More than 100 school cleaners are needed across Dundee and Angus to carry out “enhanced cleaning plans” to help ensure the safety of pupils and staff.
A total of 162 school cleaner jobs are advertised by Tayside Contracts, the organisation responsible for carrying out regular cleaning duties at schools across the region.
In Angus alone there are more than 120 vacancies across 57 primary and secondary schools. In Dundee there are 32 positions available, mostly for the city’s secondary schools. Across Perth and Kinross there are five vacancies for school cleaners advertised.
The majority of the positions are temporary and, according to the advertisement, will end no later than March 2021.
“Carefully developed, enhanced cleaning plans”
When contacted about the large number of vacancies, a spokeswoman for Tayside Contracts confirmed that they were looking to hire additional cleaners in order to carry out enhanced cleaning now that pupils have returned full time.
She said: “The start of the new school term has seen the return of all pupils and staff to schools after a long break due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“During the period between March and August, a number of schools have remained open, operating as community hubs across Angus, Dundee City and Perth and Kinross Council areas.
“These hubs provided childcare for the children of key workers, to allow their parents to carry out essential work. Tayside Contracts’ cleaners, caterers and facilities employees worked tirelessly in these hubs throughout the lockdown period.
“The resumption of the new term has seen an enhancement of the cleaning regimes in schools to help ensure the safety of the pupils and staff.
“Carefully developed, enhanced cleaning plans have been implemented across all Tayside schools to minimise the risk of infection within them. To carry out these enhanced cleaning plans, there is a need for additional cleaners, predominantly during the day to undertake additional cleaning of sanitary ware and contact surfaces in order to minimise the risk of infection.
“Tayside Contracts’ employees are very proud of the contribution they make to help ensure the safety of pupils and school staff across Tayside.”
Ahead of the reopening of schools earlier this month, the Scottish Government published guidance on what measures should be introduced to ensure the safety of staff and pupils.
Included in the guidance were recommendations for schools to ensure that they have regular detergent cleaning schedules and procedures in place.
This involves “regularly touched objects and surfaces” such as desks, handles, dining tables and shared technology surfaces being cleaned at least twice a day.
Movement of people between work stations is also to be minimised and shared work spaces cleaned between each use.
