) and best value officer from SEELB and corporate development officer from WELB. The Staffing and Operational Activities Group (Appendix 5) was chaired by the service manager from WELB with deputy chair from the Southern Education and Library Board (SELB) and included representatives from cleaning staff in all ELBs, health and safety manager from BELB, corporate development officer from NEELB and CMSU. The Finance and Procurement Group (Appendix 6) incorporated finance and procurement officers from NEELB, best value officer from SEELB, corporate development officer from SELB and CMSU. The group was chaired by the direct service organisation manager from NEELB with deputy chair from SELB. The Partnership Arrangement Group (Appendix 7) was chaired by the head of CMSU and comprised building cleaning manager from SELB, facilities manager from BELB, grounds maintenance manager from WELB, school catering manager from SELB, transport manager from SELB, best value representative from BELB and CMSU. Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 19

20 The role of the four sub-groups, in conjunction with the CMSU, was to compile and evaluate information and to update the CST at each stage of the review, in addition to critically challenging how the service is delivered. External validation of the review was provided by the Delivery and Innovation Division (DID) of the Department of Finance and Personnel. Members of the DID joined the Project Board and the CST for the duration of the review. 4.1 CHALLENGE The process of challenge underpins the approach to best value reviews. It marks the beginning of the review and sets the scene for what follows by way of recommendations, whilst instilling discipline in the thought process. The inherent challenge aspect of a review is to determine whether the service, or aspects of that service, should be provided at all, or could be delivered in an alternative way. Within the best value concept, service providers strive to achieve continuous improvement through a combination of economy, efficiency and effectiveness. Without the element of challenge there can be no effective review, as it is the key to significant improvements in performance and without it, the service is unlikely to establish meaningful targets. Challenging why and how a service is provided requires a fundamental rethink, asking basic yet challenging questions about the needs that each service is intended to address and method of procurement used. Therefore, challenge is intrinsically tied up with the elements of competition, comparison and consultation. The stages of challenge examined: Why is the service provided? How is the service configured? Can the service be delivered differently? What are the constraints? Are there different means of resourcing the service? How does this service relate to others? Challenge was undertaken at all stages of the review, in relation to the scrutiny of the CST, the investigations of the working groups, undertaking comparisons, throughout the consultation process and in specific meetings and workshops. 4.2 COMPARE The comparison stage entailed gathering data both internally from ELBs and externally from similar service providers. As in previous reviews, templates were agreed for the presentation of both statistical and financial data as a means of simplifying the collection and comparison of information across ELBs. Criteria were agreed by the CST to help to identify suitable organisations for external comparison. These included organisations from the public and private sectors. Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 20

21 This element of the review compares inputs, processes and outputs with similar service providers. Comparisons are made with regard to standards and types of service and levels of resources. A discrete set of performance indicators has been agreed by the service managers, as a means of carrying out comparisons on a like-for-like basis across the ELBs and as a measure of performance for a single service within the ESA. Establishment of performance indicators will also, over a period of time, provide trends and should produce evidence of continuous improvement. The performance indicators, agreed as part of the review, relate to core areas of service: Productivity (m 2 cleaned per hour) Unit cost ( per m 2 cleaned) Overall customer satisfaction Quality standards adhered to Absenteeism levels and the cost of absence Staff turnover Staff training Number of reported accidents Performance indicators must be quantifiable, relevant to service outcomes, relate to industry standards and contain a combination of customer-facing (e.g. cost and quality) and operational measures (e.g. absenteeism and training). 4.3 CONSULT The concept of consultation and customer involvement supports the current drive towards best value. Listening to and involving users of services in making improvements, setting standards and reviewing services is fundamental to the process. The CST approved the consultation strategy proposed by the Consultation Group. As part of the strategy, the Consultation Group identified a list of stakeholders as well as appropriate methodologies for consulting the various groups. The key stakeholders comprised a wide range of individuals and organisations. The groups are listed below by category: Core (schools, libraries, youth clubs, board centres, operational cleaning staff, administrative support staff, cleaning managers, pupils, parents, users and suppliers) Others Education (senior managers, service managers, ELB support staff, further education institutes and building supervisors) Others Non-education (equality umbrella organisations, local authorities, trades unions and health trusts) Quantitative and qualitative data were obtained to identify emerging themes regarding quality, cost and utilisation of the service. A cross analysis of the data was undertaken to provide a comprehensive picture of the feedback. As such, this report is representative of the views expressed by stakeholders. Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 21

22 A number of quantitative terms, as employed by the DE, are used in the report in relation to the consultation feedback. In percentages, the terms correspond as follows: More than 90% - nearly all 75-90% - most 50-74% - a majority 30-49% - a significant minority 10-29% - a minority Less than 10% - very few Qualitative Research A programme of semi-structured interviews was held with a wide range of stakeholders and provided a great deal of qualitative information. This included 26 school visits and 35 other meetings and focus groups. (Detailed lists of the stakeholders involved can be found in Appendix 8.) Key themes to be addressed, as part of the consultation exercise, were identified as follows: Service baselines (quality, consistency, reliability and cost) Staffing issues Improving the service Customer satisfaction Value for money Development of a single service Equality issues Financial and non-financial resources Potential for adopting a soft FM approach The above themes formed the basis of the consultation survey with schools and were used as the agenda for discussions with other core stakeholders through the meetings and focus groups. Findings of the consultation process are included in the relevant sections of the report and have been contextualised to give appropriate and representative weight to the feedback Quantitative Research A key part of the consultation involved surveys to collect quantitative data from schools. This quantitative data was gathered from surveys (Appendix 9) of a representative sample of one third of schools within each ELB area. The surveys, targeting school principals, school governors, cleaning staff, pupils and parents, were distributed to 483 schools during March 2007 and returned by the end of May. Additional surveys were carried out of 40 branch libraries, 40 youth clubs and 15 ELB centres, seeking information from the head of the establishment and a number of users. A survey of 16 suppliers to the Cleaning Service was also undertaken. A list of all organisations that participated in the surveys is attached (Appendix 10). Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 22

23 All questionnaires were returned to CMSU and analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software. From the surveys, an overall response rate of 33% was attained. Table 3 gives a detailed breakdown of individual responses. Table 3: Survey Response Rates Category Number Issued* Number Returned Response Rate (%) School Principals School Governors 1, Cleaning Staff 1, Pupils 4,330 1, Parents 4,830 1, Branch Librarians Library Users Senior Youth Workers Youth Club Users Heads of ELB Centre ELB Centre Users Suppliers Overall Total 13,472 4, Source: CMSU * A set number of questionnaires for cleaning staff were issued to each school, which might have exceeded the number of respondents within each establishment, thereby reducing the maximum response rate. Summaries of the results have been produced on a Northern Ireland aggregate basis, highlighting the position for ELBs in total. Percentage results within the report refer to the valid responses from those respondents to which the various questions apply. It is acknowledged that the response rate from cleaning staff was disappointing, particularly as the recommendations of the review could have a major impact on that group. However, feedback was also obtained from staff at the school visits. On a positive note, higher rates of responses were obtained from several other groups, such as principals, pupils and library users. 4.4 COMPETE The CST considered the issue of competition and identified two distinct elements. Firstly, there is competition from a variety of sources within the private sector. On a daily basis the Cleaning Service must compete with private sector cleaning contractors. There are many strong points within private sector organisations such as marketing, cost control, professional approach and the need to provide quality and satisfy customers to ensure their survival. Relevant facts and figures have been sought from the private sector, which are often viewed as commercially sensitive information. Nevertheless, comparative information has been obtained throughout the review in areas of recruitment, training, terms and conditions of service, pay, value for money, prices, health and safety and communications. Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 23

24 The cleaning element within a school budget does not identify or ring-fence an amount of money to be spent on the service. In effect, schools can spend what they see as appropriate on cleaning and, furthermore, can employ a service from any sector as long as certain criteria are met, for example with regard to child protection, liability insurance and health and safety. The building Cleaning Service is also in competition with private sector cleaning companies for the recruitment of suitable staff and it is necessary that prospective employees perceive benefits for working in the public sector to counter this competition. Secondly, the Cleaning Service is required to be competitive through demonstrating value for money, fitness for purpose, price of the service, productivity, quality of managers and staff, standard of service and customer retention. Exemption from PPP contracts does not preclude schools from choosing service providers from the private sector nor does it guarantee the long-term security of the service. Only by remaining competitive will those particular objectives be achieved. Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 24

25 5.0 SERVICE ACTIVITIES 5.1 INTRODUCTION This chapter addresses the activities of the service. These activities relate to core and non-core functions, service standards, working patterns and health and safety matters, which can have strategic importance within education. As part of the benchmarking process, information has been obtained about activities of acknowledged best in class cleaning organisations (APSE Pursuing Excellence in Local Government Volumes 1-3). Common features of these organisations are: Pro-active, innovative and good at managing change Ongoing consultation with customers and identification of their needs Achievement of quality standards e.g. Charter Mark and IiP Investment in staff, with training programmes to recognised standards These elements of good practice were displayed, to a greater or lesser degree, across the ELBs and their Cleaning Services. 5.2 STRATEGIC PERSPECTIVE In visits to schools all the participants stressed how much the service is valued and the importance of cleaning to the delivery of education. It became apparent that cleaning impacts strategically in a number of ways including: Clean schools and buildings facilitate a positive learning experience and contribute to the ethos and culture of the organisation A safe and healthy environment reassures parents, is considered essential to the wellbeing of staff and pupils (particularly those in the most vulnerable age groups) and endorses good hygiene practices. Promoting a positive image to parents and visitors is important to schools that are in competition for potential pupils and portrays a business-like approach. To quote a school principal a clean school puts backsides on seats and backsides on seats result in an increased budget for the school A clean building sets a good example to pupils to have respect for property and the environment and for the positive use of public facilities. This finding is supported by the Health Promotion Agency for Northern Ireland in its document Working Towards Healthy Schools, which states that the environment of the school provides pupils with hidden messages beyond the taught curriculum. There are hidden costs of not cleaning to the necessary standard, such as deterioration of property and increased expenditure on maintenance, especially with older buildings Cleaning is intrinsic to the availability of buildings, particularly in the event of incidents such as burst pipes and acts of vandalism The importance of the Cleaning Service contributing at the planning stage of new buildings with regard to the installation of suitable floor and wall surfaces, the availability of secure and adequate storage and access to sufficient facilities e.g. sluice points, water supply and electrical sockets. The DE s school building handbook does not currently incorporate these requirements. Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 25

26 The need to recognise the overall importance of the service that is way beyond any observation of just day to day cleaning and the role it plays in safeguarding the major investment in educational estate Discussions with organisations outside of the education sector in NI reinforce these findings through their commitment to and recognition of effective Cleaning Services. A typical comment being cleaning is seen as important to all aspects of organisational success. These findings were further underlined through the outcomes of the surveys of school principals, school governors, board centres, branch libraries, youth clubs, pupils, parents and cleaning staff. Nearly all principals and governors (99.0% and 99.2% respectively) agree that a clean school is an important contribution towards a positive learning environment. A majority of pupils agree that a clean school helps me to concentrate on my lessons (71.0%) and most believe that a clean school is important to me (85.2%) Nearly all parents rate the following issues as important: A clean school in contributing to a positive learning environment (96.7%) A clean school in contributing to a healthy environment (99.3%) Nearly all parents also agree that, in relation to their own schools: The cleanliness of the school helps to create a positive learning environment (93.5%) The cleanliness of the school helps to promote a healthy environment (94.9%) The standard of cleanliness presents a positive image of the school to visitors (94.1%) Most cleaning staff agree that: A clean school helps pupils to learn more effectively (81.7%) The Cleaning Service is valued within the school (77.3%) In the remaining educational estate, nearly all customers (98.7% of board centres, branch libraries and youth clubs) agree that a clean place of work contributes to a more effective, enjoyable and healthy environment. It is clear from the consultation process that cleaning is viewed as a strategically important factor in the delivery of education and that inadequate cleaning practices can have a negative impact in many ways. Taking account of this perspective, the value of cleaning should be fully recognised by all parties in ELBs, the ESA and the DE, including senior management. Raising the service profile and the awareness of its strategic importance should be carried out through the lobbying of government to guarantee adequate funding. 5.3 CORE FUNCTIONS Although the various ELBs offer their Cleaning Services through different mechanisms, there are certain functions that are common and these comprise: Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 26

27 Providing a range of cleaning operations such as waste removal, dusting, sweeping, vacuum cleaning, mopping, scrubbing and polishing. These are normally divided into daily, weekly, monthly and periodic tasks and apply, for example, to reception areas, classrooms, corridors, stairs, toilets and changing rooms Management and supervision of people, finances and non-financial resources Training and development of staff Undertaking site surveys to determine the needs of each location in respect of cleaning hours, divisions of labour, work patterns and levels of equipment and materials Monitoring procedures to maintain service standards Providing ongoing advice and support to schools, libraries, youth clubs and education centres Feedback from respondents of the surveys shows that most are satisfied with the current levels of service (80%) and only a minority (11.0%) wishes to change these arrangements. Most members of cleaning staff have adequate equipment and materials for the work I do (84.5%) and nearly all state I know what is expected of me at work (94.1%) thereby, enabling them to carry out their core work. Anecdotal evidence from visits to schools suggests a degree of dissatisfaction by staff with the effectiveness of cleaning materials provided. In some instances, cleaners bring their own materials such as bleach into schools, which should be discouraged as it is a violation of the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) Regulations. The service operates an infection control system using colour coded equipment to prevent cross contamination between, for example, toilet areas and classrooms. Feedback from school visits indicates that in a minority of locations the system is not always complied with and emphasises the importance of training. The core functions have been designed over time to accommodate the needs of customers and in most cases these needs are met. However difficulties have been identified that need to be addressed to ensure fitness for purpose. These involve: Conflict over the role of building supervisors, employed by the school yet responsible for planning, organising and controlling the work of cleaners who are part of the ELB s Cleaning Service The absence of clear and consistent monitoring systems within some ELBs and the importance of an objective and impartial system for measuring compliance with specified service standards The widespread practice of closing toilets during school opening hours, which can create embarrassment for pupils and contravene guidelines for the number of pupils per toilet, as detailed in the DE s school building handbook Evidence of limited communications between the Cleaning Service and customers leading to lack of clarity regarding service standards, levels of advice and support etc Practices and initiatives creating additional work for cleaning staff, such as pupils dining in classrooms and after school activities Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 27

28 The review has also identified inconsistencies across ELBs and the need to bring about greater uniformity and coherence within a single service. Process mapping would compare the individual elements of each function, highlight differences and common approaches, underline best practice and identify the most suitable means. Common processes could then be incorporated into a Service Manual, which would be made available at all locations and include induction and training, cleaning operations, health and safety procedures, equipment use and requisition guidelines. Comparisons with other organisations have demonstrated that most Cleaning Services deliver a similar range of core functions to their customers, usually described in cleaning specifications. These organisations, from both private and public sectors, include local authorities, health trusts and further education institutes. Tables 12 and 13 in Chapter 6 refer to productivity levels, measured by the average number of square metres cleaned per hour (m 2 /hour). This measure is a Key Performance Indicator (KPI) for the cleaning industry. Adopting this KPI will enable the single service to benchmark with other organisations, set targets and measure improvements. An area of increasing importance is the need to ensure environmental considerations through a green policy. Environmental considerations include promoting sustainability, safe disposal of waste materials, reduction in energy usage and use of more environmentally friendly chemicals. Nearly all parents (97.0%) believe that the Cleaning Service promoting environmentally friendly practices is important and a majority of school principals (74.7%) and governors (74.8%) are either satisfied or very satisfied with the service s environmental considerations. 5.4 SERVICE STANDARDS A number of service standards have been established in the cleaning industry. These include BICS, the Association of Building Cleaning Direct Service Providers, the British Association of Cleaning in Higher Education and Asset Skills. BICS has developed a standard for the education sector, which is used by boards and by nearly all the external organisations that were consulted as part of the review. After consideration by the ELB service managers, the BICS standard for education has been proposed as the preferred option for the single service. The service standard can be enhanced through the achievement of continuous improvement models such as Charter Mark, IiP, ISO 9001, ISO and use of the EFQM Business Excellence Model. Attainment of these standards ensures a customer focused and quality driven approach and can be used as a marketing tool. Standards are usually described in a service specification, of which there are two main types. An input specification details the frequency of operations rather than the standard to be maintained. In this instance a service provider might deliver the correct number of operations but not at the optimum time for the customer. An outcome specification explains the standard to be achieved but not how it is to be achieved. In this case it is difficult for the customer to measure the level of activity. Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 28

29 Both types of specification are widely used by public and private sector providers. Consultations with a range of organisations have pointed out these inherent flaws Customer Feedback The consultation exercise has provided feedback on customer satisfaction with the current standard of cleaning. Of the site visits to 26 schools, 14 use ELB services, 9 employ their own cleaners and 3 make use of private sector cleaning companies. Of the schools using ELB services: Two have recently ceased using private companies due to poor service and a perceived lack of value for money One has recently joined the ELB provision and considers the standard higher than when managing its own service A majority feel they receives a good or very good service A significant minority consider the cleaning to be either poor or inconsistent Nearly all schools view using the ELB service as a means of reducing their administrative burden A minority experience problems in communicating with the service managers A minority are not satisfied with monitoring procedures Of the schools employing their own cleaners: One has recently left the ELB provision and prefers the standard of its own managed service A majority are satisfied with the standard of cleaning Very few schools have a specified cleaning standard Nearly all schools rely on the ELB service for site surveys, training and advice on materials and equipment Of the 3 schools contracting private sector cleaning companies: 2 are satisfied with the standard of cleaning All agree that standards must be clearly established and monitored All have to work hard at developing and maintaining relations with the provider All experience problems with the conflicting cultures between public and private sectors and in managing the interface General themes include: Nearly all schools agree that the standard of cleaning is affected by factors such as age and condition of buildings, levels of maintenance, use of mobile classrooms and behaviour of pupils A significant minority experience problems with cleaning of toilet areas in relation to design flaws, suitability of wall and floor surfaces and acts of vandalism. To minimise these problems, access to toilets is often restricted, especially between break periods. Where toilets are satisfactory, schools are normally attended to on a regular basis by a daytime cleaner or the building supervisor. The job description for building supervisors includes a responsibility to provide an ongoing Cleaning Service to the entire premises to deal with such things as midday toilet cleaning Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 29

30 Quantitative data from the survey of school principals indicates high levels of satisfaction with their current cleaning provider. Satisfaction with ELB central service providers is shown in Table 4. Table 4: Satisfaction with ELB Central Service Provider ELB Percentage Satisfied Percentage Very Satisfied Overall Percentage Satisfaction BELB* NEELB SEELB SELB WELB Average Source: CMSU (* schools in Belbclean arrangement) Overall customer satisfaction levels for all board properties with their current service providers are given in Table 6 (5.4.4). Average customer satisfaction for central service and school-based cleaning across the educational estate is 80%. From the survey, very few (6.5%) schools have a desire to change their service providers from the ELB. This positive picture was also reflected by schools employing their own cleaners and the private sector Hygiene and Health Issues Effective cleaning of toilets in schools is a nationwide challenge and is being addressed through the Bog Standard Campaign ( The campaign aims to promote better toilet facilities for pupils and has three key objectives: To increase public awareness of how improving provision and access to pupils toilet facilities can benefit children s health and learning To raise the standard of provision and access to pupils toilets in all schools nationally To ensure that UK and EU regulations adopt and enforce acceptable minimum standards for provision and access* to toilet facilities and drinking water for all pupils in school * Access refers to both allowing pupils to go to the toilet when they need to and providing facilities that are suitable for use by all pupils, including those with special needs. The Bog Standard Campaign has also produced a 12 point Charter, which is available at the organisation s web site. Hygiene is a serious issue in schools, and not only in toilet areas. Research indicates that the average desktop has over 2,000 germs per square inch compared to the average toilet seat with 49 germs per square inch ( and Similar comparisons can be made with computer keyboards and telephone handsets. Effective hygiene is crucial in helping to prevent the spread of diseases to vulnerable young people. Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 30

31 The APSE Report on building cleaning, produced in February 2007, referred to the negative impact of the trend to reduce the number of cleaning hours provided to schools. The report recommended establishing a minimum standard for schoolbased cleaning to stem the decline. Reductions can have an adverse effect on the quality of cleaning and create the potential for negative impact on health. It is acknowledged that schools have limited budgets and there is a need for compromise between cost, productivity and quality. However, the health and wellbeing of children should be a key priority and sufficient resources must be allocated to the cleaning of schools Monitoring of Standards Key to delivering a quality Cleaning Service is a combination of clear standards and effective monitoring systems. The standard must be detailed in the service specification agreed between customer and service provider. Monitoring systems should be transparent, objective and impartial. The specification could be a hybrid of input and outcome; describing a minimum number of operations and an acceptable standard to be maintained. Ideally, monitoring should be a mixture of self-monitoring by the service provider and external monitoring by an independent body, representing the customer. In this way, the schools meals service is subject to an independent monitoring scheme by Environmental Health Inspectors. Furthermore, the cleanliness of a school currently forms part of the report by the Education and Training Inspectorate (ETI). The service is able to exploit technology to increase efficiency in monitoring, for example by using specific hand-held devices. This technology reduces the time taken, records the findings and enables accurate reports to be produced quickly. An approved standard across the educational estate would ensure that all premises meet an acceptable and clearly defined baseline. As long as these standards were met, schools would be free to opt in or out of a single service arrangement but schools outside should be liable for cost of repairs or damage to property that is attributable to inadequate or improper cleaning practices. Along with agreed standards and effective monitoring, it is important that all schools and properties are surveyed in a coherent manner, so that, for example, comparable schools in Bangor and Enniskillen are provided with similar resources. Again, this type of operation can be facilitated by hand-held devices and supporting software to speed up the process and ensure a high degree of consistency Customer Satisfaction A number of leading organisations, such as Midlothian and Gateshead Councils, have produced customer charters describing standards of service, operational schedules, monitoring procedures, contact details and the complaints process. A customer complaints process, which also invites positive comments, is a valuable measure of customer satisfaction and can be linked to a helpdesk facility. Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 31

32 Overall customer satisfaction is more effectively measured through what is known as a portfolio approach. This approach employs a combination of measures, including surveys, records of meetings, site visits, quality control monitoring and complaints, to provide a comprehensive picture of customer satisfaction. Consultation can also be carried out with non-users to ascertain their needs and expectations. The results and trends can be used to demonstrate continuous improvement, market the service and expand the customer base. To complement the establishment of a quality standard and measurement of customer satisfaction, it will be necessary to develop KPIs in these areas. Achievement in meeting the quality standard will be determined using the monitoring process and customer satisfaction will be measured through the portfolio approach. Results of overall customer satisfaction surveys for cleaning, carried out by a range of leading UK organisations over , are shown in Table 5. The figures include customers who rate the service from excellent to satisfactory. Table 5: Customer Satisfaction Rates for UK Organisations Description of Organisation Satisfaction Rating (%) North East England Borough Council 96 North West England Borough Council 96 North West England Metropolitan Council 91 Voluntary Grammar School 90 South West England Borough Council 87 Scottish Urban Authority 75 APSE average satisfaction rating (Performance Networks) 71 ELB cleaning all properties in the board area 97 ELB with a mix of board and school-based cleaners 97 Source: various From the survey of customers in ELBs, satisfaction with the Cleaning Service is outlined in Table 6. Table 6: Customer Satisfaction with Cleaning Provider Customer Satisfaction Rating (%) Youth clubs 90 Board centres 88 Branch libraries 83 Schools (principals & governors) 78 Average 80 Source: CMSU Most primary, special and post-primary pupils (86.2%) answered positively to the sentence my school is normally clean and tidy. Pupils also rated their satisfaction with the quality of cleaning in areas of their schools. Their responses are shown in Table 7. Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 32

33 Table 7: Pupils Satisfaction Ratings for Quality of Cleaning Area of School Primary School Pupils Special School Pupils Post-Primary School Pupils Assembly hall Good Very Good Good Classrooms Very Good Good Satisfactory Cloakroom Good Good Good Corridors Very Good Good Good Dining areas Good Good Good Library Very Good Very Good Very Good Reception Very Good Very Good Very Good Stairways Good Good Good Toilets Satisfactory Good Unsatisfactory Source: CMSU Nearly all parents believe the quality of cleaning in school to be important (98.5%) and that the school is generally clean and tidy (93%). In the remaining educational estate, nearly all users of board centres, branch libraries and youth clubs consider the general cleaning (98.7%) and toilets (90.7%) to be in the range from satisfactory to very good. 5.5 HEALTH AND SAFETY A range of operations are undertaken that inherently carry a level of risk. These include use of electrical machinery, application of cleaning chemicals, manual handling and working on wet surfaces. As such, the service is subject to a large amount of health and safety legislation. There are approximately 25 pieces of health and safety legislation applicable to educational establishments in Northern Ireland, including: Health and Safety at Work (NI) Order 1978 Management of Health and Safety Regulations (NI) 2000 Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations (NI) 1993 Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (NI) 1997 COSHH (NI) Regulations 2003 This legislation places an obligation on the Cleaning Service to comply in relation to operations and training (training is addressed in the next chapter). The ESA will be obliged to produce a written Health and Safety Policy Statement for all locations. In support of this, good practice will require the Cleaning Service to develop a service specific Health and Safety Policy. Consultation with external organisations demonstrates that this practice is widespread across the public and private sectors. The Health and Safety Policy will address areas such as: Risk assessments COSHH assessments Accident reporting procedures Correct use of protective clothing Skin care Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 33

34 Safe use of equipment, including maintenance and Portable Appliance Testing (PAT) Safe use of cleaning materials Displaying warning signs Colour coding of equipment to prevent cross-contamination of areas A positive picture of health and safety has emerged. Nearly all schools report that cleaners wear protective clothing, display warning signs and use equipment and materials safely. Reports of incidents in the schools visited are few and official reported incidents to the ELBs support this view. In there were approximately 80 accidents recorded to the activities of cleaners and building supervisors, who account for more than 5,000 staff. Across the cleaning industry, the Health and Safety Executive ( received reports of approximately 3,500 work-related accidents to cleaners in More than 700 of these were classified as major injuries. To measure progress in this area, a Management Performance Indicator (MPI) should be developed that records the number of reported incidents. From the school surveys, nearly all principals (91.6%) and governors (95.5%) believe that the Cleaning Service adheres to good health and safety practices. In addition, most pupils (81.9%) report that cleaners wear protective uniforms and a majority of pupils (64.7%) also state that cleaners use warning signs when working. Other educational estate reports similar outcomes with nearly all (97.7%) adhering to good health and safety practices (97.7%) and use of warning signs (90.4%) and most users reporting the wearing of protective uniforms (78.2%). The storage and control of materials, in compliance with COSHH regulations, has been identified as a major issue, particularly in schools. Space is very limited and this creates difficulties in obtaining secure storage in which to place hazardous chemicals and equipment. This issue emphasises the importance of a Cleaning Service input into the planning process for new buildings. Some organisations are developing an innovative approach to health and safety. Edinburgh Council has established an integrated quality and health and safety system through accreditation of Occupational Health and Safety Advisory Service (OHSAS) and ISO This approach is supported by a Quality and Health and Safety Team comprising the service manager, area managers and unit supervisors. In addition, user-friendly manuals have been produced, which describe operations in a safe manner through easily read flow charts. Within the ELBs, the school meals services have collaboratively produced the Educater, which incorporates information on: Food hygiene Personal hygiene Staff welfare Health and safety Catering practices Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 34

35 This document was originally produced in 1994 to inform all staff of the service standards and as a training aid. It is currently being revised and updated. Further a field, Midlothian Council has produced a Cleaning Operations Manual which specifies: Cleaning chemicals and COSHH Health and Safety at Work Policy and Guidelines Risk Assessment Summary Equipment Repair Guidelines Cleaning Operations and Tasks (including use of protective clothing and warning signs) Cleaning Operations Manuals have also been produced by some ELBs. 5.6 NON-CORE FUNCTIONS In section 5.3 a list of core functions has been outlined, which ELBs and, indeed, most Cleaning Services carry out. However, there are also some non-core functions delivered in an ad-hoc manner, according to the needs of customers. These might include: High level cleaning above 3.35 metres Window cleaning Mobile cleaning teams covering a small group of schools and providing cover for absent staff Specialist cleaning teams (carpets, graffiti, chewing gum removal, pressure washing etc) Post-building maintenance cleaning Telephones and computer keyboards Kitchen equipment Site visits indicate that nearly all schools would welcome the option of buying additional services as required. It is felt that they add value to the service, display a high level of flexibility and help to meet customers needs. It is likely that a single Cleaning Service within the ESA would generate the economies of scale to justify providing a range of non-core functions. Mobile teams could be established on an area basis to carry out specialist operations. This type of operation is a unique selling point for a single service which could not be provided through school-based services. In addition to the benefits to customers, these activities would provide extra income to the service. Most school principals (79.3%) and governors (80.0%) believe that the ELBs and the incoming ESA should offer a choice of Cleaning Service levels in accordance with a school s needs. This view is matched by most (88.1%) of the heads of other educational estate. Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 35

36 5.7 WORKING PATTERNS Cleaning in schools has historically been carried out at the end of the day s teaching, normally between 2.30pm and 6.00pm. However, in recent years this pattern has been changing. Some schools are now cleaned throughout the day. For other establishments, including youth clubs, branch libraries and board centres, cleaning is undertaken around the normal activities. Most school principals (89.9%) are satisfied with the operating times when cleaning is carried out. Very few pupils (8.7%) report that the cleaners sometimes interrupt my lessons when they are working. Table 8 shows the cleaning times from the survey of schools and educational buildings. Table 8: Establishment Cleaning Times (Percentage)* Establishment Morning (%) Afternoon (%) Evening (%) Schools Branch Libraries Youth Clubs Board Centres Source: CMSU * Many establishments are cleaned over a combination of morning, afternoon and evening sessions. Initiatives in education, such as the Extended Schools Programme, community schools and summer schemes, will invariably impact on future working patterns of the Cleaning Service. Schools will be utilised for longer periods and experience higher usage. The service will have to adapt to these changing circumstances, possibly through more flexible and extended cleaning times. The Bain report envisages smaller schools collaborating and sharing resources, under a single principal and board of governors. This could result in the establishment of area cleaning teams covering two to three local schools, as successfully implemented through Belbclean. The report also forecasts that the Extended Schools Programme will impact on the working patterns of support staff. As the developments described above become more widespread, there is no doubt that the need for a flexible Cleaning Service will increase. The situation in each school will differ, no single approach or solution will suffice and it will be necessary to agree the cleaning needs on an individual basis. The service will inevitably experience major change and be expected to adapt to the evolving situation, which might include early morning or night cleaning operations. Success will depend on the service s ability to respond to these challenges. To attract staff in this scenario it will be important to value their contributions, equip them with transferable skills and increase their employability. Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 36

37 5.8 VALUE FOR MONEY A key aspect of this review has been to demonstrate that the Cleaning Service gives value for money to its customers. There are different delivery models for cleaning; therefore measures of value for money have been taken for ELB, school and private sector providers. The emphasis in the review has primarily been focused on the ELB service and, where value for money is not evident, recommendations have been made accordingly. Previously, the process of awarding services to the PPP providers was carried out on an individual school basis through the combination of a value for money test and against a retained services comparator, in order to justify any decision. This review has adopted a generic approach to demonstrating value for money on the premise that cleaning has now been excluded from PPP contracts. Value for money by the Cleaning Service has been measured in three ways: Asking principals at the school visits Principals and governors responding to a statement in the school survey Through measuring the importance and satisfaction with a number of elements of service in the school survey Principals Responses at School Visits As part of the discussions with school principals, they were asked if they thought they received value for money from their Cleaning Service. The results are displayed in Table 9. Table 9: Principals Perception of Value for Money at School Visits Service Provider Number Visited Number Receiving Value for Money Percentage Receiving Value for Money (%) School* ELB Private Sector** Source: CMSU (* Includes 4 schools in Belbclean ** Includes 2 PPP schools) Principals and Governors Responses through School Survey In the survey of schools, principals and governors were asked to rate their agreement with the following statement the Cleaning Service provides value for money. The responses as a percentage are shown in Table 10. Table 10: Response to Value for Money Statement Service Provider Positive Response by School Principals (%) Positive Response by School Governors (%) School ELB Private Sector Average Response Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 37

38 Source: CMSU In addition, nearly all heads of board centres, branch libraries and youth clubs (97.3%) support the view that the service provides value for money Value for Money through Measuring the Importance of and Satisfaction with a Number of Elements of Service As part of the survey of schools, Principals were asked to rate a number of financial and non-financial elements of the service in terms of importance and satisfaction. Multiplying the importance rating by the satisfaction rating gives a maximum score of 100 for each element. These eight elements measured comprise: Cleaning staff (time keeping, attendance, courtesy and appearance) Communications with the service provider (timeliness, frequency, methods, relevance and accuracy) Confidence in the service (trust, reliability and consistency) Cover for absence of staff (response times and degree of cover) Environmental considerations (sustainability, waste management and noise pollution) Management advice and support from the ELB (value, objectivity, confidentiality and expertise) Price of the service (fair, competitive and representing value for money) Quality of the service (standard of cleaning, flexibility and responsiveness) This exercise enabled a maximum score of 800 to be achieved and the results as a percentage are provided in Table 11. Table 11: School Principals Value for Money Scores Service Provider Importance (%) Satisfaction (%) Overall Score (%) Private Sector School ELB Average Source: CMSU It is significant that the ELBs central services received a score of 91% for the satisfaction dimension. In addition, nearly all of the 1,233 parents (95.4%) who responded think that value for money from the Cleaning Service is important. 5.9 FITNESS FOR PURPOSE Another key objective of the review has been to demonstrate that the Cleaning Service is fit for purpose. This was defined in the survey questionnaires as the Cleaning Service fulfils its required functions in an effective manner. Nearly all principals (91.8%), governors (91.7%) and heads of board centres, branch libraries and youth clubs (95.1%) consider that the Cleaning Service is fit for purpose. Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 38

39 To counter the perceived stigma and low status attached to the service, as reflected in the APSE report 2007, suggestions were made to improve this view of the service. These ideas included adopting a business-like approach, in accordance with the overall corporate identity of the organisation, through the use of clearly identified uniforms and a recognised logo and through promoting the vision of a positive, effective and professional brand CONCLUSIONS In the context of a single service, it will be crucial to ensure a consistent approach, maintain and improve levels of service, preserve high standards of health and safety and display flexibility in meeting individual customer needs. From the findings of this chapter, a number of strengths and areas for improvement of the current services have been identified: a particular concern being the cleanliness of and access to toilets Strengths The service is highly valued and contributes to education at a strategic level in a number of ways A majority of schools receive a good or very good Cleaning Service A central Cleaning Service helps to reduce a school s administrative burden Nearly all schools, which employ their own cleaners, use the ELBs central service for advice and support Good health and safety practices are adhered to across the service A number of non-core functions are provided to meet customers needs Areas for Improvement The need to: Establish an acceptable service standard for all locations Produce a common service specification Establish standardised monitoring procedures Raise the standard of cleaning in specific areas, particularly toilets Improve the design of and access to toilets Improve communications between customers and service managers Deliver a consistent application of processes and functions Produce a standard operations manual Produce a customer charter for the single Cleaning Service Identify key performance data relating to productivity levels, adherence to quality standards, and customer satisfaction Ensure environmental considerations Measure customer satisfaction in a consistent manner Produce a Cleaning Service health and safety policy Identify management performance data relating to reported health and safety incidents Acquire secure storage for materials and equipment Be involved in the planning of new and refurbished buildings Establish a range of non-core cleaning functions Develop a professional image for the service Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 39

40 5.11 RECOMMENDATIONS The single Cleaning Service should endeavour to: R5.1 Raise the profile of the Cleaning Service and increase awareness of its strategic importance through lobbying central government for guaranteed funding and improved standards R5.2 Establish an acceptable cleaning standard that will apply to all educational estate regardless of the service provider with relevant liability resting with that service provider R5.3 Incorporate the cleaning standard into a service specification, which also details the frequency of operations R5.4 Establish internal and external monitoring systems, for application in all educational estate, which are transparent, objective and impartial R5.5 Develop Key Performance Indicators for productivity, service quality and customer satisfaction R5.6 Develop effective communications between customers and service managers through a programme of routine meetings and improved use of mobile technology R5.7 Carry out a series of process mapping exercises to deliver consistency of processes and functions R5.8 Develop a service manual containing operational and health and safety information for staff R5.9 Develop a customer charter for informing customers and potential customers of service standards, operational frequencies, monitoring procedures, contact details and complaints procedure R5.10 Formulate an environmental policy to address aspects of sustainability and environmental awareness R5.11 Establish a wide-ranging approach to measuring customer satisfaction on an annual basis R5.12 Formulate a service specific Health and Safety Policy R5.13 Develop a Management Performance Indicator for the number of reported health and safety incidents R5.14 Establish an integral input into the planning process for new and refurbished building to ensure adequate storage facilities solely for use by the Cleaning Service and ready access to utilities. To be reflected in the DE s school buildings handbook R5.15 Introduce a range of non-core functions in a cost-effective manner to meet customers needs R5.16 Develop a business-like identity, by a process of re-branding, displaying a positive, efficient and professional Cleaning Service R5.17 Join the APSE Performance Networks benchmarking club Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 40

41 6.0 STAFFING 6.1 INTRODUCTION The Cleaning Service is a major support service in the education sector, employing a large number of people, comprising operational, administrative, supervisory and managerial staff. The initial perception of cleaning, especially outside of the education sphere, is of a relatively low status and low skilled service. However, on closer inspection, it is evident that the service involves a series of technical operations, in a relatively high risk environment and frequently in busy locations. Consultations with the whole range of stakeholders emphasise the importance of cleaning and the value of the cleaning staff to schools and other educational establishments. This chapter examines staffing issues including baselines, productivity, management and supervision, skills and training, health and safety, terms and conditions of service and the value of the people in the service. 6.2 OPERATIONAL STAFF There are currently 4,364 operational staff in the Cleaning Service (Tables 1 and 2). This figure includes 2,769 people working for the ELBs Cleaning Services and a further 1,595 employed directly by schools and other estate. The workforce is primarily part-time and female; a matter that is addressed in more detail in chapter 11. As part of the surveys, nearly all principals (99.5%) and governors (97.3%) consider cleaners to be either important or very important to their schools. In addition, most pupils (88.4%) and nearly all users of board centres, branch libraries and youth clubs (97.2%) find the cleaners to be friendly, polite and courteous Recruitment and Retention The recruitment and retention of cleaning staff present major challenges for the service, which have been the subjects of an article by APSE entitled A Local Government Skill Shortages Report. Approximately 30% of people leaving Cleaning Services do so in the first 12 weeks of employment. However, this figure might also include new recruits, such as students, seeking stop-gap employment measures rather than long-term job opportunities. Retention, measured by the turnover of staff (the number of permanent employees who leave the service over a specific period), is frequently an indicator of how the service is managed and how people are supported. Establishment of a MPI would enable the service to demonstrate its handling of staff in a positive manner. Challenges of recruitment and retention were experienced at 13 of the 26 schools visited. One principal stated I can replace a teacher more easily than a cleaner. From the surveys a majority of principals reported difficulties in recruitment (73%) and retention (52.1%). In the remaining estate the findings were less problematic Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 41

42 with a significant minority experiencing problems with recruitment (42.9%) and retention (31.3%). Investigations by APSE conclude that recruitment can be a problem due to a number of reasons, including: Bureaucratic systems of recruitment taking too long to make appointments, by which time the candidate has found an alternative job Perceived lowly status of the service and the stigma of being a cleaner Other employment opportunities within the community The need for a minimum number of hours employment so as not to affect any benefits received Cleaning jobs often involving relatively heavy manual labour and working patterns not being as flexible as those in retail positions Competition from the private sector e.g. supermarkets The delays involved in carrying out criminal record checks (up to 5 weeks) Other reasons, within ELBs, could include an over reliance on interviews for appointing practical-based posts and possible delays in paying new recruits as part of the lunar (4-weekly) pay cycle. Some organisations are taking steps to rectify these problems, such as widening the recruitment net, employing fewer full-time staff and moving to a facilities management approach, which can offer increased incentives and opportunities to learn new skills. However, employing a predominantly full-time cleaning workforce is not a genuine option for schools. Some ELBs, in order to create a greater awareness and appreciation of cleaning, have employed school students within the service. This type of initiative helps to fill the recruitment gap and promotes the service to potential employees of the future. As a result of its recruitment problems, Midlothian Council is presently moving to a more mechanised structure with greater automation of particular activities, the promotion of team-based working and a reduced reliance on labour Absenteeism Absenteeism and the cost of covering for absent staff are major items of expenditure for the service. Overall absence of cleaners across the ELBs averages around 8%, which equates to approximately 1.5m per year in wages. Absenteeism is categorised as short-term or casual absence (up to 20 consecutive days) and long-term (more than 20 days). ELBs do not routinely generate regular absence reports for managers. However, a common Human Resources and Payroll system (Resource Link) is in the process of being implemented across the boards and this will enable standard reports to be produced in the near future. According to the APSE Performance Networks Report , average absenteeism levels of operational staff in the cleaning industry were 5.35%. Within this figure, short-term and long-term absence levels were 2.51% and 2.84% respectively. Absent staff, in addition to creating difficulties for managers and supervisors, place a heavier burden on their colleagues to maintain the quality of work. A significant minority of staff report that they do not receive cover for people absent up to 5 days Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 42

43 (45.8%) or beyond 5 days (39.9%). The provision of relief cover has proved to be a major challenge for ELBs. As part of Service Level Agreements (SLA) between the service and customers, relief cover should be made available, although feedback from schools indicates that this is not always achieved. ELBs employ a number of mechanisms to cover for absentees. These include giving additional working hours to colleagues, deploying building supervisors, employing temporary relief cover, operating in teams rather in individual areas and the use of mobile relief cleaners. There is no definitive solution to this matter and it can only be effectively addressed through a combination of the above mechanisms. It is an area that needs to be correctly managed to ensure adherence to SLAs and to retain the confidence of customers. Discussions with schools outside of the ELBs arrangements infer that, in many instances, absent members of staff are not effectively replaced over the short-term. ELBs have developed a common attendance management policy, with targets established for absenteeism, procedures for monitoring attendance, return to work interviews, actionable levels of absence and guidelines for further referral to occupational health specialists. Attention has been drawn to delays in referrals for people with illness, which can create problems with accurate diagnoses. Nearly all cleaning staff (95.7%) are aware of the procedure for reporting absence from work. However, there is concern that the attendance management policy is not being applied in a consistent manner across the boards. Along with the managing attendance policy, a MPI should be developed to measure the levels of absenteeism of all staff in a co-ordinated fashion across the service. 6.3 PRODUCTIVITY A key indicator of productivity in the Cleaning Service industry is the rate of cleaning, measuring the number of square metres cleaned per hour (m 2 /hour). This indicator enables comparison and benchmarks and helps to build up a picture of the service along with other performance indicators. In Tables 12 and 13 the current productivity levels are illustrated for each board area. Table 12 presents the output for cleaning for school-based services and Table 13 reveals details of productivity levels through the boards central arrangements. Table 12: Productivity in controlled and maintained schools and other properties managing their own Cleaning Service ELB Area (m 2 ) Cleaning Hours per week Productivity (m 2 per hour) BELB 218,011 5, NEELB 117,807 2, SEELB 277,599 5, SELB 308,903 7, WELB N/A N/A N/A Average productivity 922,320 22, Source: ELBs Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 43

44 Table 13: Productivity in schools and other properties within central ELB cleaning arrangements ELB Area (m 2 ) Cleaning Hours per week Productivity (m 2 per hour) BELB* 155,600 3, NEELB 346,339 8, SEELB 205,893 4, SELB 271,995 6, WELB 449,433 12, Average productivity 1,429,260 36, Source: ELBs (* schools in the Belbclean arrangement) It is important when examining the above tables to consider that the figures do not necessarily compare like with like. Arrangements in each board are different, such as the extent of cleaning by building supervisors, and this is reflected in the results. The APSE produces results of performance indicators for a range of public sector services. The average productivity level across the cleaning industry has decreased from 37.3m 2 /hour in to 35.1m 2 /hour in In schools the average rate of clean for schools was 41.6m 2 /hour in It is important to bear in mind that productivity is dependent on a number of factors including age of the property, condition, surfaces, number of floor levels, area of the property, types of rooms, usage, frequency of cleaning operations and availability of facilities e.g. power points, water and sluice points. 6.4 MANAGEMENT AND SUPERVISION In the ELBs, the Cleaning Services are structured and managed in a variety of ways to reflect the situation in each organisation. Some managers have responsibilities solely to the service and others have wider remits including direct services and facilities management roles. Below the service manager level, ELBs employ area managers and supervisors to cater for customers at a local level. Area managers might be responsible for up to 80 sites and Table 14 shows the ratio of area managers and supervisors to schools and locations in the respective board arrangements. Table 14: Ratio of area managers and supervisors to properties in ELBs arrangements ELB Number of area managers and supervisors Number of schools and properties Ratio of managers and supervisors to schools and other properties BELB :24 NEELB :34 SEELB :17 SELB :15 WELB :81 Average ratio :39 Source: ELBs Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 44

45 Comparisons with other Cleaning Services reveal similar tiered structures. A majority of school principals (64.7%) are either satisfied or very satisfied with the advice and support from service managers. At the school level, either building supervisors or cleaning site supervisors are employed to oversee the operational staff. Building supervisors are employed mainly by schools and cleaning site supervisors work directly for the ELB s Cleaning Service. The survey of schools found that 80% of operational cleaning staff are supervised by the building supervisor, 17% by the cleaning site supervisor and 3% by the principal. Most schools (85.3%) are satisfied with the present arrangements and very few (9.9%) have any desire for change. These findings are reflected in the remaining educational estate as nearly all are satisfied with the supervisory arrangements (91.2%) and very few wish to make changes (3.2%). The use of cleaning site supervisors could be a unique selling point to customers and potential customers, as an efficiency measure. Building supervisors, with supervisory responsibilities, are paid between 9.82 and per hour, which equates to a maximum of per day over 8 hours. To employ a building supervisor without supervisory responsibilities ( 7.87 to 8.43) for 8 hours and a cleaner as cleaning site supervisor for 3 hours at between 7.38 and 8.43 would cost a maximum of To replace the building supervisor could only be carried out as the person leaves the post and, therefore, implemented over the longer-term. The building supervisor has an important role and is highly valued in the education sector. From the surveys nearly all school principals (97.4%), governors (96.8%) and heads of other educational estate (93.9%) consider the building supervisor as a key part of the Cleaning Service. In a PPP school, employment of the building supervisor normally transfers to the private sector provider and this is addressed in Chapter 7. Furthermore, in any FM scenario, the building supervisor might manage the interface between the school and support services and possibly have a supervisory role over the operatives. These matters are considered in greater detail in Chapter 10. In support of the managers and supervisors are administrative staff, providing a variety of functions ranging from clerical work, maintenance of records, document retrieval, monitoring purchase orders and, in some instances, completion of cleaners timesheets. These people are important to the smooth running of the Cleaning Service. Some of the functions described above, e.g. completion of timesheets, are now the responsibility of building supervisors in accordance with their revised generic job descriptions. Internal communications for the service are effected through an array of methods, including team meetings, newsletters, , mobile telephones and leaflets. Most staff agree that they meet their line manager regularly (85.4%) and are informed of changes that affect their jobs (85.7%). However, very few operational staff have access to s. There appears to be no coherent or consistent approach to communications to ensure that all members of staff are regularly informed of changes and events in a routine manner. Some of the private sector cleaning companies publish regular and informative newsletters for all staff on subjects such as new faces, awards, health and safety matters, promotions and interviews with staff. Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 45

46 With regard to external communications, nearly all customers (93.8%) consider effective dialogue with the service to be important and most (80.2%) are satisfied with the present level of communications. 6.5 SKILLS AND TRAINING Training and the development of skills are crucial to the delivery of a quality service. In addition to enabling people to carry out their roles effectively, they also facilitate entry into the organisation, thereby reducing staff turnover, promote a sense of being valued to the recipient and can foster a team ethic. Consultations and comparisons with cleaning organisations from the public and private sectors reveal that investment in training and development is a high priority. Many of the organisations have achieved the IiP standard and as one private company states in its promotional literature We provide everyone with a real opportunity to develop their potential and progress within the organisation. We are committed to providing a learning framework to help access the right training solution. The ELBs service provides a wide range of training to staff including induction, accredited skills, refresher, child protection and customer service. However, the review has revealed concerns about the absence of consistent delivery of training across the education sector, especially in schools outside of the boards arrangements. From the surveys, 437 staff provided a wealth of information on their training, which is detailed in Table 15. Table 15: Staff Training Type of Training Provided to Cleaners (%) Satisfaction with Training (%) Care of Cleaning Equipment Child Protection Awareness Cleaning Standards Cleaning Techniques COSHH Customer Care Disposal of Cleaning Materials Fire Drill & Evacuation First Aid Health & Safety Awareness Induction Wearing Protective Clothing Source: CMSU From the results in Table 15, it is evident that there are many gaps in the provision of essential training for operational staff. Looking at the figures for cleaning standards, first aid and customer care and then comparing those to the returns for care of cleaning equipment and disposal of materials, there are clear inconsistencies in the application of training. This is an area that would undoubtedly be better addressed through a single service and is another unique selling point of a single provider. With fewer than three quarters of staff receiving induction training, this may be a contributing factor to the difficulties experienced in turnover of people. Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 46

47 The low number of staff trained in cleaning standards only emphasises the need to establish a quality standard and then to train all staff accordingly. The decision to adopt BICS as the quality standard for the single service will be a key driver in offering career development and employment opportunities for cleaning staff. Only slightly more than half of people have received child protection awareness training and this supports the picture from the school visits. There is a degree of confusion as to where responsibility lies for delivering this training, particularly to ELB cleaning staff. In many instances the school perceives it is the responsibility of the board and vice versa. This confusion leaves many staff without the necessary knowledge of how to respond in certain situations. Nearly all school principals (99.5%) believe that cleaners need to be fully aware of child protection issues. Similar to a number of external cleaning organisations, such as Liverpool and South Lanarkshire, some ELBs have established dedicated centres of excellence for training cleaning staff and building supervisors, where operational and health and safety training can be delivered in a purpose built environment. These facilities, which in some instances have become accredited centres, are key assets in the drive to raise standards but they can create problems of access for remote part-time staff. Therefore, it is necessary to deliver training through a combination of school and centre-based provision. The centres are also valuable resources for generating additional income through training the workforces of other organisations. Training on cleaning techniques, for example, is provided by one board for cleaners from the public and private sectors. The role of building supervisors in cleaning has been described earlier in the report, in that their behaviour and standards impact on key areas such as staff morale, health and safety, productivity, quality and customer care. Clearly, it is in the best interests of the Cleaning Service to ensure the maximum contribution of building supervisors and to fully involve them in training and development programmes. These programmes should include cleaning techniques and standards, health and safety, use and care of equipment and monitoring. In many aspects this training is delivered by ELBs and some of the organisations have developed specific programmes to incorporate training on supervision, caretaking, maintenance and security. BELB has produced a training and development prospectus, detailing courses available. These include Health and Safety Induction, Cleaning Proficiency Certificate, Cleaning Supervisor s Skills Certificate and NVQ Level 2 in Caretaking. Many boards, such as NEELB and WELB, deploy a dedicated training budget to ensure investment in staff. Training is such an important aspect of service delivery that a specific training budget, based on overall expenditure, should be set aside. Maintaining records of training is important to the service and to the individual and these are used extensively by ELBs and other organisations. Midlothian Council, for example, has produced a record document that is updated as each person successfully attends training. A further extension of this idea is the Pathway Card, created by BICS and the Cleaning and Support Services Association to encourage personal development in the industry. Belbclean is a verifying centre for this scheme. The Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 47

48 card is effectively a cleaner s passport that contains the skills, qualifications and experience of the individual and is effectively an electronic CV. It is acknowledged that the service benefits from development of its people and, in this respect, investment in areas such as Return to Learn, lifelong learning, literacy and numeracy programmes to establish a baseline can produce significant long-term dividends to both service and staff. The Public Service Commission in NI has published a guiding principle on capacity building for staff. This document recommends adopting a capacity building strategy. A similar approach has been adopted in the health sector and has brought wideranging benefits in relation to reducing turnover, improving morale and increasing motivation. A similar recommendation was made in BELB s Best Value Review of Behaviour Support Behaviour in a Learning City, which proposed a whole school approach to staff development. Recent years have seen an increase of non-english speaking nationals working in the service and it is likely that this trend will continue over the longer-term. This has created difficulties in communications and training and should be addressed strategically. To optimise the benefits of training and development, a career progression path should be available. In the case of cleaning this could offer prospects for operational staff to attain cleaning site supervisor, area supervisor and management posts. To measure the investment in training and development, the service needs to establish a suitable MPI. This would demonstrate the degree of investment in the most important aspect of the service: its people. Of course, training and development of staff is crucial to any successful service, but cleaners also need a number of core skills and competencies to enable them to carry out their work effectively. These skills and competencies include reliability, integrity, flexibility, courtesy, ability to work in a team and a range of interpersonal skills. From the extensive work undertaken for this review, it is apparent that these qualities are displayed in abundance throughout the staff. 6.6 HEALTH AND SAFETY As shown in table 15, training and awareness is a major aspect of promoting health and safety for staff and customers. Training involves: Health and safety awareness Fire drill and evacuation procedures First aid Safe use of cleaning equipment Safe use and disposal of cleaning materials/coshh Skin care Wearing of protective clothing Use of warning signs and prevention of slips, trip and falls Manual handling Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 48

49 From the survey feedback, clearly there are areas for further development to ensure that all staff access essential training. People correctly trained in these aspects help to create a safer environment for customers, visitors and themselves. Relevant information for managers and staff can be attained from a variety of sources. The Health and Safety Executive supplies advice and guidance leaflets on a variety of topics specific to cleaning, including: Manual handling Slips Work equipment Dermatitis Hand arm vibration Working with chemicals Risk assessment Further information can also be obtained from the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland ( 6.7 TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF SERVICE Terms and conditions relate to the circumstances in which people are employed in the service. These include pay, sickness and maternity benefits, pension schemes, grievance and disciplinary procedures, hours of work, working environment, equality of opportunity and holiday entitlement. Although terms and conditions are similar across the public sector, particularly in the ELBs, they tend to vary in the private sector. It is usually acknowledged that terms and conditions are more employeefriendly in the public sector. Four of the ELBs employ their cleaners over 52 weeks of the year and one, WELB, employs them for approximately 49 weeks including paid holidays. The benefits of the WELB arrangement are no accumulation of annual leave and no requirement to issue leave cards or monitor leave. It also means that the costs to the service and ultimately the customers are reduced. However, this differential in terms and conditions of service across the boards will need to be addressed under a single service arrangement. From the survey, most cleaning staff (88.7%) stated that they think terms and conditions within the service are good. In the WELB nearly all staff (92%) consider the terms and conditions to be good. Operational staff are currently undergoing a job evaluation exercise in the ELBs to ensure that pay levels are commensurate with the role and responsibilities. As part of this exercise, generic job descriptions have been produced for the five ELBs in respect of cleaners and cleaning supervisors. At the time of writing this report, the results are undecided and the appeal process has been initiated. Job evaluation will ultimately determine the appropriate pay scales for cleaning staff. For this review, a number of job descriptions have been obtained from other public sector organisations, which detail main tasks and activities, responsibilities and conditions of service. The generic ELB job descriptions compare favourably with Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 49

50 these examples. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister produced a Local Government Pay and Workforce Strategy 2005, emphasising the importance of pay equality. The Bain Report, referred to in Service Developments (3.3.2) and Working Patterns (5.7), envisages small schools collaborating and sharing resources, which could result in the establishment of area cleaning teams covering two to three local schools. Under this type of scenario, with cleaning staff displaying a high degree of autonomy, flexibility and responsiveness, it might be necessary to review the terms and conditions of service and pay levels to reflect the changes. With regard to pay, comparative rates for cleaners and supervisors employed by NI organisations are shown in Table 16. Table 16: Comparative Hourly Pay Rates Category ELBs ( ) Public Sector ( ) Private Sector ( ) Cleaner minimum maximum Cleaning Supervisor minimum maximum Source: various Information from the Local Government Analysis and Research Unit shows that average pay rates across UK for cleaners range from 5.64 to 7.47 (highest rates are for London and the Eastern regions). Most ELB staff (77.9%) believe that pay levels within the Cleaning Service are good, according to the survey results. These range from 70.3% in BELB to 83.3% in WELB. Discussions with staff identified that a major obstacle to attracting people into the service was linked to the availability of social benefits. People currently in receipt can lose their benefits if they become employed between 10 and 16 hours per week. Therefore if a school needs a cleaner for 3 hours per day over 5 days, those hours might not be attractive to all potential employees. 6.8 IMPORTANCE OF THE CLEANING STAFF The strategic importance of cleaning was described in Chapter 5 and this applies equally to the people delivering the service. At the school visits, all the principals stressed the importance of the cleaning staff in promoting a positive image and providing a safe environment. As part of the surveys, nearly all parents (96.3%) feel that cleaning staff are valued and respected in the school. Furthermore, nearly all principals (99%) and parents (96.1%) and all heads of educational estate report that cleaning staff are an important part of the community. Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 50

51 Cleaning staff themselves have responded positively. Nearly all believe they are an important part of the school community (96.5%) and feel valued within the school (90.3%). These returns paint a positive picture of the high regard in which cleaners are held across the education sector. 6.9 CONCLUSIONS For the service to deliver high quality and to meet customers needs, it is vital that staff are trained and given the equipment to carry out their jobs in an effective and efficient manner. This requires motivated, skilled and resourceful employees and that can only be achieved through recruiting the right people, good management and supervision, training and development, caring for their health and safety, offering attractive terms and conditions of service and valuing the staff Strengths Highly valued staff Establishment of attractive terms and conditions of service Development of a common attendance management policy Use of a variety of internal and external systems of communication Dedicated training centres being established Training and development prospectus being produced Training and development of building supervisors undertaken Generic job descriptions for cleaners and supervisors agreed Areas for Improvement The need to: Produce Management Performance Indicators for staff turnover, absenteeism and training Reduce reliance on interviews for recruitment of operational staff Publish regular absence reports Establish effective replacement cover procedures for absent staff Apply the attendance management policy in a consistent manner Apply communication systems effectively and consistently Improve the approach to training and development, including consistent delivery of training, establishment of a training budget, training records, baseline development of people and offering career opportunities Train all staff in child protection awareness Establish consistency of terms and conditions of service with regard to the number of weeks employed in a year Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 51

52 6.10 RECOMM ENDATIONS The single Cleaning Service should endeavour to: R6.1 Develop Management Performance Indicators for staff turnover, absenteeism and training R6.2 Review the recruitment interview procedure to consider introducing a practical element R6.3 Obtain regular absenteeism reports from the Human Resources and Payroll system R6.4 Develop comprehensive and cost-effective systems for replacing absent staff over short and long-term periods R6.5 Operate the attendance management policy consistently across the Cleaning Service R6.6 Apply effective internal and external communication systems in a consistent manner across the service to communicate with all stakeholders at all levels R6.7 Develop a comprehensive approach to training, incorporating consistent delivery of training to all staff, establishing a dedicated training budget, produce training records, promote the baseline development of staff and establish a career path for cleaners R6.8 Establish a child protection awareness programme for all staff in conjunction with schools R6.9 Address the inconsistent arrangement for terms and conditions of service with regard to the number of weeks employed in a year through the Education Joint Negotiating Council (JNC) Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 52

53 7.0 PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS The announcement of the exclusion of cleaning from PPP schools by the Secretary of State was a key driver behind the decision to carry out a fundamental best value review of the service. Since the announcement, there appears to have been criticism of building schools through PPP and more of an emphasis back towards traditional build arrangements. In August 2007, the House Of Commons Education Committee was critical of the risks associated with such long-term planning and commented that a contract covering all the possibilities that might arise in the 25 years or so it is set to run is virtually impossible. The outcome might be that fewer PPP schools will actually be built than was originally planned. Therefore there might be a limited impact on the Cleaning Service, although this does not detract from the importance of the interface arrangements between the Cleaning Service, schools and PPP contractors. Discussions have been carried out with organisations currently operating under PPP, both in schools and other public sector bodies, so that lessons can be learned. A large number of organisations, particularly in Scotland, have strived to exclude soft services such as cleaning and catering from transfer to PPP. These efforts have required the demonstration of value for money in retaining the services in-house. This chapter looks at the issues of risk transfer associated with PPP, interface arrangements between schools, private sector providers and the Cleaning Service and highlights evidence to support the potential benefits of the ESA Cleaning Service operating in the schools. 7.1 TRANSFER OF RISK A primary objective of PPP procurement is the appropriate management of risk and this is most effectively achieved through the optimum transfer of risk. Risk entails cost implications and, therefore, should only be transferred to the party that is the most suitable to manage that risk. East Dunbartonshire Council produced a document in July 2004 entitled Submission in Support of Pre-Procurement, Exclusion of FM Services for the PPP Schools Project. This document describes the process for the optimum transfer of risk and the potential savings ( In a conventional arrangement ELBs are ultimately responsible for maintenance and the upkeep of the buildings and might also provide the cleaning for schools. As such, the boards carry the risk for any damage to property caused by the actions of the Cleaning Service. In this type of situation the line of responsibility is relatively clear. Under PPP, with three interested parties, this line of responsibility is not so evident. The PPP provider is responsible for the fabric of the buildings and maintenance, but the Cleaning Service can have a major effect on those buildings. If damage occurs, it might be difficult to determine who is at fault and therefore liable. In these circumstances, the PPP providers will naturally want to protect their interests and investments and this could be achieved through increased charges to the schools. To ensure risk is managed in a cost-effective manner, it is vital that the interface arrangements are fully agreed by all parties and clearly described in a service specification. Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 53

54 7.2 INTERFACE ARRANGEMENTS Interface arrangements must be established between the Cleaning Service, school and representative of the PPP provider. This representative might very well be the building supervisor who, under current arrangements, transfers employment to the PPP provider. This transfer is carried out in accordance with the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE). The Department of Trade and Industry has produced a document Employment Rights on the Transfer of and Undertaking, explaining these regulations ( The interface arrangements will need to incorporate SLAs, performance management and monitoring, relationship building and managing change Service Level Agreements SLAs will be crucial to the success of managing interfaces, as they require to be sufficiently detailed and specific to ensure all parties are aware of their roles and responsibilities. With the exclusion of cleaning from PPP schools, it is important to ensure that the contractors facilitate the activities of the service. This applies, for example, to the design of toilets, quality of fittings and suitability of floor and wall surfaces. These matters must be fully discussed at the planning stage between all parties. Discussions with building supervisors confirmed their general desire to remain in the employment of the school as they consider themselves to be the link between the school and any external service providers. They are aware of the standards expected by the schools and are directly accountable to the principals. According to the survey, most school principals (80%) believe they should manage the building supervisor. It will be necessary to agree areas and levels of responsibility for all activities that are related to cleaning of the schools. Evidently these will involve risk allocation and dispute resolution. However, it will also include the role and any cleaning duties of the building supervisor, supervision of the cleaning staff, cleaning outside of normal school hours, access and security arrangements, monitoring procedures, work requests, response times and complaints. Clear procedures for cleaning will be described in a service specification, detailing daily, weekly, monthly and annual schedules, that has been agreed by all parties Performance Management and Monitoring Performance management and monitoring are major parts of any interface arrangements. These include self-monitoring by the service provider and in-house monitoring by the clients (school and ESA). Consultation has highlighted the need for technical expertise in the monitoring process and the importance of record keeping, particularly if relationships become strained and penalties are imposed. However, it is important not to over-complicate the processes in that they become a bureaucratic burden on all parties. It is far more effective for the parties to develop good working relations alongside the formal processes. Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 54

55 7.2.3 Relationship Building In addition to the formal procedures, it will be necessary to develop relations and understanding between the parties to ensure smooth running of the various school activities and to reduce the scope for misunderstandings and errors. The actual arrangements should be made on a case-by-case basis, dependent on the situation in the school and the requirements of the individual parties. Some PPP contractors might require a cleaning site supervisor and others might wish the building supervisor to play a pivotal role. It is essential that, when agreeing the arrangements, the Cleaning Service and PPP contractors are flexible and practical in their approach to these situations. Feedback from current PPP schools emphasises the importance and value of cultivating relationships and the amount of time and energy that is usually invested in this area. Consultation with other PPP contractors confirms the difficulties that are often experienced in managing an interface between two parties and believe the proposed circumstances for schools, with three parties involved, will require even more attention Management of Change A significant aspect of operating within PPP is addressing the necessary culture change within schools. Teaching staff and school employees will naturally want to work under the terms of the previous regime, to which they are accustomed. However, they need to be continually made aware that the buildings are now the property of another party and that they are simply the tenants. The building supervisor, under PPP an employee of the contractor, is normally contacted via a helpdesk, using a booking system. Requesting assistance, especially at short notice and outside of core working hours, will likely incur additional charges. It is necessary for school staff to adopt a more strategically planned and organised approach. This is an area in which all parties must work together for the benefit of the whole school. Meetings with PPP providers to schools in NI have confirmed a number of issues such as the need to clarify the correct reporting mechanisms to school personnel for cleaning and other services, confusion over areas of responsibility, possible joint use of a helpdesk facility and the impact on the planned wall and floor life cycle models. BELB is presently in the process of forming a Strategic Partnership with a PPP consortium to build and maintain schools, in which cleaning and catering services have been excluded. The results of the board s detailed investigations, the service specifications produced and arrangements for interfaces should provide valuable guidance to other schools to which PPP will apply. It is clear that interface arrangements will require considerable effort and much more detailed work at individual sites prior to the Cleaning Service delivering alongside a PPP contractor. Nevertheless, these have been achieved by other organisations and can be reproduced in similar situations in NI. Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 55

56 7.3 POTENTIAL BENEFITS OF A SINGLE CLEANING SERVICE The Secretary of State made the decision to exclude cleaning from PPP schools and, in support of this decision, areas of potential benefit to retaining the service in-house have been identified. For example, East Dunbartonshire Council has carried out detailed investigations in this area and identified a number of financial and nonfinancial benefits to retaining an in-house Cleaning Service. These benefits include: Relatively little disruption to cleaning staff, for example TUPE requirements Maintains existing relationships between schools and Cleaning Service Reduces costs associated with value for money tests and retained service comparator Optimises risk transfer Reduced level of charges for work additional to specification Reduced client monitoring costs of PPP contractor Maintaining a substantial in-house Cleaning Service with the capacity to deliver economies of scale to all schools 7.4 CONCLUSIONS Although cleaning has been excluded from PPP schools, it is crucial to deliver the service in an effective, efficient and economic manner. This will necessitate quality standards that meet customers needs, competitive prices, flexibility and clarity in managing interfaces. It is imperative that lessons are learned from other sectors and that aspects of good practice are shared Strengths Existing relationships with schools and building supervisors Existing knowledge of the activities and priorities of schools A flexible approach to service delivery Attaining the optimum transfer of risk Training arrangements for building supervisors Retaining the financial and non-financial benefits of an in-house service Areas for Improvement The need to: Acquire experience of managing complex interfaces Develop detailed service specifications Establish a helpdesk facility for customers 7.5 RECOMMENDATIONS The single Cleaning Service should endeavour to: R7.1 Utilise the detailed information from organisations that deliver in-house services to PPP schools in respect of interface management and service specifications R7.2 Devise a strategy for managing interfaces in PPP schools with clearly defined roles and areas of responsibility R7.3 Develop a template service specification for use in PPP schools R7.4 Establish a helpdesk facility for use by all customers Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 56

57 8.0 FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT AND PROCUREMENT 8.1 INTRODUCTION Cleaning is not a statutory function of the ELBs although it is viewed as an important service within education. Funding for cleaning forms part of the boards annual block grant allocation from DE. Using the LMS formula, an Aggregated Schools Budget (ASB) is determined, from which an amount of money is delegated to each school. Within this budget, no specific sum is set aside to pay for cleaning. The amount of money spent on cleaning is at the discretion of the individual school. Providing a service to smaller schools is proportionally more expensive than to larger establishments. An extensive customer base, including larger schools, enables an appropriate management and support infrastructure to be put in place. If the larger schools were to leave the proposed ESA cleaning arrangement the viability of a single service would be put at risk. DE, in line with other government departments, is moving to decentralise public services and put the spending decisions in the hands of the schools. This arrangement is being further extended through supported autonomy, in which a greater share of money will be delegated to schools. The situation in NI runs contrary to the picture in Great Britain, where most local authorities top-slice the cost of cleaning from the delegated budgets and provide a central service to all locations, excluding some PPP schools. This gives the services increased security and stability and promotes longer-term investment. A drawback of this approach is that schools have no detailed knowledge of the cost of their cleaning and no way of measuring value for money. The service purchases a wide range of goods and services from external suppliers; electrical and manual equipment, cleaning materials, protective clothing and the maintenance of equipment. These goods and services are bought through joint fiveboard contracts, which are tendered, evaluated and awarded through the ELBs Purchasing Units. Approximately 6% of the Cleaning Service s expenditure is used to buy these items, emphasising the importance of a cost-effective and value for money approach. This chapter examines levels of expenditure, financial performance, value for money, accountability and reporting mechanisms, future funding of the service and procurement processes. 8.2 SERVICE EXPENDITURE Expenditure on cleaning is identified through a number of common finance codes, used by the boards. Collation of information from these codes enables expenditure to be calculated. Feedback from schools outside of the boards arrangements emphasises the difficulties in calculating total expenditure on cleaning across the range of finance codes. The need for better clarity and transparency of costs were expressed. Total expenditure on cleaning in each board for is shown in Table 17. Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 57

58 Table 17: Expenditure on Cleaning in ELB Expenditure ( ) BELB 3,681,600 NEELB 4,590,690 SEELB 4,216,290 SELB 5,570,210 WELB 4,625,250 Total 22,784,040 Source: ELBs During the course of gathering the above information, some inconsistencies were uncovered in the application of the expenditure codes across the individual boards, which might lead to some minor discrepancies in the final figures. Table 17 provides expenditure on cleaning but does not reflect full service costs. To arrive at a true figure there is a need to add apportioned costs for internal board support functions (Human Resources, Payroll, Procurement etc), accommodation and other overheads. According to industry figures these Central Expenditure Costs (CEC) equate to approximately 4.7% of service expenditure. In GB, the Audit Commission s Best Value Inspection Service has criticised some local authorities for being unable to identify their true costs. Boards have included full costs in their pricing mechanisms over recent years. When the full costs were introduced, nearly all customers remained with the ELBs service, demonstrating their willingness to pay extra for a quality service. Discussions with schools point to their desire for a clear breakdown of costs. To try and relate the level of spending on cleaning within the overall education picture, 22,784,040 is approximately 1.7% of total ELBs expenditure. The total of the ELBs expenditure was 1,313,775,000 in (DE Annual Report 2006). 8.3 FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE Unit Costs Financial performance is measured in the form of KPIs and unit costs. A KPI for the Cleaning Service is the annual cost of cleaning a square metre (m 2 ). Across the ELBs this equates to an average of 9.69/m 2. For comparison, Table 18 details the cost per square metre for each board and compares these to figures produced by APSE Performance Networks for Table 18: Unit Costs Organisation Area (m 2 ) /m 2 /year BELB 373, NEELB 464, SEELB 483, SELB 580, WELB 449, ELB average 2,351, APSE average Sources: ELBs and APSE Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 58

59 Comparisons can also be made between the price per hour of cleaners and supervisors in the ELBs and private sector companies supplying to schools, as shown in Table 19. Table 19: Approximate Prices to Schools for Cleaners and Supervisors Organisation Cleaner ( /hour) Cleaning Supervisor ( /hour) ELBs Private Sector (NI) Sources: ELBs and various Another useful indicator from an educational perspective is the cost of cleaning per pupil. According to DE figures, there were 328,810 pupils in schools in Therefore the annual cost of cleaning per pupil is approximately 69 or 36 pence per day (based on a 38-week school year) and, as schools are cleaned the whole year through, 27 pence per pupil per day over 52 weeks To date, job evaluation has not been carried out extensively across the public sector in Great Britain, which could impact on future costs for the organisations involved. APSE report that cleaning is one of the service areas likely to face increased wage bills as job evaluation is implemented Income Generation Cleaning is a service that can generate additional income. This can be achieved by providing non-core activities at extra cost for its existing customers or offering specific packages to external organisations. Non-core activities are described in Chapter 5 and are in addition to the routine operations contained in the service specification. These might be requested to meet ad-hoc situations or particular tasks, such as cleaning up after building work or flood damage. The service can also supply external organisations through, for instance, training and assessing staff, surveying buildings and providing advice. There is no reason why cleaners could not operate in other public buildings, such as council offices and further education institutes, through a shared service model under the auspices of the ESA. Such commercial activities are currently subject to the Education and Libraries (NI) Order This legislation enables an ELB to undertake cleaning-related activities on approval from the DE on condition that these activities are not detrimental to the performance of the board, do not involve additional resources and are not subsidised. Income generation from within the public sector is an area for future development. Targets could be set for levels of income and any profits ploughed back into the service and/or used to reduce prices to schools and other customers. 8.4 VALUE FOR MONEY The performances of the ELBs, as displayed in Tables 18 and 19, demonstrate that the Cleaning Service overall is genuinely competitive within the industry. This information offers further evidence of value for money provided by the service to its customers even in a relatively fragmented approach through the five ELBs. Within a single service there will be more opportunities to reduce levels of expenditure and Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 59

60 prices to customers and to improve the extent of value for money. Areas for potential improvements include: Reducing recruitment and turnover costs through improved induction, training and career prospects Training all operational staff to specified industry standard to improve efficiency More effective control of resources and materials through standardised stock control systems Improving attendance management procedures for all levels of staff through consistency of approach and adherence to policy Centralising relief cover procedures and generating the capacity to provide effective cover More cost-effective use of building supervisors and cleaning site supervisors; deployed where appropriate Increasing levels of income generation through offering training, adding value and providing specialist services Broadening the customer base for the single service and increasing economies of scale Reducing bureaucratic costs relating to paperwork through use of technology and automation of systems for service costing, billing, absence reporting, monitoring of standards and site surveying 8.5 ACCOUNTABILITY AND REPORTING MECHANISMS Accountability for central cleaning is through the boards management and committee structures. Each service manager reports to a senior officer, who in turn is accountable to a committee of Board Members. In this way, actions and expenditure of the service are properly scrutinised. In the case of school-based services, the school s board of governors is responsible for expenditure and financial management. Management Information Systems (MIS) have been developed in each board for the central Cleaning Service. These systems generate regular reports detailing expenditure against projected spending for each location under the ELBs arrangements. Schools outside of the arrangements are monitored for overexpenditure through the Finance Departments in each board. Although cleaning is not specifically ring-fenced, discrepancies or over-spending can quickly be identified and addressed. Investigations show that most external cleaning organisations produce regular finance reports, usually on a monthly basis. 8.6 FUTURE SERVICE FUNDING Given the acknowledged importance of the service, it is necessary to guarantee an appropriate budget for cleaning to enable schools and other educational estate to attain the agreed acceptable standard. Feedback from service managers indicates that because schools pay for cleaning upfront and can identify their costs, they tend to place a higher value on the service and expect better standards. There is a direct comparison with other educational services funded centrally, for example board s support services. Costs are not directly Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 60

61 attributable to individual schools; the schools are less likely to challenge the service and the day-to-day demands are not so great. The move to supported autonomy will result in an increased delegation of budgets to schools. In this scenario, it is difficult to make the case for establishing a centralised cleaning budget within the ESA. For schools that employ cleaners directly, it will be their responsibility to set aside sufficient money. However, for a single ESA service it is important to ensure a level of continuity and job security and these could be achieved only through arrangements of 2-3 years in length or more. These arrangements would be in the form of SLAs and would enable the service to have some longer-term assurance when recruiting people and investing in equipment and training. Some boards currently employ SLAs but usually for a one-year period. 8.7 PROCUREMENT Procurement Legislation European Union (EU) procurement directives decree how public sector bodies purchase goods and services. In the United Kingdom this takes the form of the Public Contracts Regulations The main purpose of this legislation is to open up the public procurement market and to ensure the free movement of goods and services within the EU. Guidance to boards on the legislation is provided by the Central Procurement Directorate through the Office of Government Commerce (OGC), The key document in this respect is the EU Procurement Guidance, Introduction to EU Procurement Rules, January The EU rules reflect and reinforce the value for money focus of the government s procurement policy. This policy requires that all public procurement must be based on value for money, which should be achieved through competition, unless there are compelling reasons to the contrary. The EU Guidance lays down specific monetary thresholds, above which contracts must be advertised through the Official Journal of the EU (OJE). Thresholds, as at 31 January 2006, are 144,371 for the supply of both goods and services. Details are also given of the various stages and timescales of the procurement process. ELBs are required to adhere fully to the OGC guidelines and, in turn, they have developed their own Standing Orders. The monetary values of the contracts for the Cleaning Service are above the stated thresholds and are therefore awarded through the advertising process. Annual contract expenditure for the Cleaning Service during was approximately million, with the cost of materials responsible for half of the total Purchasing Arrangements Public sector bodies must meet a minimum quality standard, namely that of Centre of Procurement Expertise before they are permitted to advertise and award contracts. This standard has been attained by the ELBs. Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 61

62 For major contracts, a single ELB is appointed as the lead board to manage the process. In accordance with EU legislation, the contracts are advertised in the press and in the OJE. Subsequently, bids are made by prospective suppliers and contracts awarded. The contracts applicable to the Cleaning Service are normally awarded over a 3-year period with an option for a 1-year extension. The length of contract is important; long enough to encourage the suppliers to bid and make any necessary investments in goods, equipment and logistics, but also short enough to introduce a regular element of competition. All suppliers to the Cleaning Service have been surveyed as part of the review s consultation and most (75%) feel that the tendering process is fair and impartial and the majority (62.5%) believe the length of contracts awarded is appropriate to the value of the contracts. Although ELBs carry out the tendering and award processes, other educational organisations outside of the boards administration are able to buy from these contracts. These include schools from the Voluntary Grammar, Integrated and Irish Medium sectors Value for Money in Procurement The costs of goods and services are a significant demand on limited budgets and, therefore, the procurement processes can have a major impact on the viability of the Cleaning Service. It is important that the processes employed promote the delivery of value for money and this is achieved in a number of ways: The tendering process is genuinely competitive and has been proven over a period of time. Rather than any perceived informal arrangements, whereby suppliers are simply awarded contracts, through tendering all interested suppliers across Europe are in competition with each other. The Purchasing Units assess value for money by measuring the costs of current contracts against those of previous arrangements. These measures have demonstrated that, in real terms, the costs of goods and service have decreased. This corresponds, for example, to savings of 112,500 in relation to the preceding contract for cleaning materials. Joint tendering is a cost-effective means of procurement through the sharing of advertising and administrative expenses and introduces increased economies of scale. When evaluating bids, the tendering process takes account of whole life costs and not just the initial purchasing price. This includes features such as life expectancy, energy usage, maintenance costs, reliability and the price of spare parts. From the survey of contractors, half consider that tendering ensures a competitive process, a majority think that ELBs work to improve the quality of goods and services purchased (55.6%) and most believe that tendering through a joint-elb approach promotes increased value for money (88.9%). Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 62

63 8.7.4 Environmental Aspects The Purchasing Units also take account of environmental aspects as part of the procurement process. Besides the evaluation of energy usage, this involves recycling and re-use of materials, quantity and reductions of packaging, consideration of noise pollution and arrangements for disposal of goods. A majority of suppliers feel that environmental aspects are evaluated as part of the tendering process (57.1%) and that the process takes account of the whole life costs of goods (55.6%). Adopting a pro-active approach to environmental aspects has brought wide-ranging benefits for board services, including lower long-term costs, increased sustainability and improved working conditions through noise reduction. This approach could be further developed through a whole-school policy incorporating the school and a range of support services Supplier Consultation Consultation with suppliers has been undertaken through the combination of a questionnaire survey and face to face meetings. Feedback from the suppliers survey indicates that a majority have developed good relations with the ELBs Cleaning Services (71.4%) and most work in partnership with their suppliers to improve the standard of cleaning products (85.7%) through the supply chain. Meetings with suppliers identified the following issues: The move to one organisation (ESA) and a single service will help to eradicate inconsistencies of approach and to reduce costs associated with bureaucracy A single service will promote the development of working relations through one main point of contact The tendering process is genuinely competitive and produces more value for money, but it is important to balance quality with price Opportunities to meet service managers are limited, which would enable discussions of product development, market trends and refinement of specifications Introduction of electronic ordering would produce savings in time and money and facilitate record keeping 8.8 CONCLUSIONS Cleaning is a major support service in education as judged by the level of expenditure and it is crucial that money is spent in an efficient way and delivers value to customers and taxpayers. In respect of the indicators, overall financial performance is within the normal parameters of a Cleaning Service. The move to a single service will potentially deliver economies of scale and efficiencies that should improve the present levels of performance and value for money. Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 63

64 As a significant amount of money is spent on cleaning, effective systems of accountability and reporting are needed to ensure probity and safeguard public funds. This is currently the case and will have to be maintained in the ESA. Procuring goods and services is a major element of cleaning and the competitive tendering process contributes to a cost-effective service. Through a combination of joint-board tenders and addressing value for money and environmental aspects, the Purchasing Units make a positive contribution to the Cleaning Service. There is little doubt that the proposed move to a single service in ESA can bring about even greater opportunities for efficiency savings and a more co-ordinated approach. If a single service is to be established within the ESA it will be necessary to develop a means of financing the service over the medium to longer-term Strengths Full service costs are identified for central Cleaning Services The potential for improving value for money has been identified Systems of accountability and reporting are in existence Management Information Systems are in use There is adherence to relevant procurement legislation The Centre for Procurement Expertise standard has been achieved Joint-ELB tendering through a lead board has been adopted, which is a model for the ESA Promoting value for money through purchasing goods and services Taking account of environmental aspects and whole life costs Areas for Improvement The need to: Apply expenditure codes consistently Identify more easily full service costs for school-based Cleaning Services Establish a Key Performance Indicator for the annual cost of cleaning per square metre Increase the levels of income generation Establish an increased period of time applicable to SLAs Establish opportunities for suppliers and service managers to meet routinely 8.9 RECOMMENDATIONS The single Cleaning Service should endeavour to: R8.1 To apply expenditure codes across the service in a consistent manner R8.2 To identify full service costs for school-based cleaning in a transparent manner R8.3 To establish a Key Performance Indicator for the annual cost of cleaning per square metre R8.4 To develop an income generation strategy to optimise potential revenue R8.5 To develop a Service Level Agreement, effective over a 2-3 year period R8.6 To retain the Centre for Procurement Expertise standard with the ESA R8.7 To establish a mechanism for routine dialogue between suppliers (and potential suppliers) and service managers Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 64

65 9.0 APPRAISAL OPTIONS 9.1 INTRODUCTION For the review, appraisals of economic and qualitative factors have been undertaken. Assessments were made of small, medium and large schools and the suitability of single service, school-based and private sector providers. The findings indicate that, although some schools appear to benefit from employing their own cleaners, there are distinct advantages from using a single Cleaning Service. 9.2 ECONOMIC APPRAISAL This appraisal has compared ELB and school based cleaning costs to offer an indicator on the most economically viable options for schools. Insufficient comparable data was available from the private sector for reasons of commercial sensitivity. Comparisons were made of unit costs between BELB, (which comprises nearly all school-based cleaning) and WELB (a centrally based service) as an indicator.. These comparisons show that the WELB at m 2 is 4.5% more expensive than BELB at 9.85 m 2. However WELB has included 8% to their costs to cover management, supervision, training and administrative expenditure, which are not reflected in the BELB costs. Direct cost factors attributable to the respective cleaning services are shown in Table 20. Table 20: Direct cost factors Cost factor ELB service School based service Staffing Materials Equipment Maintenance Management & Supervision X Training X Administration X Source: ELBs 9.3 QUALITATIVE APPRAISAL In addition to the economic exercise, the review team has carried out a qualitative appraisal of the Cleaning Service. The purpose of this appraisal has been to examine a number of non-cost factors associated with cleaning, relate these factors to a range of schools and try to identify the most suitable type of service. Different models of service delivery were applied: school-based service, single service and private sector provision. Eleven key non-economic factors were identified and defined at the beginning of the exercise. The possible effects of these were considered in relation to the type of school. The factors considered were: The level of administrative burden on schools Working relations between the school and service provider Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 65

66 The service provider s knowledge of customers needs and priorities Risk management and the optimum transfer of risk Effective training and development of cleaning staff Compliance with health and safety regulations Flexibility of service in response to school s needs Quality of advice and support Role and management of the building supervisor Quality of communications and levels of contact Service quality, standards and monitoring The factors were applied to schools of the following classifications, as defined by LMS criteria: Small primary (1-100 pupils) Medium primary ( pupils) Large primary (301+ pupils) Small post-primary (1-200 pupils) Medium post-primary ( pupils) Large post-primary (551+ pupils) Results of the exercise are shown in Table 21, with a maximum of 33 points available (11 factors x maximum of 3 points per factor). Table 21: Non-Economic Appraisal School Type School-based Service Single Service Private Sector Provider Small primary Medium primary Large primary Small post-primary Medium post-primary Large post-primary Source: CMSU According to Table 21, the most suitable method of cleaning at present for the majority of schools is through a single service. This is mainly due to the education authority being the ultimate risk holder for the schools, expertise in training staff, knowledge of customers needs, development of customer confidence and trust, levels of advice and support and the ability to clean to a high standard. The private sector currently trails behind as a result of its relative lack of knowledge of schools and working relations due to the low number of schools in which it operates. It is recognised that over time, with increased representation, these disadvantages for the private sector may diminish. However, the most significant outcome was the recognition that small schools benefit from a single service, which runs contrary to the operations of most ELBs and could be an area for development by a single service. Larger schools may have the resources and economies of scale to manage the Cleaning Service in-house through their building supervisory staff and senior management teams, which sometimes Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 66

67 include bursars. The fact that larger schools frequently avail of the ELBs Cleaning Service is a measure of the overall benefits provided. 9.4 CONCLUSIONS The economic and qualitative appraisals have highlighted the benefits of different Cleaning Service providers to schools. The decision over which service provider to select is a choice for each school, depending on its individual needs and situation. Access to a range of providers promotes competition, which should lead to improved standards across the education sector. The single service might attract customers through its number of unique selling points, its ability to reduce the administrative burden on schools or the delivery of value for money. If it ceases to be attractive to schools then its customer base will reduce and the single service will no longer be a viable option. It is crucial that the single service strives to continuously improve and this will be demonstrated by a high percentage of satisfied customers. Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 67

68 10.0 PARTNERSHIP ARRANGEMENTS 10.1 INTRODUCTION The establishment of the ESA from the major educational bodies in NI offers the opportunity to adopt an alternative method of delivering support services to schools and other educational estate. In recent years many private and public sector organisations have implemented a facilities management system and developed an integrated approach to service delivery. The private sector markets FM through emphasising the benefits to an organisation in receiving quality support services thus enabling that organisation to concentrate on its core business development. Hard and Soft FM FM is the delivery of two or more services through a co-ordinated management structure, which can involve staff working across different disciplines such as catering and cleaning. In organisations the actual services can vary but essentially FM can be considered in two ways; hard FM which consists of services that are responsible for the structure and fabric of the buildings (architectural, mechanical and electrical and building maintenance functions) and soft FM comprising, for example, cleaning, catering and security. FM has become widespread as a means of maximising the use of resources. In a similar vein, the Bain Report promotes the notion of collaborating and sharing to help sustain provision and enable human and material resources to be used more effectively and efficiently. FM also enhances proposals for Area-Based Planning for schools. A proposal to implement a hard FM system in education has been put forward in a report entitled New Procurement and Delivery Arrangements for the Schools Estate, produced by PriceWaterhouseCoopers and commissioned by the DE. This document recommends the delivery of integrated services within the revised education arrangements through an Education Infrastructure Procurement Service. To complement this approach, the review of the Cleaning Service has been broadened to investigate the potential of the ESA adopting an in-house soft FM approach in service delivery. This investigation is predicated on the need for more flexible and responsive support services to meet the needs of schools at a time of significant change. Education must contend with initiatives like the Bain Report, Extended Schools Programme and the RPANI in an environment where it is becoming more difficult for services to recruit and retain staff. This chapter examines the suitability of adopting an in-house soft FM approach, a potential management framework and the implementation process SUITABILITY OF SOFT FM APPROACH To address the question of suitability, comparisons were made with organisations across the public sector in UK. Based on site visits to local authorities, hospital trusts, further education institutes, universities and voluntary grammar schools, it was ascertained that many of these bodies are moving to a soft FM system and are at Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 68

69 different stages of the transformation. A majority have, at present, established a common management structure with FM managers and area supervisors. However, the operational workforce continues to perform in separate disciplines. A significant minority of organisations have developed fully-integrated systems employing FM operatives, who provide two or more services. Indeed, a survey of 250 local authorities in 2005 by APSE showed that 41% have combined catering, cleaning and caretaking (building supervision) services into an integrated FM type structure. A key driver in these developments has been a move towards multi-skilling of the workforce Benefits of a Soft FM Approach Investigations into the public and private sectors illustrate a clear trend towards FM, which has benefited the organisations and their users. These benefits include: Single point of contact for customers Customers able to concentrate on core business Fewer posts required, reducing recruitment difficulties More highly skilled workforce Mix of part and full-time positions to facilitate potential recruits Enhanced employee package with improved career progression opportunities More interesting and enriched posts, reducing staff turnover Reduced costs of recruitment, training and administration Greater consistency of approach Increased flexibility Fewer interfaces between services Improved longer-term security for support services Sheffield Hallam University provides an integrated FM function comprising portering, cleaning, catering, security and reception. The aim is to provide service excellence and value for money at all times by anticipating and understanding the needs of our customers and enhancing the student experience. The North Down and Ards Institute has established FM, including caretaking, cleaning, grounds maintenance and events organisation. Although the services are provided through the private sector, the Institute s FM manager contends that the change to a FM approach has brought about increased efficiencies and value for money. Hospital trusts operate FM through catering, security, portering, laundry and Cleaning Services. In larger trusts, with sufficient economies of scale, operational staff are normally responsible for a single service. However, in smaller organisations, a more integrated approach is employed. The latter situation would compare more readily to that of schools. South Lanarkshire operates a fully integrated service with FM managers and supervisors responsible for multiple disciplines such as cleaning, catering and crossing patrols. Operational staff, referred to as Facility Assistants, are assigned to job families, whereby all jobs in a service, which are linked and have similarities, are grouped into a family. In Scotland the FM approach has been Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 69

70 taken to another level through the establishment of Tayside Contracts. This public sector organisation delivers a range of services to 3 council areas (Angus, Dundee and Perth) and has generated significant benefits through maximising resources and generating economies of scale. The survey of schools in NI shows that nearly all principals (94.8%), governors (93.7%) and heads of educational estate (92.3%) would prefer a single point of contact with the ESA for a range of services. Discussions with principals also reinforce this strong support for FM Challenges of a Soft FM Approach To ensure balance in this report it has been necessary to compare and contrast potential gains with any likely shortfalls and some challenges have been identified: Ensuring continuity of services through the change process Re-skilling of all managers, supervisors and staff Changing working patterns Developing skills and expertise in the range of disciplines, particularly in the short to medium-term Maintaining a more structured and co-ordinated management approach Absence of one person impacts on two or more services Managing the change and reassuring staff Job evaluating revised posts It is important to acknowledge these challenges and to appreciate that other organisations have previously confronted and overcome them on their journeys to adopting FM. Discussions with many of these organisations have emphasised that the benefits outweigh the drawbacks. The trades unions expressed a general desire to adopt soft FM if it resulted in a more highly skilled and secure workforce and agreement that jobs would be evaluated in accordance with the changes in roles and responsibilities Potential Soft FM Services The Partnership Arrangements Working Group looked at potential services for their inclusion under a soft FM umbrella. Discussions were held with various five-elb officer groups representing catering, cleaning, energy and environment, grounds maintenance, health and safety and transport. East Dunbartonshire Council, undergoing a similar exercise in 2004, identified cleaning, portering, catering, school crossing patrols, grounds maintenance and waste management as appropriate soft FM services. Suitable services for soft FM through the ESA were identified as cleaning, catering, school crossing patrol, waste management and health and safety. The common factors being that they can be provided directly by the education authority, involve many people already in two or more jobs and can achieve economies of scale. The group also considered grounds maintenance and home to school transport but held the view that these services are area based and not normally associated with any particular school or localised clusters of schools. Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 70

71 From the survey a significant minority of cleaning staff (31.5%) have additional jobs in their schools. Many of these jobs are in areas such as catering, school crossing patrols and supervisory assistants. In many respects, operational staff already work in FM but without the appropriate management structure. Data from NEELB indicate that 358 cleaners from a total of 826 (43.3%) have two or more jobs in their schools. A further 32.2% of staff across the boards have secondary jobs outside of school. In effect, almost 64% of cleaning staff currently have two or more jobs. The operations of the services can, to a large degree, dovetail enabling post holders to carry out two or more tasks in a school, for example: 8.30am to 9.00am School Crossing Patrol 9.00am to 2.00pm Catering 2.30pm to 3.30pm School Crossing Patrol 3.00pm to 5.00pm Cleaning Waste management is becoming an increasingly high profile element of service delivery and the cleaning and catering services create large amounts of waste. For example, BELB through a pilot recycled tonnes of waste in Although this is a relatively small amount compared to the total waste generated, this figure could be increased through a concerted approach across the education sector. This service would be a key component of FM through: Managing the waste created by FM services Managing the waste created by the schools Measuring the waste and the amount recycled Encouraging reduction in waste at source Promoting sustainability Potential income generation from recycling Health and safety are relevant as the other proposed services each carry an inherent level of risk. Due to the probable number of people involved, a FM structure would warrant its own dedicated expertise through a health and safety practitioner POTENTIAL FM FRAMEWORK Investigations of other FM organisations highlight a relatively common configuration of their frameworks. Each has an overall FM director or senior manager, supported by area managers and area supervisors, local supervisors and operatives. The actual numbers of managers and supervisors are directly related to the geographical areas of responsibility and the number of sites. In most ELBs, embryos of FM frameworks have evolved and provide a mix of support services as shown in Table 22. Although there is strategic direction and control, at present these services are not integrated at supervisory and operational levels. Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 71

72 Table 22: ELBs Multi-Disciplinary Service Delivery ELB Manager s Title Services Involved BELB FM manager Building maintenance, catering, cleaning, grounds maintenance and health and safety NEELB Direct service organisation manager Cleaning, grounds maintenance and vehicle maintenance SEELB Contracts services Catering, cleaning and grounds manager maintenance SELB Support service manager Catering, cleaning, procurement and transport Source: ELBs The ESA Implementation Team produced a draft Organisational Design, 2 nd Tier Structure document in May The proposed arrangement incorporates a directorate of Education Support Services and this directorate includes catering, cleaning and school crossing patrols (as part of transport). This structure could accommodate the proposed soft FM approach. The corporate health and safety and waste management functions are included in the Area Planning, Infrastructure and Investment directorate. However, it is envisaged that these functions would integrate with the soft FM approach at an operational level and co-ordinate activities with other directorates through a corporate approach. The geographical scale of the ESA would probably warrant FM being managed and supervised at NI, regional, area and local levels. Regional might compare to current ELB areas of responsibility and the local element refers to clusters of schools, as envisaged in the Bain Report. Dispersion of the clusters would depend on the urban and rural settings. A local FM supervisor might be responsible for a cluster of schools and oversee delivery of the services. The actual delivery in schools would comply with the wishes of the particular customer. The building supervisor is the most suitable person to supervise services at a school level but this might not be appropriate to the needs of all locations. It is possible for the building supervisor to become an employee of the FM provider but that would run contrary to the current trend. Most respondents to the surveys think that the building supervisor should be managed by the school principal or head of educational estate. Dialogue with building supervisors indicates their desire to remain as employees of the schools yet play a role as the link person to the FM provider. Undoubtedly the situation would have to be addressed individually in each location, based on customer choice. The result would probably be a combination of building supervisors managed by either principals/heads of educational estate or the FM provider, supplemented by site FM supervisors, where required. The effective management of communications and interfaces would be addressed through regular and routine meetings, clear lines of responsibility and the development of trust, confidence and relationships over time. Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 72

73 10.4 IMPLEMENTATION Evidence from other organisations supports the notion that implementation must be carefully planned and executed. A range of methods has been employed including small scale pilot schemes (Gateshead Council and East Dunbartonshire), area based projects (Tayside Contracts and Glasgow Council) and initial integration of two or three services (Edinburgh Council). In all cases, after a suitable length of time (approximately 6 to 12 months) the system is evaluated through monitoring standards, feedback from staff and customer consultation. No extension of the process is undertaken until the evaluation is judged to be successful. It is important to establish service baselines and parameters of success prior to embarking on initial implementation. These might include levels of customer satisfaction, complaints and responsiveness, adherence to quality standards and comparisons with previous performance. It is sensible to trial FM initially with customers who are in favour of the approach to ensure a relatively enthusiastic reception to the initiative, provide time for the changes to embed and help to overcome inevitable teething problems. Delivering the training, development and re-skilling of the workforce is a complex challenge in moving towards FM and will require considerable resources. Meeting this challenge is linked to the agreed method of implementation and is more easily achieved through a staged process. It is important that managers, supervisors and operators are enabled through a comprehensive support programme. More detailed advice can be obtained from the various organisations that have previously undergone the transformation. FM is essentially about enabling schools and other educational establishments to concentrate on their core business. The FM provider will have to be flexible and responsive to customers needs and establish mechanisms to continuously improve standards of service. It will be necessary to define quality standards through service specifications as part of a SLA and a further development would be to incorporate these service standards into a Customer Charter CONCLUSIONS This fundamental review has primarily focused on the Cleaning Service and has only briefly considered the potential for in-house soft FM within the ESA. Although a number of possible benefits and challenges have been identified and methods of implementation and possible frameworks looked at, there is need for a more thorough investigation before any decisions could be made. Value for money, the ability to meet the needs of customers and a reduction in the administrative burden are the defining factors in the ultimate success of such an approach. If customers are dissatisfied with the package, they will source the services elsewhere. Before embarking on the road to FM delivery of services, it is vital that commitment from senior management is assured. Establishing FM is a multifaceted and time Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 73

74 consuming process of change management, requiring enthusiasm, dedication and vision. Nevertheless, successful implementation can bring many benefits to the organisation, its workforce and its customers Strengths The delivery of in-house soft FM is suitable through the ESA Most customers, in principle, favour adopting soft FM A significant minority of cleaning staff currently have two or more jobs in school The operations of soft FM services can dovetail through the working day The foundations of soft FM frameworks exist in ELBs The proposed ESA structure facilitates a soft FM approach Areas for Improvement The need to: Develop further the appropriate range of skills by managers, supervisors and operational staff Clarify the role of building supervisors in FM 10.6 RECOMMENDATIONS The ESA should endeavour to: R10.1 Carry out an extensive cost benefit analysis into the delivery of ESA support services through soft FM R10.2 Undertake a thorough investigation into the practical arrangements and timetable for implementing soft FM R10.3 Carry out a skills audit of managers, supervisors and operational staff in potential FM services to ascertain a baseline R10.4 Carry out a training needs analysis of potential FM managers, supervisors and operational staff Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 74

75 11.0 EQUALITY ISSUES 11.1 INTRODUCTION Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Order 1998 obliges ELBs to promote equality of opportunity across nine dimensions and to encourage good relations across three of these areas: religion, race and political opinion. The Cleaning Service has the opportunity through the promotion of tolerance and understanding, to contribute positively to equality of opportunity and good relations in the education sector. The nine dimensions referred to are: Persons of different religious belief Persons of different political opinion Persons of different racial groups Persons of different age Persons of different marital status Persons of different sexual orientation Men and women generally Persons with a disability and persons without Persons with dependants and persons without Part of the fundamental review survey sought to identify any general issues or problems relating to the provision of equal opportunities across the equality dimensions and good relations categories. It also sought specific information on actual or potential adverse effects on equality of opportunity and good relations. Information on the different needs, experiences, issues and priorities of equality categories was also requested. This data will contribute to any further requirement on the ESA or the DE to equality screen or undertake Equality Impact Assessments (EQIA) of proposed service policy. In 2001, the ELBs carried out screening of all their policies in accordance with the legislation. ELBs and their services also have legal obligations in respect of the: Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 1995 (Amendment) Regulations (NI) 2004 Employment Equality (Age) Regulations NI 2006 Race Relations Order (Amendment) Regulations (NI) 2003 Work and Families Act 2006 This chapter describes the consultation carried out and identifies any issues affecting the designated groups CONSULTATION As for the other aspects of this review, consultation has been undertaken through questionnaire surveys and structured meetings. Surveys of school principals, governors and cleaning staff were carried out to establish baseline data and identify issues relating to the provision of equal opportunities. Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 75

76 Approaches were made to consult with the Joint Consultative Forum for the Education Sector. This body comprises representatives from the community and voluntary sectors, public authorities, trades unions, the DE and the NI Human Rights Commission and has been established to consider matters of equality, human rights and greater inclusiveness. However, due to time constraints, it proved impractical to meet this forum; therefore meetings or discussions were held with representatives of individual umbrella organisations including the Northern Ireland Council for Ethnic Minorities (NICEM), Disability Action, Coalition on Sexual Orientation (COSO) and Age Concern. Matters discussed included: The importance of cleaning contributing to a safe and healthy school environment Health and safety issues Addressing inequalities, including opportunities for training and development and careers within and outside of single Cleaning Service provider Promoting equality and good relations Reducing potential for discrimination and intolerance Training, development and awareness The implications of a single service under the ESA (consistency of approach etc) Adopting a FM approach (employment opportunities, job enrichment etc) 11.3 GENDER The survey of a representative sample of cleaning staff shows that most (84.3%) are female. Anecdotal evidence would support this finding. In terms of promoting equal opportunities between genders, such a finding underlines the need to attempt to broaden its recruitment base in order to encourage more males to seek employment in the Cleaning Service. Very few respondents (2.6% of school principals, governors and cleaning staff) believe there is an adverse impact on equality of opportunity in relation to gender. Undoubtedly, the gender make-up of the staff is historically linked to the part-time status and conditions of relatively low pay, combined with the perception that cleaning is female work. Nevertheless, in changing times when working patterns are becoming more accommodating and the potential for full-time posts is increasing, it is reasonable to broaden the recruitment base to encourage more males into the service DISABILITY Very few staff (1%) have a disability according to the survey. Such a low representation of people with disabilities in the cleaning workforce, though it might be typical of the industry and other types of employment, presents a challenge in terms of equal opportunity. This is particularly so when account is taken of the fact that one adult in five in the NI population has a disability. The DDA gives people with disabilities rights in employment and outlaws harassment. It also places duties on public authorities to promote positive attitudes towards disabled people and to encourage participation by disabled people in public life. The Equality Commission for Northern Ireland has produced A Guide for Public Authorities relating to the DDA ( Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 76

77 Although very few respondents (5.6%) believe there is an adverse impact on equality of opportunity in relation to disability, discussions with Disability Action highlight the need to take positive action to encourage greater participation by people with disabilities, through making reasonable adjustments in relation to: Recruitment and selection Advertise with disability organisations Extend the application process where possible Include a welcoming statement Develop partnerships with support organisations Training and development Provide disability equality training to panels Pay particular attention to reasonable adjustments with training Avoid making assumptions about people with disabilities Track career progression Actively encourage disabled employees to apply for training and promotion Ensure that information on training is accessible Ensure training delivery is accessible Performance issues Appraisal system to take account of reasonable adjustments Record disability-related absences separately Consider additional reasonable adjustments to improve performance Inclusion and engagement Consult disabled employees Consider an employee focus group Train supervisors and co-workers Communicate existence of support systems The Disablement Advisory Service, of the Department for Employment and Learning, has developed the Workable Programme (formerly Employment Support) to assist people with disabilities and help them to remain in employment ( The Equality Commission for Northern Ireland has also produced a guide for employers Balancing Disability Rights and Health and Safety Requirements to provide advice on discrimination, reasonable adjustments and health and safety matters ETHNICITY Over recent years there has been a major increase of foreign nationals into NI, mainly from the European Union member states. The Employment and Learning Minister, Sir Reg Empey MLA, considers migrant workers to be a valuable asset to society. In July 2007, he said migrant workers play an important part in shaping our local communities and in contributing to a more robust Northern Ireland economy. Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 77

78 The survey reveals that 3.7% of cleaning staff are not of British (52.8%) or Irish (43.5%) identity. This figure, although still relatively small, will undoubtedly rise over the short to medium-term. At the time of the 2001 census, ethnic minorities constituted 0.85% of the NI population, which has in all likelihood increased. The cleaning workforce includes nationalities such as Lithuanian, Dutch, Portuguese, Russian and Polish, many of whom might not speak English as a second language. Currently there are concentrated pockets of specific nationalities, although these might disperse over time. The service has a duty of care to all staff and there are challenges in this area in respect of communications, health and safety, training and customer relations, which must be addressed. On a positive note none of the principals or governors, who responded, think there are negative issues in this area and very few (3.3%) of cleaning staff believe there are adverse impacts. In fact, from scheduled visits and one-to-one meetings, those schools that employ foreign nationals find them to be extremely hard working, dedicated and committed employees. Greater concern was expressed about the transient nature of the workforce. Only a very few cleaners expressed negative opinions about the recruitment of migrant workers with comments such local jobs for local people. With the difficulties experienced in recruiting people into the service, these comments appear to be misplaced. Many staff welcome the contribution of the foreign nationals. The Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister has developed a Strategy for Racial Equality for Northern Ireland This strategy has six aims: Elimination of racial inequality Equal protection Equality of service provision Participation Dialogue Capacity building The meeting with NICEM highlighted the need to increase participation and a sense of belonging of people from minority ethnic backgrounds. Key components of such a strategy are recruitment processes that facilitate applicants; for example, advertisements and application forms in different languages, translation support for interviews, training that encourages independence and mentoring support. It is clear that the service could not function so effectively without the input of migrant workers and more must be done to encompass a sense of teamwork, highlight the contribution of foreign nationals and stress the benefits to all of the service being successful AGE The Employment Equality (Age) Regulations (NI) 2006 prohibit direct and indirect discrimination at work on the grounds of age. In support of this legislation the Age Partnership Group launched a national campaign to promote best practice, stating Employers who ignore the wealth of experience shared by older workers are making a big mistake ( Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 78

79 From the survey, the age profile of the operational cleaning workforce is shown in Table 23. Table 23: Age profile of the workforce Age Group Percentage (%) Under to to to to Over Source: CMSU The results in Table 23 confirm an apparent imbalance in the composition of the workforce in that a majority (74.1%) is aged 41 or more, and a significant minority (34%) over 51 years. Taking these figures into account, with only a minority of staff being 30 or under, there are implications for future workforce planning; to encourage younger people into the service, retirement planning for more senior members of staff, for better career progression and placing more emphasis on the favourable terms and conditions of service. However, nearly all respondents think there are no adverse impacts by the Cleaning Service on the issues of age. The returns break down as follows: Staff 96.2% Principals 97.0% Governors 99.2% Overall 97.3% Consultation with Age Concern identified no apparent issues for the Cleaning Service relating to age PEOPLE WITH DEPENDENTS AND CARERS RESPONSIBILITIES The Work and Families Act 2006 gives certain carers the right to request flexible working such as changing hours. In previous years this might have proved difficult for the Cleaning Service to accommodate as the working patterns were restricted. Recent initiatives have resulted in school opening times being extended and have increased the potential for greater flexibility of working hours. The Act defines a carer as someone who cares for, or expects to care for, a husband, wife or partner, a relative such as a child, uncle, sister, parent-in-law, son-in-law or grandparent, or someone who falls into neither category but lives at the same address as the carer. Two organisations operating in this area are Carers Northern Ireland ( and Carers Association ( Results of the survey indicate that a minority of staff (23.5%) have caring responsibilities. Although a minority, this equates to approximately 1,050 cleaners who are defined as carers and have significant responsibilities outside of their work. Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 79

80 With such a large number of people it is clearly important to try to address their needs wherever possible. It is beneficial to ensure an appropriate work-life balance for people with caring responsibilities to ensure they support their dependents effectively and in order to facilitate their retention in the service. In respect of Section 75, very few respondents (2.5% of staff, 2.0% of school principals and 2.4% of governors) consider that there are any adverse impacts on carers by the Cleaning Service CONCLUSIONS The report has identified a number of issues associated with the employment of equality groups. There is recognition that the difficulties of recruitment could be alleviated through reaching out to specific target groups and actively promoting increased participation. Active promotion aimed at increasing participation in the workforce by males and people with disabilities could in the long-term create a more balanced workforce, one reflecting, as far as possible, the composition of the NI working population Strengths Relative to the NI population, a high percentage of foreign nationals work in the Cleaning Service A high percentage of people with caring responsibilities are employed in the service There is a good level of compliance with equality legislation Areas for Improvement The need to address the: Low percentage of male employees in the workforce Low percentage of employees with disabilities in the workforce Age imbalance of the workforce 11.9 RECOMMENDATIONS The Cleaning Service should endeavour to: R11.1 Develop a recruitment strategy to encourage greater participation by males and people with disabilities R11.2 Increase a sense of belonging for people from ethnic minorities through the promotion of team work and emphasising the contribution of foreign nationals to the service R11.3 Develop a workforce strategy to harmonise the age profile of the cleaning staff R11.4 Review the work-life balance provision to ensure the retention of staff with caring responsibilities R11.5 Equality screen and, if required, carry out an equality impact assessment of the policy response to this review Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 80

81 12.0 SERVICE DELIVERY MODEL 12.1 INTRODUCTION This review has scrutinized key aspects of the Cleaning Service, identified strengths and areas for improvement and made a series of recommendations. The purpose of this chapter is to collate the key findings and propose an appropriate delivery model for NI. Although a preferred delivery model is proposed, it is necessary to take account of the current systems in place, which are a mixture of ELB, school-based and private sector provision. The reality of the situation is that schools have freedom of choice and, on the establishment of a single service by the ESA, most schools will initially continue with their present systems. Feedback from customers has shown a general reluctance to change their methods of cleaning and they will only be willing to change provider based on evidence of a combination of better quality, increased value for money and greater efficiency. Based on the findings, this review proposes establishing a single Cleaning Service within the ESA; this single service to be available to all schools in NI and ensure the continuation of choice. The single service would be able to offer a range of unique selling points and deliver increased economies of scale. As alluded to earlier in the report there has been an apparent decline in the drive towards building PPP schools and this programme might now have a limited impact on the Cleaning Service and the role of the building supervisors. As a result, the single service model proposed by this review will, primarily, be based upon the delivery of cleaning to non-ppp schools RATIONALE FOR PREFERRED MODEL The choice of preferred delivery model is based on a number of factors with supporting evidence documented throughout the report. See Table 24. Table 24: Options considered Factors to be considered Single Service School-based service Productivity - KPI - VFM - Research Mixed Consistency of standards setting & monitoring Customer satisfaction - Research - Unit Costs - PI X Potential for increased economies of scale Reduce bureaucratic burden on schools X Strategic approach to NI education X X Equality for all schools X X Favourable for staff T & C X Source: Building Cleaning Review Private sector X Potentially (if one contract for all NI). X Potentially (if one contract for all NI). Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 81

82 After reviewing the three main options and considering the original Terms of Reference and the Secretary of State s agreement on the Cleaning Service exemption from transfer for PPP projects, it is appropriate to investigate further the single service option in more depth; referred to in Table 25. Table 25: Rationale for preferred model Factor Evidence Strategic approach Workshops and qualitative research propose this approach being facilitated through a single central service with regard to choice and supported autonomy Acceptable cleaning Implemented and monitored through a single service standard Consistency across NI education sector in relation to standards and monitoring Customer Feedback High levels of customer satisfaction (Principals:76% - ELB based) (Principals:78% - VFM with ELB based) Implementation of a stakeholder consultation strategy Productivity Productivity levels competitive with industry standards across the UK (39 m 2 per hour for ELB-based service) Requirement to benchmark performance Maximising economies of scale, to include all of the educational estate with scope for further income generation. Staffing Issues Training need for a corporate based approach. Career opportunities through a single service structure. Favourable terms and conditions of service (89% staff satisfaction) Pay (78% staff satisfaction.) Economic Appraisal Single and school-based service unit costs comparable Increased economies of scale through a single service Transparency of costs with a single service Qualitative Appraisal Single service most advantageous in the majority of schools Source: Building Cleaning Review Based on the above table it is clear that there is a need for a single service to provide choice to schools and promote competition with other service providers ensuring value for money across the sector. Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 82

83 12.3 SERVICE DELIVERY MODEL Diagram 1 schematically describes the components of the proposed single service model. Diagram 1: Components of Single Service Delivery Model Service standard & Quality of Service Acceptable standard of clean Consistency of standard across NI Routine monitoring of standards Meet School/ Parent/ Pupil expectations Staff training H & S and Environmental considerations Customer Satisfaction Measure customer satisfaction Reduce bureaucratic burden on schools Schools able to concentrate on core business Complaints procedures Meeting needs Advice & Support Potential for FM Value for Money Measuring VfM School/ Parents/ Pupil expectations Procurement Economies of scale Sharing of resources Choice/ Supported autonomy Schools & Educational Estate Performance Management Strategic perspective Productivity Financial management Performance Indicators Fit for purpose Target setting Income generation Accountability Staffing Issues Terms & Conditions Recruitment & Retention Attendance Management Absence cover Training Trade Unions Equality Raise the profile of the service as a career path Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 83

84 The structure of the single service must encompass the geographical spread of NI and still maintain a local presence. The management structure, from the ESA to regional and area districts, should be of optimum size to accommodate the customer base yet remain cost effective. At the local level, the workforce should reflect developments such as school clustering and collaboration, perhaps through flexible and mobile area cleaning teams. Furthermore, as the customer base expands it is important to increase capacity and capability appropriately through effective planning. To identify specifications for a single service, individual discussions were held with the service managers in each ELB, followed by a joint workshop. From these discussions a number of common themes arose: Implementation must ensure continuity of service and minimise the impact on customers and staff The single service will succeed or otherwise based on its ability to meet customers needs, provide quality and demonstrate value for money A single service must plan to develop the capacity to expand its customer base according to the level of interest from schools Schools which decide to not join the single service arrangement should be charged for any advice, support and training accordingly The role of and interface with the building supervisor must be agreed at a local level according to the customer s wishes (PPP and non-ppp schools) Regardless of the service provider, schools must be cleaned to a recognised acceptable standard and be subject to routine monitoring Good practice within the boards should be adopted by the single service The review has recognised good practice developed by the ELBs and by external organisations and it will be beneficial to bring all these examples together to produce a high quality Cleaning Service. Illustrations of good practice are: Dedicated training centres for cleaners and building supervisors (BELB) Customer charter specifying standards, frequencies, complaints procedure and contact details (NEELB) Cleaning site supervisors to reduce the burden on building supervisors and schools (SEELB) Dedicated support and liaison with schools and building supervisors (SELB) Model of a single Cleaning Service being provided by an ELB to all schools and educational estate (WELB) Mobile cleaning teams dedicated to particular schools and to provide relief cover Transparent and detailed breakdown of charges to customers Use of technology in service functions such as site surveys and monitoring The single service should deliver a set of core functions to customers to meet their normal requirements. These functions should be described in the SLA, for which an agreed annual charge is made. Non-core functions for discrete events or incidents should be charged separately. The single service could also establish specialist services such as window and high level cleaning to bring value to the service and to generate additional income. Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 84

85 SLAs should be established for a period of 2-3 years between the schools and single service to encourage planning and investment and also to bring a degree of continuity and assurance to the process. Schools should be able to opt out during this period if the service consistently fails to meet specified standards. The model should be so designed that, if the ESA adopts a soft FM approach, the Cleaning Service can be accommodated within the structure. The Cleaning Service could provide a template for FM in respect of the management structure, customer charter, SLA, training centres and transparency of charges MARKETING AND PROMOTING THE SERVICE A major contributor to a successful organisation or service is the marketing element. It is likely that the single service will initially retain the schools that are currently in the ELBs arrangements, which would leave a large untapped pool of potential customers. Marketing will be crucial to increase the customer base from the remaining schools and educational estate. As part of the review process, service managers participated in a workshop entitled Marketing your Service Area. This workshop was organised in response to a broad recognition between managers, staff, customers and other stakeholders that the service is perceived as low status and adopts a low profile relative to other education support functions. A spokesperson for a major trades union commented on the need to emphasise the skills and professionalism of the Cleaning Service and promote a positive image. It was acknowledged that a marketing strategy and plan were essential to raise the profile of the service, increase awareness of the vital contribution of cleaning and help to attract potential customers and staff. Similar approaches have been employed previously within ELBs to advocate the benefits of using the cleaning and other services. For example, WELB undertook a programme in the 1990s to market the proposed central Cleaning Service to all schools. As part of the initiative, a promotional document was developed and presented to school principals at a series of meetings. The programme was successful in that all schools are now within the board s arrangement. A marketing strategy should ideally promote a vision of a customer-orientated service; professional, flexible and responsive; offer a range of benefits such as a reduction in administrative burden and value for money; and provide high quality and specialist services. Attainment of quality awards, referred to in section 5.4, would help to reinforce a positive image. Similar benefits should be communicated to all staff CONCLUSIONS The results of this review, including the economic and qualitative appraisals, have shown that all types of customer can benefit from the availability of a single Cleaning Service provided by the ESA. The key point is that all schools will have a choice of provider that best suits their own individual circumstances. The single service will Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 85

86 survive only through its own merits and its ability to meet customers needs. The measures of success such as the KPIs, MPIs and growth of customer baseline, will ultimately determine the value for money and fitness for purpose of the service. The implementation of a single service must be carefully planned and executed. It is crucial that the service does not overreach itself and engage too many customers in the early stages or that too much capacity is built up without the necessary customer base. Direct consultations are necessary to evaluate the degree of customer interest in joining a single service and then the ability to match capacity to customer base as the service expands. Customers will inevitably enter the arrangements with high expectations and it is important that those expectations are matched by service delivery RECOMMENDATIONS To ensure a high quality and value for money Cleaning Service it is necessary to: R12.1 Establish a single Cleaning Service within the ESA, through convergence of the existing boards services, with an appropriate management structure to reflect the geographical area of responsibility and to maintain a local dimension R12.2 Make access to the single service available to all schools in Northern Ireland and to ascertain the level of interest from schools in entering the arrangement R12.3 Bring all other educational estate within the single service arrangement R12.4 Invite branch libraries into the cleaning arrangement through SLAs from April 2008 R12.5 Develop a timetable for expanding the customer base in accordance with service capacity and capability R12.6 Review the deployment of cleaning staff to take account of educational initiatives such as clustering and collaboration of schools and the Extended Schools Programme R12.7 Bring together the examples of recognised good practice within the operations of the single Cleaning Service R12.8 Develop a marketing strategy and plan with targets linked to market share and income generation Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 86

87 13.0 SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS 13.1 INTRODUCTION This fundamental review has taken place at a time of great change in education. The establishment of the ESA and other developments such as the Bain Report and Extended Schools Programme should be seen as a challenge for the Cleaning Service and an opportunity to continuously improve in accordance with customers needs. The recommendations collated in this chapter address key areas for development and a number of strategic issues that have come to light during the course of this review. The recommendations are related to the relevant terms of reference. As the ESA is not due to become operational until April 2009, a number of these recommendations could be implemented by the boards in the interim period. These are identified as action by ELBs. The implementation process will need careful consideration as the recommendations will initially be the concern of the ELBs and then, from April 2009, responsibility will be assumed by the ESA. It is envisaged that a second tier officer from one of the boards is appointed as the senior responsible officer to oversee the work of the service managers and to hand over the implementation process to the ESA in due course STRATEGIC RECOMMENDATIONS It is evident that the Cleaning Service is highly valued by many within the educational and wider communities and it is important to re-emphasise the high regard in which it is held. This report makes strategic recommendations to signpost the future direction over the next few years to deliver value for money. As well as being a pointer for the future, these recommendations are intended to outline a methodology for continuous improvement through raising the profile of cleaning, establishing a single service in the ESA and developing a marketing strategy. Recommendation To establish a single Cleaning Service within the ESA, through convergence of the existing boards services, with an appropriate management structure to reflect the geographical area of responsibility and to maintain a local dimension (R12.1) To raise the profile of the Cleaning Service and increase awareness of its strategic importance through lobbying central government for guaranteed funding and improved standards (R5.1) To establish an integral input into the planning process for new and refurbished buildings to ensure adequate storages facilities solely for use by the Cleaning Service and ready access to utilities (R5.14) Action by ESA ESA DE Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 87

88 To make access to the single Cleaning Service available to all schools in Northern Ireland and ascertain the level of interest from schools in joining the arrangement (R12.2) To develop a marketing strategy and plan, with targets linked to market share and income generation (R12.8) ESA and Cleaning Service ESA and Cleaning Service 13.3 Term of Reference: to clearly define the scope and standards of the Building Cleaning Service; challenging and questioning the existing arrangements and producing meaningful comparisons and benchmarks, both internally and with other external providers Recommendation To establish an acceptable cleaning standard that will apply to all educational estate regardless of the service provider with relevant liability resting with that service provider (R5.2) To incorporate the cleaning standard into a service specification, which also details the frequency of operations (R5.3) To establish internal and external monitoring systems, for application in all educational estate, which are transparent, objective and impartial (R5.4) To develop effective communications between customers and service managers through a programme of routine meetings and improved use of mobile technology (R5.6) To carry out a series of process mapping exercises to deliver consistency of processes and functions (R5.7) To develop a service manual containing operational and health and safety information for staff (R5.8) To develop a customer charter for informing customers and potential customers of service standards, operational frequencies, monitoring procedures, contact details and complaints procedure (R5.9) To formulate a service specific health and safety policy (R5.12) Action by ELBs and Cleaning Service ELBs and Cleaning Service ESA and Cleaning Service Cleaning Service ELBs and Cleaning Service ELBs and Cleaning Service Cleaning Service Cleaning Service and Health and Safety Officer Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 88

89 To develop a management performance indicator for the number of reported health and safety incidents (R5.13) To introduce a range of non-core functions in a cost effective manner to meet customers needs (R5.15) To develop a business-like identity, by a process of re-branding, displaying a positive, efficient and professional Cleaning Service (R5.16) To join the APSE Performance Networks benchmarking club (R5.17) To develop management performance indicators for staff turnover, absenteeism and training (R6.1) To obtain regular absenteeism reports from the Human Resources and Payroll system (R6.3) To apply effective internal and external communication systems in a consistent manner across the service to communicate with all stakeholders at all levels (R6.6) To address the inconsistent arrangement for terms and conditions of service with regard to the number of weeks employed in a year through the Education Joint Negotiating Council (R6.9) To apply expenditure codes across the service in a consistent manner (R8.1) To develop a service level agreement, effective over 2-3 years (R8.5) To retain the Centre for Procurement Expertise standard with ESA (R8.6) To develop a timetable for expanding the customer base in accordance with service capacity and capability (R12.5) To review the deployment of cleaning staff to take account of educational initiatives such as clustering and collaboration of schools and the Extended Schools Programme (R12.6) ELBs, Cleaning Service and Health and Safety Officer Cleaning Service Cleaning Service Cleaning Service ELBs, Cleaning Service and Human Resources Cleaning Service and Human Resources Cleaning Service Cleaning Service and JNC Cleaning Service and Finance Department Cleaning Service Purchasing Office Cleaning Service Cleaning Service Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 89

90 To bring together the examples of recognised good practice within the operations of the single Cleaning Service (R12.7) Cleaning Service 13.4 Term of Reference: to examine how current performance could be improved in value for money terms when considered as a whole service on a crossboard basis, and to anticipate how the service will operate on the implementation of the Review of Public Administration in Northern Ireland when cleaning staff will become the responsibility of a single employing authority under the proposed Education and Skills Authority Recommendation To develop key performance indicators for productivity, service quality and customer satisfaction (R5.5) Review the recruitment interview procedure to consider introducing a practical element (R6.2) To develop comprehensive and cost-effective systems for replacing absent staff over short and long-term periods (R6.4) To operate the attendance management policy consistently across the Cleaning Service (R6.5) To identify full service costs for school-based cleaning in a transparent manner (R8.2) To establish a key performance indicator for the annual cost of cleaning per square metre (R8.3) To develop an income generation strategy to optimise potential revenue (R8.4) To carry out a cost benefit analysis into the delivery of ESA support services through soft FM (R10.1) To undertake a thorough investigation into the practical arrangements and timetable for implementing soft FM (R10.2) Action by ELBs and Cleaning Service Human Resources and Cleaning Service Cleaning Service Cleaning Service and Human Resources Cleaning Service and Finance Department ELBs and Cleaning Service Cleaning Service ESA ESA Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 90

91 To carry out a skills audit of managers, supervisors and operational staff in potential FM services to ascertain a baseline (R10.3) To carry out a training needs analysis of potential FM managers, supervisors and operational staff (R10.4) To bring all other educational estate within the single Cleaning Service arrangement (R12.3) To invite branch libraries into the cleaning arrangement through service level agreements from April 2008 (R12.4) ESA ESA ESA and Cleaning Service ELBs and Cleaning Service 13.5 Term of Reference: to consider how the Building Cleaning Service could be potentially delivered alongside PPP contractors in schools, and in particular interface arrangements and implications for costs Recommendation To utilise the detailed information from organisations that deliver inhouse services in a PPP scenario in respect of interface management and service specifications (R7.1) To devise a strategy for managing interfaces in PPP schools with clearly defined roles and areas of responsibilities (R7.2) To develop a template service specification for use in PPP schools (R7.3) To establish a help desk for use by all customers (R7.4) Action by Cleaning Service Cleaning Service Cleaning Service Cleaning Service 13.6 Term of Reference: to consult with key stakeholders; taking into account the requirements under Section 75 (Statutory Duty) of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 and make recommendations for the future management and delivery of the service Recommendation To formulate an environmental policy to address aspects of sustainability and environmental awareness (R5.10) To establish a wide-ranging approach to measuring customer satisfaction on an annual basis (R5.11) To develop a comprehensive approach to training, incorporating consistent delivery of training to all staff, establishing a dedicated training budget, produce training records, promote the baseline development of staff and establish a career path for cleaners (R6.7) Action by Cleaning Service Cleaning Service Cleaning Service and Human Resources Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 91

92 To establish a child protection awareness programme for all staff in conjunction with schools (R6.8) To establish a mechanism for routine dialogue between suppliers (and potential suppliers) and service managers (R8.7) To develop a recruitment strategy to encourage greater participation by males and people with disabilities (R11.1) To increase a sense of belonging for people from ethnic minorities through the promotion of team work and emphasising the contribution of foreign nationals to the service (R11.2) To develop a workforce strategy to harmonise the age profile of the cleaning staff (R11.3) To review the work-life balance provision to ensure the retention of staff with caring responsibilities (R11.4) To equality screen and, if required, carry out an equality impact assessment of the policy response to this review (R11.5) ELBs and Cleaning Service ELBs and Cleaning Service Cleaning Service Cleaning Service Cleaning Service Cleaning Service Cleaning Service 13.7 POTENTIAL EFFICIENCIES The maximum use of scarce resources is essential to the delivery of an efficient and cost-effective service. As a result of this fundamental review, a number of potential savings have been identified. It is envisaged that savings in expenditure will be redirected within the service to areas of most need. Potential efficiency savings include: Reduction in recruitment and staff turnover costs Training of all operational staff to a specified industry standard Provision of value-added and specialist services Improved control of resources and materials Attendance management procedure Centralised relief cover More cost-effective use of cleaning site supervisors Move to a more efficient soft FM approach Management of waste Increase in income generation Broadening the customer base and increasing economies of scale Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 92

93 13.8 IMPLEMENTATION OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS Taking cognisance of the proposals of the RPANI, there will be a need for increased collaboration by educational partners in NI during the implementation period, which will apply fully to the ESA and its services. Therefore, a model for delivery of the Cleaning Service has been proposed, which incorporates both NI and local levels. The model advocates a strategic approach to planning, service standards, consultation and communications, supported through local arrangements for service delivery. It is envisaged that the model could be employed as an aid to implementing the recommendations of the fundamental review. Proposed Model NI Dimension Strategic Planning (Agreement on Core Activities and Key Objectives) Performance Management Agreement on Service Standards and Monitoring (Customer Charter) Communications Strategy Consultation Strategy Marketing Strategy Local Dimension Service Delivery (cluster schools and teams) Consultation Operational Planning Monitoring Communications Customer Care Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 93

94 BIBLIOGRAPHY Association for Public Service Excellence, Building Cleaning Briefing, February 2007, Association for Public Service Excellence, Pursuing Excellence in Local Government Volumes 1-3, Association for Public Service Excellence, Soft FM A Local Government Skill Shortages Report for Catering, Cleaning and Janitorial Services, December 2005 Audit Commission, Best Value Inspection Carmarthenshire County Council Building Cleaning Service, December 2001, Audit Commission, Best Value Inspection Liverpool City Council Building Cleaning, February 2002 Belfast Education and Library Board, Behaviour in a Learning City, January 2004, Belfast Education and Library Board, BELBCLEAN Training and Development Prospectus , 2007 British Institute of Cleaning Science, Best Value Standards, Specifications and Productivity Rates, September 1999 Department of Education for Northern Ireland, Local Management of Schools, Common Funding Formula, 2006, Department of Education for Northern Ireland, School Building Handbook, updated 2007 Department of Trade and Industry, A Guide to the 2006 TUPE Regulations for Employees, Employers and Representatives, March 2007, Director of Education, Angus Council, Forfar and Carnoustie Schools Project Implications for Facilities Management Services, June 2004, East Dunbartonshire Council, Facilities Management, November 2001, East Dunbartonshire Council, Submission in Support of Pre-Procurement Exclusion of FM Services from the PPP Schools Project, July 2004 Education and Skills Authority Implementation Team, Education and Skills Authority Organisational Design, 2 nd Tier Structure, May 2007 Equality Commission for Northern Ireland, A Guide for Public Authorities, 2007, Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 94

95 Equality Commission for Northern Ireland, Balancing Disability Rights and Health and Safety Requirements, November 2002 Health Promotion Agency for Northern Ireland, Working Towards Healthy Schools, 2007, HM Treasury, PFI: strengthening long-term partnerships, March 2006, HM Treasury, Value for Money Assessment Guidance, August 2004 Independent Strategic Review of Education, Schools for the Future Funding, Strategy, Sharing, December 2006, Office of Government Commerce, EU procurement guidance Introduction to the EU procurement rules updated, 2006, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, The Local Government Pay and Workforce Strategy, July 2005, Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister, A Racial Equality Strategy for Northern Ireland , Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister and Department of Finance and Personnel, Working Together in Financing Our Future Policy Framework for Public Private Partnerships in Northern Ireland, February 2003 PriceWaterhouseCoopers, New Procurement and Delivery Arrangements for the Schools Estate, 2005 Public Service Commission, Draft Ninth Guiding Principle and Associated Recommendations Capacity Building, March 2007 RPA Team, The Review of Public Administration in Northern Ireland, 2003, RPA Team, The Review of Public Administration in Northern Ireland Further Consultation, 2005 The British Institute of Cleaning Science, Best Value Standards, Specifications and Productivity Rates, September 1999, Warrington Borough Council, Building Cleaning Services Customer Survey, February 2006, Western Education and Library Board, Principal Consultation DSO Cleaning Service Feedback Report, September 2004, Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 95

96 This report has been prepared by the Central Management Support Unit for Education and Library Boards (CMSU). The fundamental review of the Building Cleaning Service has been part of an ongoing programme to examine all major services delivered by Education and Library Boards. Further copies of the report may be obtained from CMSU, The Southern Education and Library Board, 3 Charlemont Place, ARMAGH, BT61 9AX. Telephone: / or [email protected] This information can also be made available on request in alternative formats, including large print, on computer disc, Braille, on audiocassette and in minority languages, to meet the needs of those people who are not fluent in English. The document is also available on the website of each Education and Library Board. Fundamental Service Review: Building Cleaning 96