A good school cleaning tender does six things: it describes your site accurately, weights quality above price, asks questions that need evidence, marks every answer on the same scale, sets measurable KPIs and reflects current law. Most tenders we see in schools and academy trusts miss at least two of these, usually because they were copied forward from an older document. This guide shows how to write one that works in 2026, drawing on nearly 30 years of responding to school cleaning tenders across Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.
If you want to skip the blank page, our free School Cleaning Tender Assistant builds the questions, scoring, KPIs and a ready-to-edit Invitation to Tender in Word from your school's postcode in about two minutes. No sign-up is needed.
Why are so many school cleaning tenders out of date?
Most school cleaning tenders are copied from the last tender, a neighbouring school or an online template, so old requirements survive long after they stop being relevant. Over a few retenders, the document drifts away from what actually decides whether a cleaning contract works.
The warning signs to look for:
- Withdrawn quality standards. References to BS 5750 or ISO 9002, both replaced decades ago. The current standard is ISO 9001:2015. Our guide to ISO certifications in cleaning explains which ones matter.
- Old procurement rules. New procurements now fall under the Procurement Act 2023, which came into force on 24 February 2025.
- KPIs without targets. "Maintain a high standard" cannot be measured, reported or managed.
- No test of absence cover. Absence is one of the most common reasons school cleaning contracts struggle, yet many tenders never ask how it will be covered.
- Safeguarding that stops at permanent staff. Relief and agency cleaners need the same enhanced DBS checks and safeguarding training before their first shift.
- Price-led scoring by default. Cleaning is a people-led service. Weighting price too heavily rewards bids that cannot be delivered at the hours proposed.
Step 1: What site information should a school cleaning tender include?
Bidders can only price accurately if they know exactly what they are cleaning, so the site information section is the foundation of the whole tender. For each site, include:
- the gross internal floor area in square metres
- pupil numbers and school type (primary, secondary, special, all-through)
- opening hours, lettings and any daytime cleaning needs
- floor types, toilets and specialist areas such as kitchens, science labs or hygiene rooms
- site plans or CAD drawings, if you have them
Where to find your floor area. Site plans are the most accurate source. Many schools also have a published Display Energy Certificate showing the floor area. If neither is to hand, DfE area guidelines give a range from pupil numbers: BB103 for mainstream schools and BB104 for special schools, which need far more space per pupil.
Once you know the floor area, benchmark the weekly hours with the Cleaning Hours Estimator, and read how school cleaning hours are calculated. Keep that figure to yourself: it is the best way to test whether bidders' staffing and prices are realistic. If you need a full specification to attach, the Cleaning Specification Builder produces one with schedules and job cards, and our guide to how school cleaning schedules are built explains the logic behind them.
Step 2: How should you weight price and quality?
Most school cleaning tenders weight quality above price, typically 60% quality and 40% price. The right split depends on how much reliability and reporting matter to you:
| Approach | Price | Quality | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Balanced | 40% | 60% | Most schools and trusts |
| Quality-led | 30% | 70% | Sites where reliability, supervision and reporting matter most |
| Price-led | 50% | 50% | Simple sites with a tight budget, still scoring safeguarding, cover and KPIs |
Within quality, give meaningful weight to the areas that decide whether a contract works day to day: service methodology, KPIs and reporting, management and supervision, absence cover and staff retention. Treat safeguarding as pass or fail as well as scored. Social value can carry a separate weighting; our guide to social value in school cleaning covers what is realistic to ask for.
Step 3: What questions should a school cleaning tender ask?
Ask specific questions that need evidence, not general questions that invite marketing copy. Generic questions get generic answers, and every bidder will score the same.
The questions that tell you the most:
- Management: Who will manage this contract, where are they based and how many other contracts do they look after? See the role of the contract manager in school cleaning.
- Absence cover: How will absence be covered, how quickly, and how will uncovered shifts be reported? See managing workforce stability and absence.
- Safeguarding: How are enhanced DBS checks obtained and monitored for every person, including relief and agency staff? See DBS checks for school cleaners in 2026.
- Quality: How is quality audited, how often, and how are results shared with the school? Can you provide a sample monthly report from a comparable school?
- Retention: What is your supervisor and manager turnover, and how do you keep good staff through their first year?
- Mobilisation: How will mobilisation and, where relevant, TUPE be managed? See school cleaning mobilisation from award to day one.
The Tender Assistant includes a bank of questions like these, each with what a strong answer looks like and the red flags to watch for.
Step 4: How should school cleaning tender answers be scored?
Use one marking scheme for every quality answer, with each evaluator marking independently before agreeing a moderated score. A 0 to 4 scale works well:
| Mark | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 0 Unacceptable | No answer, or the answer does not address the question |
| 1 Weak | Generic, with little detail and no evidence |
| 2 Adequate | Meets the requirement, with limited evidence |
| 3 Good | Detailed, site-specific and backed by evidence |
| 4 Excellent | Fully evidenced, site-specific and showing clear added value |
Convert each mark with section score = (mark ÷ 4) × section weighting.
For price, a common formula is lowest compliant price ÷ bidder's price × price weighting. Check any abnormally low price against the hours and wage rates proposed; the free Pricing Realism Checker helps with this. A price that cannot pay for the hours you need is a risk, not a saving.
Step 5: Which KPIs should a school cleaning contract include?
Set a small number of KPIs that can be measured honestly every month, each with Red, Amber and Green thresholds. A practical starting set:
| KPI | Green | Amber | Red |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cleaning audit score | 90% or above | 85–89% | Below 85% |
| School satisfaction (1–5) | 4 or above | 3–3.9 | Below 3 |
| Contracted hours delivered | 100% (or agreed exceptions) | 98–99.9% | Below 98% |
| Corrective actions closed on time | 95% or above | 85–94% | Below 85% |
| Safeguarding and DBS compliance | 100% current | Renewal due within 30 days and booked | Anyone without a current check |
Add absence cover, management visits, response times and vacancies as needed. For trusts, ask for reporting at both school and trust level. Agree final targets at mobilisation. Our guide to cleaning contract KPIs goes further, the free cleaning audit templates give you a ready scoring sheet, and real-time transparency in school cleaning contracts explains what good reporting looks like.
Step 6: Which laws and guidance must a 2026 school cleaning tender reflect?
A school cleaning tender issued in 2026 should reflect current procurement, safeguarding, employment and health and safety law. Check that yours covers:
- Procurement Act 2023, in force since 24 February 2025, including the exclusion grounds and debarment list
- Keeping Children Safe in Education, the current edition (updated each September); see what KCSIE 2026 means for cleaning contractors
- UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018
- Modern Slavery Act 2015
- Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and the COSHH Regulations 2002
- Equality Act 2010
- TUPE Regulations 2006, where staff are likely to transfer, plus pension obligations such as the Local Government Pension Scheme
Check your trust's financial regulations and current procurement thresholds before choosing a route. DfE guidance also points schools to DfE-approved frameworks, which can be quicker than running your own open tender. The free Safeguarding Readiness Check helps you test whether a contractor's safeguarding arrangements meet KCSIE.
What should you include beyond the daily clean?
Daily cleaning is only part of the cost. A complete tender also prices periodic and deep cleaning, and any daytime cleaning cover. Ask bidders to price a periodic programme separately, so you can compare like with like:
- Periodic and holiday deep cleans: carpets, hard floor restoration, high-level dusting and kitchen deep cleans. The Periodic Cleaning Planner builds a programme, and our guides to periodic deep cleaning in schools and the summer holiday deep clean explain what to specify.
- Daytime cleaning: toilet checks, spills and lunchtime cover. See the role of daytime cleaning in schools.
- Sustainability: ask how the contractor reduces water, chemical and energy use, and whether it holds ISO 14001. Our guide to cutting school energy and water use shows where a cleaning team can help.
How does the free School Cleaning Tender Assistant help?
The School Cleaning Tender Assistant turns these six steps into a tender pack you can edit and issue. It is neutral, free and needs no sign-up:
- Enter your school's postcode. It finds your school, pupil numbers and floor area from public records and estimates weekly cleaning hours.
- Pick what matters most. Choose up to three priorities and your price and quality balance, or use the recommended settings.
- Get your tender pack. Questions, what good looks like, a weighted evaluation matrix, a 0–4 marking guide, KPIs with RAG thresholds, due diligence checks and red flags, with a branded PDF.
- Build your Invitation to Tender. Add your branding, dates and site plans, choose your questions and download a ready-to-edit Word document.
For the bigger picture, read school cleaning procurement and tendering explained. If you already have a contractor and are deciding whether to retender, start with how to review whether your cleaning contractor is still fit for purpose or the School Cleaning Service Review.
Sources
- Procurement Act 2023, legislation.gov.uk
- Buying procedures and procurement law for schools, Department for Education
- Keeping children safe in education, Department for Education
- Mainstream schools area guidelines (BB103), Department for Education
- Area guidelines for SEND and alternative provision (BB104), Department for Education
- Find an energy certificate, GOV.UK
Reviewed by the ICS Cleaning team. Practical guidance only, not legal or procurement advice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Build an Example Cleaning Schedule
If you would like to see how a cleaning schedule might look for your school, use our free School Cleaning Specification & Schedule Builder.
Find your school and tick the areas it has to get every duty, how often and on which days in about 5 minutes. Add your rooms if you want the full specification and a complete School Cleaning Plan with hours, zones, staffing and job cards.
Build your cleaning scheduleIf you are also reviewing labour levels or your current cleaning arrangement, you may also find these tools useful:
The short answer
A good school cleaning tender describes each site accurately, weights quality above price (typically 60/40), asks evidence-based questions, marks every answer on the same 0–4 scale, sets KPIs with Red/Amber/Green thresholds and reflects current law, including the Procurement Act 2023 and the latest Keeping Children Safe in Education.
Free tool
The School Cleaning Tender Assistant builds the questions, scoring matrix, KPIs and a ready-to-edit Invitation to Tender in Word from your school's postcode. No sign-up and no email needed.