Half Term Restock: Best Products For Schools
Being a month into the beginning of the new educational year, pupils and teachers alike will be in full swing where learning is concerned. An area of school management which can be slightly behind following the start of the new year is stock levels. Most schools will perform a stock check during the summer break and begin buying supplies, but it is only after the first month that schools can start to forecast usage levels for the rest of the year. As such, in the run up to the first half term break is a great time for schools to restock greater volumes of cleaning and janitorial products.
We at Alliance Online have been supplying the educational sector with industry quality products for over 20 years. In turn, we are perfectly placed to provide insight into some of the most popular items and what institutes need when looking to restock.
Paper Hygiene
As educational facilities have a vast number of bathrooms it’s no surprise that one of the largest consumable product categories is paper hygiene. The first sector which comes to mind is toilet roll, the order volumes required to meet the needs of a school are large and to prevent running out, forecasts are a great way of managing such issues.
The other key paper hygiene product is hand towels. Naturally, we understand not all bathrooms opt for a hand towel system with hand dryers being an equally popular selection, but nevertheless, hand towels are used on a similar level to toilet roll.
So, if whilst restocking on hand towels and toilet rolls you want to investigate the market, what should you look out for?
One notable aspect to consider is volume per unit. Where possible, try to find the largest amount of rolls per unit you can as this normally generates a return a savings in the long run. Furthermore, higher volume products are best suited to school bathrooms due to their high traffic nature. As such, we would also recommend twinning high-capacity rolls with smart dispensers to reduce paper wastage.
A fantastic option for schools is the Katrin range of paper towels, along with their associated dispensers. All Katrin products benefit from being created by a company who champions environmental best practices. In turn, the Katrin range boasts not only the EU Flower Label but also the Nordic Swan Ecolabel which is the one of the most difficult green accreditations to achieve due to its strict environmental requirements.
Foil, Film & Containers
Another area which requires a commercial level of planning on a daily basis is meal prep. Due to this, products which preserve food are an essential for school kitchens to ensure staff can prepare large volumes of food prior to the commencement of the lunch period. Two great options are cling film and aluminium foil due to their impressive preservation qualities.
Foil and cling film are great options where food preservation is concerned due to the lack of space required to store and the simplicity of using them. They are both excellent at creating a seal between the surrounding air and environment and the food it is encasing. Additionally, both are also brilliant at preserving the humidity of the food ensuring dryness doesn’t settle in prior to serving the food.
For kitchens which have more space or large fridges, gastronorm containers are a great storage option for prepared food. Our range offers a sealed option which come in industry standard sizes making them easy to use and store. Much like cling film and foil the containers offer kitchen staff a brilliant method of helping to reduce the likelihood of cross-contamination, particularly where cooked and uncooked foods are concerned.
Cloths & Scourers
Microfibre cloths and cleaning scourers are two of the most ubiquitous products you will find, not just education but businesses in general. Whether it be in the school kitchen itself or a staffroom kitchenette cloths and scourers can be found in both. These essential cleaning products provide staff the ability to clean all surfaces they are likely to encounter including utensils, cookware, prep stations, floors, windows and much more. Scourers are fantastic for removing stubborn stains off pans and metal gantry surfaces whilst microfibre cloths offer a scratch resistant cleaning option which can be used without the need for chemicals in some instances.
Cleaning Chemicals
Finally, a key area for reviewing is your cleaning chemical options used to cover the various different tasks within an educational institute. Buyers need to consider products for the following areas:
- Kitchen Cleaning: When checking your kitchen cleaning selection, we would recommend having the following in stock at all times – a multi-purpose cleaner which covers all surfaces and can act as a fast-cleaning solution for general spillages. An oven cleaner and degreaser as commercial ovens are subject to high usage causing fat and grime build ups quickly. Finally, general kitchen sanitiser to clean down workstations and prevent cross contamination.
- Washroom Cleaning: Washrooms require a number of different cleaners from toilet chemicals, bleach, drain clearing solutions and a number of multi-surface products too. Additionally, some products that can be overlooked are urinal cleaning options and the volume needed for schools (particularly large secondary schools) can be huge.
- Floor Cleaning: Where floor cleaning is concerned, we would highly recommend using concentrate products as a more cost-effective option. When buying for buildings and campuses with a large floor area, ready to use options are just not viable due to their cost when compared with large volume concentrate products. When purchasing floor cleaning supplies remember to check your mop and bucket stock and quality in case you require additional items.
There are a multitude of additional products for educational institutes to consider but above are a few of the more common products we at Alliance Online find ourselves selling to the industry. With the last half term behind us schools will be looking ahead to summer and purchasing staff should be considering what options are available, this year more than ever. With rising energy costs and inflation causing price increases across all industries it may be within your schools interest to shop around and compare prices this summer.
