Case Study

Bancroft’s School is a private day school located in the London Borough of Redbridge. The school has approximately 1,100 pupils and is a prestigious institution, promising prospective students a world-class education and schooling experience.

The Challenge

When Samsic began the Bancroft’s School contract, a long-standing inhouse team was inherited. Operatives had a degree of complacency and there were numerous process and quality inefficiencies. The team required strong leadership to help heighten standards and new processes to be introduced to ensure any new requirements would be both adhered to and maintained.

A strong sense of anxiety in the team was additionally present, based on the transition from the previous incumbent to Samsic. The concern in the team was in danger of preventing a smooth transfer of service provider for Bancroft’s School and needed to be resolved.

The Solution

Samsic sought to work collaboratively with the team to help reassure any concerns. Part of this collaboration included making a long-standing operative in the cleaning team a dedicated site manager for Bancroft’s School – the goal being to create a strong relationship for Samsic between the operatives and Bancroft’s School management.

Samsic undertook an analysis of core and non-core services, enabling amendments to the scheduling and frequency of tasks to be made for improved service excellence. Time and attendance systems were also brought in to ensure the team would uphold professional standards.

Samsic provided more efficient equipment and materials to the operatives following the service analysis, noting that some of the tools for the job were not fit for purpose. Costs paid to subcontractors such as window cleaners and sanitary disposal services were also subject to efficiency savings, made by redistributing cleaning areas and amending chemical usage to be better suited for purpose.

A monthly quality audit takes place each month, reviewing task scheduling and changing the schedule where needed to reflect changing requirements of the site. During the COVID-19 pandemic, for example, extra janitorial input and touch-point cleaning was added.

Innovations to help improve cleaning standards were introduced, such as a new chemical treatment to reduce the build-up of body fat on swimming pool tiles, making them less slippery. Other chemical-free disinfectants and cleaning solutions are also now commonplace to keep students safe from toxins.

Support and guidance from Samsic as a wider organisation have been key in improving standards and providing a quality service for Bancroft’s School. The in-house team has access to Innovations, guidance, and a support network to help them revolutionise cleaning within the school.