SportsArt Fitness UK is no stranger to the educational sector and has many years experience in working closely with schools, colleges and universities to identifying and develop fitness opportunities. As part of an international fitness equipment manufacturing group, SportsArt has designed sporting facilities, supplying a range of cardio and strength training equipment that can be purchased, rented or utilised in the development of ‘dual-use’ commercially managed operations that are self financing.

Over the years, SportsArt has identified that many educational establishments under-use their sporting facilities that could be exploited further for the benefit of the school and local community. A ‘dual use’ operation generates an income for the school by allowing the sporting facilities to be used out of normal hours. There are many educational establishments that have already benefited by SportsArt qualified experience in planning and setting up of dual-use facilities.

The Kalwall system of diffused daylighting has been widely specified by AEDAS architects for seven new schools commissioned by Knowsley Council and built by Balfour Beatty.  Daylight research proves, and Knowsley school staff confirm, that the translucent system has a marked influence on pupil behaviour, well-being and learning.

Hetton Lyons Primary School is part of a major commitment from Sunderland City Council, to reduce carbon emissions across all of its operations by the year 2012 and they were keen to work with Alumasc.

A ZinCo green roof from Alumasc was specified to complement the sustainable design of the building which also included a wind turbine, a wood burning boiler and rainwater recycling, earning the scheme a BREEAM rating of ‘Very Good’. Installed by Alumasc’s Approved Contractor Roofclad Systems of Durham, the extensive green roof is designed to evolve and flourish, helping to combat a number of climate change issues facing the next generation.

Premier Interlink (Waco UK) has over 60 years experience in providing buildings for education offering a flexible, smart, modern and comfortable education environment.  School buildings can be provided in half the usual time compared to traditional build and at a very competitive price using modern and innovative methods of construction.  Our newest building system is a permanent solution for adding extra single storey classrooms and our increasingly popular PremierPlus multi-storey, high quality building system is ideal for new multi-purpose education solutions for nurseries, schools, colleges and universities.  

Metsä Tissue has found a way of dramatically cutting washroom waste whilst retaining high levels of hygiene, especially in areas, which traditionally make exceptional demands on paper consumables.  The Katrinâ narrow range of hand towels, including the innovative Easy Flush range, provides the solution - reducing space requirements, lowering waste, saving money and improving green credentials simultaneously.

Today’s desks are not only our workstations, they are often our lunch tables, our footrests, our storage spaces and more. Active hygiene helps keep your desk and office cleaner and healthier. Unclean surfaces in the office can harbour unhealthy bacteria. For example, were you aware of the following facts?

• The average keyboard contains 60 x more bacteria than the office toilet seat
• In the average office there are 10 million bacteria on the area of the desk where you rest your hand
• Cold and flu viruses can remain active on a surface for up to 72 hours

Hand hygiene  pecialists TEAL (www.tealwash.com) has a range of portable warm water hand wash units that have been specially designed for children to make hand washing fun and enable youngsters to learn about and take responsibility for their own personal hygiene.

The units require no fixed plumbing as they store clean and dirty water so can be positioned in convenient locations wherever needed. They are safe and easy for children to operate and come in bright colours to encourage use.

Children need every encouragement to wash and dry their hands after using the toilet to avoid the risk of cross contamination.

SCA Tissue Europe provides a complete solution for school washrooms. Tork soaps, hand towel rolls and toilet tissue systems are designed to minimise cross-contamination and are housed in lockable dispensers to prevent vandalism.

There was a time when the biggest health scare at school was getting the Rubella jab. Unfortunately, like so many things, health education and provision has become a lot more complicated. We now have swine flu to contend with and cervical cancer injections for teenage girls, not to mention the ongoing fight against obesity.

Everyone has greater access to information than ever before. We can watch the news, read the papers or research subjects on the internet. While this should be a good thing, when it comes to discussing children’s health, it can actually lead to more confusion.

This year, Minister of State for Public Health, Gillian Merron and Head of Healthy Schools, Richard Sangster officially unveiled the next phase of Healthy Schools, which will help bring about part of the Government’s vision for the 21st Century School, by providing closer support for children and young people’s health and well-being within the school environment.

Richard Sangster, Head of Healthy Schools explains, “The 21st Century School is about much more than just learning spaces and school design in the physical sense, although this is an important element of improving the overall offering available to children and young people in the school of tomorrow. The 21st Century School is really about the re-shaping of the whole culture and ethos of schools. It’s about creating a school environment where children and young people have easy access to all of the support they need to reach their full potential in learning and life.”

The second wave of the swine flu outbreak is underway, with the biggest increase among school children. The Chief Medical Officer stated that washing hands, or using antibacterial hand gels, is the best way of preventing the spread.

Many gels contain alcohol, therefore not suitable for schools.  Luckily, there’s a solution.  NO-GERMSTM is the UK’s leading alcohol free hand sanitiser, and is clinically proven to be effective against swine flu, MRSA, E-coli and other flu viruses. It kills 99.9% of all germs, is non-toxic, starts to work in less than 15 seconds, and remains effective for 2-4 hours.

County Councillor Frank Godfrey seeks council approval for vaporisation process to reduce council staff illness during swine ‘flu outbreak.

A revolutionary new infection control process has been trialled at a Drogheda GP Health Centre to demonstrate its effectiveness for reducing the scale of swine ‘flu and seasonal ‘flu cross-infection in offices, health centres and schools during outbreaks of infection.  Arranged by County Councillor Frank Godfrey, a well-known member of Louth County Council and a former Mayor of Drogheda, the trial was set up to endorse Councillor Godfrey’s belief that his and other councils should be using the SitexOrbis vaporisation process to reduce the impact on council staff and council services of the expected swine ‘flu pandemic.

Hand hygiene specialists TEAL (www.tealwash.com) has a range of portable warm water hand wash units that have been specially designed for children to make hand washing fun and enable youngsters to learn about and take responsibility for their own personal hygiene.

The units require no fixed plumbing as they store clean and dirty water so can be positioned in convenient locations wherever needed. They are safe and easy for children to operate and come in bright colours to encourage use.

T.H.E. Ltd, exclusive distributors for Beam central vacuum systems, this month launches the very latest Beam Platinum range.

Manufactured by Electrolux, the Beam Platinum Series central vacuum represents the latest generation of the proven Beam system. A Beam central vacuum provides up to five times the suction power of a portable, yet uses less electricity through its specially designed motor.

SportsArt Fitness UK is no stranger to the educational sector and has many years experience in working closely with schools, colleges and universities to identifying and develop fitness opportunities. As part of an international fitness equipment manufacturing group, SportsArt has designed sporting facilities, supplying a range of cardio and strength training equipment that can be purchased, rented or utilised in the development of ‘dual-use' commercially managed operations that are self financing.

Access to technologically-advanced real-time body composition analysis is helping a Tyne and Wear school increase fitness participation, and improve attendance and examination results, as it accurately identifies the physical needs of students that may otherwise go undetected.

Monkseaton High School is one of the first schools to use the InBody Analyser, a body composition tool that provides whole body statistics which go beyond standard height and weight. Using this data, the school has developed a range of programs and interventions to help reshape behaviour towards exercise and nutrition, for a holistic approach to the welfare of its students and the wider community.

The Center for Disease Control estimates that the average school child misses around one week of school a year due to illness, which equates to approximately 36 million school days lost every year in the UK¹.

It is estimated that a great number of these days could be reduced if children washed their hands regularly. Indeed, recent studies have shown that hand washing with soap is by far the best way to prevent the spread of many illnesses and good hand hygiene practices adopted by children would help to prevent the spread of germs from home to school and back again.

The health protection of teachers and education workers and those who come into contact with them is vital, particularly during a time of pandemic infection. Byotrol keeps working once it has been applied, so that surfaces and human skin remain germ free for longer.

Sold through Arco, the UK's leading distributor of safety and workwear products, Byotrol products are already in use on the custody desks of one of the UKs biggest Police Forces and teachers and students could all benefit from the enhanced protection that Byotrol products offer.

With young children vulnerable to swine flu and another outbreak expected this winter, the new Pinkiwash® portable warm water hand wash unit from TEAL is perfect for helping to keep youngsters in the pink!

Safe and easy to use, this eye-catching floor standing unit requires no fixed plumbing to operate so it can be located in classrooms, dining halls or corridors - meaning children don't always have to go to the toilets to wash their hands.

Washing hands can be fun and more importantly can be integrated into school day activities. Through the use of colourful child friendly soap dispensers and a foaming soap, children of all ages can have fun whilst practicing good hand hygiene.

Deb Limited offers dispensers, exclusively designed for schools and nurseries, that are colourful and eye-catching, created to attract children's attention and encourage regular use. Deb also offers a bespoke service where dispensers can be tailored to meet your specific requirements; providing choice of colour, logo and message.

Brian Nimick, Chief Executive of the British Safety Council, today called on the government to take urgent action to implement a programme for the management and removal of asbestos in schools. 

In calling for a national comprehensive register of asbestos in schools he said  "it is unacceptable that the UK, in 2009, has not yet undertaken a national audit of asbestos in schools; has not comprehensively assessed the risks that teachers and pupils in each and every school face;  and has not allocated appropriate resources to take urgent remedial action.

As 5-14 year olds remain the age group predominantly affected by the current flu pandemic, Midlands based hygiene experts, Deb Limited, advise how educational establishments can reduce the risk of catching and spreading flu by adopting good hand hygiene practices, providing adequate hand washing facilities and through promoting the use of a hand sanitiser such as Deb InstantFOAM which kills 99.999% of common germs in 15 seconds and has been tested and found to be effective against H1N1. Deb products are available in over 100 countries and it is estimated that at least 40 million people use Deb products everyday in the workplace.

Hand hygiene specialists TEAL have a range of portable warm water hand wash units that have been specially designed for small children to make hand washing fun and enable youngsters to learn about and take responsibility for their own personal hygiene.

The units require no fixed plumbing as they store clean and dirty water so can be positioned in convenient locations wherever needed. They are safe and easy for children to operate and come in bright colours to encourage use.

Leading asbestos removal contractor, The Caswell Group are advising UK schools not to leave it too late to plan asbestos removal works over holiday periods.  They are offering all UK Schools a free audit/review of the schools existing asbestos registers.

Following school closures due to the Swine Flu outbreak, Ilford Ursuline High School in Essex has made the task of keeping its pupils hands clean easy by installing a number of SaniPost units.

Mark Smith, Facilities Manager at Ilford Ursuline, said "The school is very aware of the rise in infections through hand to hand contact. We feel  that by installing SaniPost we will minimise the spread of infections whilst demonstrating to the schools users that we are committed to providing a hygienic, safe and healthy environment'"

Polyrey's brand new Sanitized® compact grade anti-bacterial laminate can be specified with confidence to optimise standards of public health and hygiene when it comes to decorative surfaces. Complementing Polyrey's existing compact grade offer, Sanitized® is an ideal product for schools, hospitals, restaurants and shops in a range of horizontal and vertical applications including counters, furniture, washroom and changing cubicles.

McGee Group is one of Europe's leading civil, structural, demolition and decontamination specialists. The Group was founded in 1958 by Tom McGee and has grown dramatically in size and reputation. McGee continues to pioneer new and innovative techniques and methods, enabling them to deliver projects quicker, more economically and with reduced environmental impact.

Swine Flu, seemingly, is on the increase but you can impact its spread in public places by installing the revolutionary new ultra violet air sterilizer, Bactokill from Bower Products.  

Years of research and development followed by stringent testing by Microsearch Laboratories have proven that Bactokill will destroy 97% of all airborne bacteria. They say, "It is entirely probable that UV radiation will significantly damage the Swine Flu bacteria"!