Anne Hodgetts, a Head Teacher at Moorcroft Wood Primary School has won the Clinell Cleaning Heroes competition after going the extra mile in her role to ensure the school was kept clean for her pupils

The competition, launched by GAMA Healthcare, manufacturer of Clinell Universal Wipes and infection prevention leaders in the NHS, invited local people to nominate friends, family or colleagues who have been on the frontline over the past year, helping to suppress the spread of the virus through cleaning.

Entries were submitted from across the country, and Anne’s winning nomination was chosen by a panel of expert judges including Karen Wares, who specialises in infection prevention at GAMA.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, Anne has made infection control a priority, ensuring the safety of everyone in the school community. She went the extra mile to ensure that everyone had the correct PPE and also put a one-way system in place. All of this was done whilst trying to make a very difficult time fun for vulnerable pupils and children of key workers. 

Anne said: “As a school, we have faced many challenges and changes throughout the pandemic but every member of the team has pulled together to maintain a safe learning environment and to provide high quality learning opportunities for our children. Each of us has carried out duties that had not previously formed part of our day to day responsibilities, as well as becoming well acquainted with masks, spray bottles and cleaning cloths. I can certainly say I have added new skills to the CV.”

The judges were really impressed by the extra work Anne put in to ensuring the safety of all her pupils

Karen Wares Associate Clinical Director at GAMA Healthcare said: “Anne was a well-deserved winner. The dedication she showed to her pupils at school was extraordinary, particularly in light of the many challenges faced by education institutions. We were delighted to hear that she was so passionate about implementing strict infection prevention control practices to help keep everyone safe. Infection Prevention and Control encompassing good hand hygiene and surface hygiene are the most effective ways to help stop the spread of infection and protect those around us. We are proud to recognise those who have become Cleaning Heroes in the fight against COVID-19.”

Evelyn Humphrey nominated her daughter after seeing the Clinell Cleaning Heroes competition on social media. She said: “Anne has gone over and above to ensure the safety of children and staff at her school, following all of the correct safety procedures to keep everyone safe. She went out and purchased goods such as cleaning products and spray bottles. Anne also spent her own time marking out arrows for a one way system around the school, as well as painting 2 metre ‘waiting spots’ on the playground to encourage social distancing when parents were dropping children off to maintain safety on site. Having shortages of staff due to isolation and shielding, she stepped up and filled the gaps; even making toast for each child. She has made a very difficult time fun for all. She carried on through the holidays to take care of key workers’ children and vulnerable pupils.  She really deserves recognition for all she has done.”

With 63% of people across the West Midlands more concerned about cleaning practices than before the pandemic, businesses such as care homes are relying on staff to take on cleaning duties more than ever. Many employees across sectors like education have had to learn new skills in infection prevention cleaning, and with other viruses in circulation such as the flu and norovirus, keeping cleaning standards high is essential to keep us safe.

The search by GAMA Healthcare looked for the best workers who have taken on cleaning responsibilities to keep us safe over the past year, from sectors including travel and transport, delivery drivers, schools, community healthcare, supermarkets and hospitality. Those people who are helping to provide and maintain clean, sanitised and safe environments for the rest of the country.

The team behind Clinell Universal Wipes, an award-winning product invented by two NHS doctors, who are passionate about reducing infection, have also developed an infection control cleaning methodology, widely used across the NHS, which could be of vital use to businesses as part of their cleaning practice.