School cleans

Morning all, I have been looking to get into school cleans, but I am unsure of the process. I assume that working around children there are various checks to be carried out. Can anyone that cleans school's explain each step, from who to approach to how to quote it.

I'm also based in N.I so if anyone knows what the process is here I would be grateful. There might be some regional variations, but I suspect the process is largely the same.

I also quote by time rather than counting windows. Is this wrong when quoting for schools. Any help greatly appreciated.

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I prefer to clean schools after hours, in the weekend or during holidays. Much, much faster to work when it's empty.

Only ever done two and both of them wanted them cleaned out of school hours either first thing in the morning(had to be done and dusted by 8am or in the school holidays. Not sure on the legalities as they were my old boss’s contracts but I can imagine they are getting tighter and this day and age would hope a background check is a must.


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From my experience schools are normally cleaned in half term.Not one school I have ever looked at have asked for a crb check or any form of Rams.

It may differ and depending on where you are but round here schools couldn't care less the only thing they want is cheap window cleaning.

The money in cleaning them has gone backwards.

The caretakers are normally the best route in but I've found a lot just use there friends and use your quote so their  mate can go in cheaper.I've even had a caretaker ask me for a bribe to win a job.

I priced one last month and I was the fifth quote so it shows they will just shop around to get the lowest possible price.

I have one school that I clean and have decided I'm not even going to quote them any more.

It’s only done on cheapest price it seems, so there’s no guarantee you’ll get the job & especially keeping it. A couple of cleaners I’ve spoken to said they can only clean on weekends or half terms. Might vary from scholl to school. But hey give it a go, you might get lucky. At least it’s a job you can do it in the rain. I’d be happy to take a pay cut & still earn ok money on a wet Saturday.

RWCleaning said:

It’s only done on cheapest price it seems, so there’s no guarantee you’ll get the job & especially keeping it. A couple of cleaners I’ve spoken to said they can only clean on weekends or half terms. Might vary from scholl to school. But hey give it a go, you might get lucky. At least it’s a job you can do it in the rain. I’d be happy to take a pay cut & still earn ok money on a wet Saturday.

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How/whom did you qoute to? Did you contact the school or local education authority/board

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Ok, I’ve never quoted myself, but I know 2 people who have on serpetsye schools, both put in a quote they weren’t super excited about but presumed they would get it, one was still over a £100 more than the price they had already!! We were both shocked! On that job a lad I know was domestic canvassing and knocked on a caretaker I think.

We are softwashing a school next week in half term , I thought I was waisting  my time quoting as generaly they want a cheap job , I priced it well and the manager said that my price was well with in there budget and gave me the go ahead on the spot , I was shocked , they haven’t asked for any checks to be done on me and staff no rams not evan asked for proof of insurance , they haven’t had any other quotes they said that we came highly recommended and they didnt want anyone else doing the job . This has now lead to a regular quarterly window clean as well so the moral of this storey I guess is never give up hope on this type of work , just price it well if you get it it’s a bonus if you don’t nothing lost 

Work is like buses, it comes in threes. I was quiet last week till Wednesday night and went to see about a big job. Told to begin next day and at least 2 weeks solid work. Then my regular customers started calling but they all want things done right away. I told them I would fit them in but its a waiting game. You can increase your prices when one becomes very busy which most folk do. I cleaned arch windows in the church I'm working at and its the first time in decades. Now they stand out and everyone has noticed them. Small cleans like this make some difference to old buildings. The church was soulless and now its gleaming and has it's soul back again, so an old parishioner told me.

scottish cleaning service said:

Work is like buses, it comes in threes. I was quiet last week till Wednesday night and went to see about a big job. Told to begin next day and at least 2 weeks solid work. Then my regular customers started calling but they all want things done right away. I told them I would fit them in but its a waiting game. You can increase your prices when one becomes very busy which most folk do. I cleaned arch windows in the church I'm working at and its the first time in decades. Now they stand out and everyone has noticed them. Small cleans like this make some difference to old buildings. The church was soulless and now its gleaming and has it's soul back again, so an old parishioner told me.

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I don’t get what that’s got to do with school cleaning - gav, can Scottish have his own ‘section’ where he can just post his ramblings?!?


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Schools are just Public Service jobs. They all run the same way because it is set by the government. They can award a job without having to get it verified as long as the total cost is below 5 grand. That's why a school manager can award a contract without other quotes. The church I'm currently working in is the same. Sorry if I upset you @AGlassAct

Markg- I was a part time school caretaker while I was part time window cleaning. Generally speaking I’d have RAMS, public liability (£5m for schools usually) and COSHH already in place before I even think about anything ‘commercial’. Most don’t ask for it but if you did get a job in that environment and you had an accident it’s the first thing they will ask for. I’d say all would expect you to clean out of hours, it cuts out risk to staff and children but the caretaker will be hard to convince if you need letting in on a cold Sunday morning!! Large schools which are part of an academy will have business managers who deal with all contracts, they will try and secure the cheapest price for a number of schools who are under the same umbrella. 5 quotes are usually required and - unfortunately- quality and standard of work isn’t top of the check list. Small independent schools are a different kettle of fish, the caretaker usually makes the calls and will usually tap up someone they know - that kind of rings true for the academy side of things as well as you will find the old saying ‘it’s not what you know.....’. I’ve never been interested in school contracts, most would only want a clean every 6 months at the most and I’m not one for slogging my guts out to be back to square one the next time round! If you fall on the right school you could be on to a winner - I can’t remember who it is but someone on here does a few regularly and get a decent wage for it.


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scottish cleaning service said:

Schools are just Public Service jobs. They all run the same way because it is set by the government. They can award a job without having to get it verified as long as the total cost is below 5 grand. That's why a school manager can award a contract without other quotes. The church I'm currently working in is the same. Sorry if I upset you [mention=2651]AGlassAct[/mention]

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You don’t upset me Scottish - I find your random posts quite entertaining, I just need to concentrate more than usual to see where your coming from! [emoji106]


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AGlassAct said:

I don’t get what that’s got to do with school cleaning - gav, can Scottish have his own ‘section’ where he can just post his ramblings?!?

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He really gets under the skin of Gingers you know ?

@scottish cleaning service, I think @AGlassAct is right. Sometimes you remind me of a kid I was in primary school with. The teacher would explain something and then ask if anyone else had good examples. He would stand up and tell you what he was having for tea. I remember this one time the teacher checked with him 5 or so times that his story was related to the topic and he started with ''My uncle Nick is a Liverpool fan, he has a season ticket and everything. He said he'll take me to watch them next season''.... If you were a few years younger I would have thought you were him ?

Thanks fellas. Really appreciate the time you've taken to reply. @scottishcleaningservice and@AGlassAct behave yourselves or it'll be detention for both of you.[emoji3]

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