Whiteknights Primary School situated in Shinfield, near Reading (Berkshire), strives to ensure ‘all children achieve their full potential in a secure and friendly environment’. The school had been managing their own cleaners for many years, but Andy Rapson, the school’s Site Manager, was keen to make a change.

“In-house cleaning worked well for us when we had a good team of cleaners but when things started going wrong it was such a hassle! We struggled to get the right people in, we were constantly being let down, and the school just wasn’t clean.”

Once they decided to move over to contract cleaning in 2019, Andy approached a few companies to get quotes. He was immediately impressed with Jessica Loomes, Rapid’s Sales Manager…

“Jessica listened to our needs, was very professional, and I was keen to appoint Rapid as our contractor.”

However, Andy was under pressure to choose the cheaper company that was offering a trial period. As is usually the case, the cheapest option was not the best…

“The time-keeping was awful, the standard of work was awful, and we were often one cleaner down”

Andy called Jess back in almost immediately. The head teacher and business manager were reluctant to make another change as they thought it would be hard work to set up a new contract, but they were pleasantly surprised.

“It was at the start of Covid, so any delay was down to us, not Rapid. The contract was easy to set up and the service was fantastic from day one…the three Rapid cleaners are ultra-reliable. I have no complaints from the staff ever and I know that I don’t have to worry about them not turning up.”

A move to contract cleaning has worked well for Whiteknights; it has freed Andy up to focus on the day to day running of the school.

“I’m often not here at the time of clean but I’ve never felt the need to keep on top of the cleaners because Bernice (Rapid’s Contracts Manager) does that part. If I have got a problem, she sorts it out straight away. We’ve now got the set-up we wanted, and I am delighted with the service.”

Thankfully, we got there in the end! We have enjoyed proving to Andy and Whiteknights, that finding the right contractor can make all the difference.