Overlooking the beautiful Itchen Valley, Prince’s Mead School was founded in 1949 in Winchester and moved to its present home, Worthy House, in 1999. Co-educational for ages 3 to 11 this vibrant school has around 265 pupils.
The Background
The bursar, Richard White, met with Minerva at the Independent School Bursars Association Annual Conference. Having initially looked at one or two smaller projects Richard requested that Minerva undertake a review of their cleaning contract. The contract was outsourced to a small local cleaning contractor and the school had two desired outcomes from a review. Firstly, to benchmark the pricing to check that it was competitive. Secondly there was growing concern that the present cleaners were not being properly supervised and, as a result, the standard of workmanship was deteriorating so there was also a requirement to gain some service improvements. In addition it became apparent that the cleaning specification had not been updated in quite some time, there was no formal contract in place and both of these aspects left the school potentially vulnerable.
The Results
A new and robust cleaning specification, drawn up in partnership with the Estates Manager, is now in place. Site visits were conducted for all potential contract cleaning companies ensuring accuracy in the quotations provided. Negotiations were complex due to TUPE regulations being applicable and the current cleaning staff being on particularly high wages. A new fixed price contract has been signed giving the school visibility of costs for 3 years. The new contract offers an annual saving of 4.5% per annum and, more importantly, the quality of cleaning is already significantly improved.
Customer Feedback
Lorraine Ashover conducted a very thorough review of Prince’s Mead’s cleaning requirement before shortlisting 3 potential contractors to be considered with the incumbent. The newly appointed contractor has now been in place for 4 months and providing an excellent service. Throughout Lorraine was very professional and often exceeded expectations in her delivery. I would have no hesitation in recommending her to colleagues.
Richard White, Bursar, Prince’s Mead School December 2012
