Pinnacle responds to help The Ebbsfleet Academy’s students and teachers return to school safely this September

Wednesday 9th September 2020

With children across the UK returning to school this September, in Kent, the Pinnacle team providing The Ebbsfleet Academy with facilities management (FM) services have been working hard to make sure that the 700+ pupils can return safely to school to resume their studies. 

In fact, the school never fully closed last term and around 10 students continued to attend the Academy throughout the lockdown with their parents supporting the region as Key Workers. Pinnacle quickly responded to the emerging COVID-19 outbreak by bringing additional COVID-secure cleaning of frequent touch points such as toilets, door handles and light switches and handrails.

Over the past few weeks, across the large secondary school, the specialist FM team have worked to help The Ebbsfleet Academy in redesigning the building’s layout to implement a one-way system to allow for social distancing, carried out deep cleans and increased daily cleaning requirements, installed additional sanitation stations to allow for regular handwashing and increased the capacity of the dining hall for the lunchtime rush!

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“I must take a moment to stop, reflect and applaud the tremendous effort, patience and resilience shown by the Pinnacle Team who have gone above and beyond this summer to ensure that we are ready to welcome our students back safely after being away from our school gates for over 100 days! Nothing has been too much trouble for the team and the word 'no' just does seem to exist in their vocabulary. I am humbled by the team's efforts and I thank you for everything you do each and every day.”
Gurjit Kaur Shergill
Principal at The Ebbsfleet Academy
“Being able to play our part in getting The Ebbsfleet Academy’s students back to school safely has been incredibly rewarding for the Pinnacle team. The COVID-19 outbreak has forced everyone to rethink how they approach everyday tasks and at Ebbsfleet this has been no different. I would like to thank the whole Pinnacle team along with the staff at The Ebbsfleet Academy for their hard work in making sure the changes we have been forced to make in order to keep the children safe have been completed ahead of the new term and we can open the doors once again.”
Matt Morrell
Director of Total FM at Pinnacle Group

Pinnacle provides FM services including; cleaning, grounds maintenance, lifecycle, repairs and maintenance, major works and catering services to The Ebbsfleet Academy over the course of an eight-year contract. 

The Pinnacle team have introduced a top four tips for students returning to school, in line with Government guidance this September:

 

  1. Ensuring that your hands are clean! Keep washing your hands with soap and water throughout the day;
  2. Making sure you catch coughs and sneezes in tissues and put them in the bin! Then wash your hands again;
  3. If you sneeze, try to trap this in your elbow rather than sneezing across the room; and,
  4. Please wear your face coverings if you need to wear one, make sure it covers your mouth and nose.

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