Eminent infectious disease expert, Dr. Ron Cutler, is set to share new insights and practical guidance to schools at an exclusive Association of Teachers and Lecturers Conference seminar next week.

School hygiene has never been more important with organisms such as E. coli, norovirus and swine flu all posing a serious threat to a school's health every day. Thousands of school days are lost every year through avoidable illness. Dr. Cutler, Director of Biomedical Science at Queen Mary, University of London, and advisor to the Albany Healthy Schools Programme will review current infection threats, how to manage them and provide insight into future trends. 

New Research shows Hygiene Gaps in Schools

Cutler’s presentation will also include the launch of findings from a recent pilot of hygiene audits carried out in 20 schools, revealing gaps in hygiene needs, practical recommendations and possible solutions.

Hygiene education and management in schools are the most effective ways to break the chain of infection. By adopting measures to protect children and staff, it will ultimately reduce the number of school days lost each year due to avoidable illness.

Dr. Cutler comments; “Starting hygiene education from a young age is important to create a safer school environment. Learning appropriate hygiene practices, such as cleaning hands, can be a powerful way of reducing the risk of cross infection and helping combat viruses.”

Support is timely with new statutory requirements being placed on schools to promote the health and well-being of their students and to ensure healthy school status by 2010. Albany Healthy Schools has worked in partnership with Dr. Ron Cutler and Queen Mary, University of London, to create a professional hygiene audit, free to all schools to help them assess their hygiene needs, risks and provide recommendations.

A full report on Dr Cutler’s presentation and discussions will be appearing here in the next few weeks.