ICS Cleaning
Contract cleaning
Daily term-time cleaning for primary and secondary schools, academy trusts, colleges and university campuses, with DBS-checked teams and a named supervisor for every contract.
Schools, trusts, colleges and universities
Facilities management for schools, academy trusts, colleges and universities
SPS Group has worked with schools, academy trusts, colleges and universities for nearly 30 years. Between our businesses we look after an education estate inside and out: cleaning, washrooms and gutters, lock-up and alarm response, campus security, and the fire alarm, CCTV, access control and intruder systems that keep pupils and staff safe.
- working with schools and colleges
- Nearly 30 years
- working with schools and colleges
- education sites cleaned by ICS
- 100+
- education sites cleaned by ICS
- ICS staff working in education
- 600+
- ICS staff working in education
- a university client, still today
- Since 2000
- a university client, still today
- SPS-run control room in Hull
- 24 hours
- SPS-run control room in Hull
In short
SPS Group is a Hull-based group that provides education cleaning, security and fire and security systems across Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. ICS Cleaning cleans more than 100 education sites with over 600 staff working in education. SPS Security provides lock-up, keyholding, alarm response, patrols and campus guarding from its 24-hour control room. SPS Technical and TESS install, take over, maintain and monitor fire alarm, CCTV, access control and intruder systems.
Six capabilities for schools, trusts, colleges and universities
Clean, Protect, Detect, Maintain, Train and Integrate: from daily cleaning and lock-up to fire alarm maintenance, PAT testing and staff training, across one school or a whole trust.
- CleanContract, education and specialist cleaning
- ProtectGuarding, patrols, keyholding and alarm response
- DetectFire alarms, CCTV, access control and intruder alarms
- MaintainPAT testing and cleaning machinery repairs
- TrainOngoing training for every member of staff
- IntegrateOne contract, one point of contact, one quality standard
What we do
Everything an education estate needs, from one group
Each service is delivered by the specialist business that runs it, with its own trained team and accreditations. Follow the links for full details on each business's website.
ICS Cleaning
ICS Cleaning
Specialist and holiday cleaning
Holiday deep cleans and reset cleans while the building is empty, floor care and restoration (machine scrubs, strip and seal, burnishing), carpet extraction and stain treatment, high-level cleaning and builders cleans for new blocks.
ICS Cleaning
Gutters, pressure washing and external cleaning
Gutter clearing to prevent leaks and damp, pressure washing of playgrounds, paths and entrances, and cladding and facade cleaning, usually booked into the holidays.
ICS Cleaning
Washroom services and consumables
Managed washroom services: hand towels, toilet tissue, soaps and sanitiser, dispensers, sanitary units and air fresheners, restocked on a schedule based on actual usage.
SPS Security
Lock-up, keyholding and alarm response
Morning unlock and evening lock-up, keyholding and alarm response by SPS officers, and mobile patrols through the holidays when sites are empty, so caretakers are not called out at night.
SPS Security
Campus guarding and Martyn's Law
DBS-checked, safeguarding-aware security officers for college and university campuses, reception and gate cover, and practical support for Martyn's Law readiness in schools and colleges.
SPS Security
24-hour control room and remote CCTV monitoring
Alarm and CCTV monitoring from the SPS control room in Hull, which dispatches officers, contacts keyholders and records every activation.
SPS Technical
Fire and security systems: takeover, maintenance and monitoring
SPS Technical takes over existing fire alarm, CCTV, access control and intruder alarm systems from other installers, then maintains, upgrades and monitors them. It also helps reduce false alarms and moves alarm lines off PSTN before the switch-off.
TESS
New installations and building projects
SPS Technical and TESS install new systems in schools and colleges. TESS works with electrical contractors on new builds and refurbishments: access control and door automation, fire alarms and disabled refuge, CCTV, intruder, lockdown and intercom systems.
Coming in early 2027: ICS Maintenance for PAT testing and cleaning machinery repairs, and SPS Academy for security, cleaning and workplace training.
Who we work with
From single primary schools to university campuses
Primary and secondary schools
Term-time cleaning, holiday deep cleans, gutters and playground washing, lock-up and alarm response, and fire alarm, intruder and CCTV maintenance.
Multi-academy trusts
Consistent cleaning specifications, security arrangements and system maintenance across the schools in a trust, with one group to talk to.
Independent schools
Cleaning across larger estates and sports facilities, out-of-hours security and keyholding, and access control and CCTV for open grounds.
Further education colleges
Multi-building campus cleaning, security officers, CCTV and access control for students, staff and visitors, plus Martyn's Law readiness.
Universities
Campus-wide cleaning teams, vacation deep cleans, campus guarding and fire and security systems across teaching, admin and residential buildings.
New buildings and refurbishments
Builders cleans before handover and new fire, access control and security systems installed with the main electrical contractor.
One Group, Growing Together
Trusted for one service. Chosen for much more.
Our strongest partnerships often begin with a single service. As clients get to know our people and capabilities, those relationships develop into wider opportunities across cleaning, security and technical services.
Education / Leeds
A relationship built on trust, and won back on merit
For more than a decade, SPS Group supported a Leeds secondary school and sixth form through cleaning, security and technical services. While the cleaning contract moved to another provider in 2024 following a competitive tender, the school retained SPS Security and SPS Technical for their specialist expertise.
In October 2026, ICS Cleaning successfully secured the cleaning contract again, bringing all three services back together under SPS Group.
Next opportunity
Identifying further savings through a group-wide review of washroom and paper consumables.
Higher education / Lincolnshire
From a cleaning contract to a 25-year partnership
What began as a cleaning contract with a Lincolnshire university in 2000 has developed into a long-standing, multi-service partnership spanning cleaning, security, portering and postal services.
Through successive competitive retenders, the Group has continued to demonstrate its value. The latest soft facilities management agreement extends the relationship further, while SPS Technical supports intruder alarm and CCTV installation and maintenance across the university estate.
The result
A trusted long-term partner supporting multiple essential services across a complex university environment.
Multi-academy trust / Yorkshire
Proven cleaning performance opens the door to trust-wide security
Following the successful delivery of cleaning services across 13 academies, ICS Cleaning established a strong working relationship with the Trust.
That confidence in our people, responsiveness and service delivery created an opportunity for SPS Technical, which subsequently secured the contract to provide CCTV, intruder alarm and access control systems across the Trust's estate.
The result
A single group relationship providing specialist cleaning and electronic security support across multiple schools.
Through the school year
Planned around term dates, not ours
Most disruptive work happens when the building is empty. We plan cleaning, security and system work around your term calendar.
Term time
Daily cleaning and consumables, morning unlock and evening lock-up, alarm response and system servicing that works around the timetable.
Christmas and Easter
Holiday mobile patrols and keyholding while sites are empty, and short deep cleans before pupils return.
Summer holidays
The big window for deep cleans, floor care and carpets, gutters and pressure washing, and fire and security system upgrades and installs.
Half terms
Targeted periodic cleans, high-level cleaning and planned maintenance visits without disrupting lessons.
Free tools
Free tools for school business managers and estates teams
Plan cleaning hours, build a specification, check your fire alarm or prepare for Martyn's Law, without filling in a contact form first.
ICS Cleaning
Safeguarding and accreditations
Safe people, checked systems, clear records
- DBS checks and safeguarding training for staff working on education sites
- ICS Cleaning: ISO 9001 and ISO 14001, and a Crescent Purchasing Consortium supplier on the Build Cleaning Framework
- SPS Security: SIA Approved Contractor, with a 24-hour control room in Hull
- SPS Technical: BAFE SP203-1 for fire alarm systems and SSAIB for CCTV, intruder and access control
- ICS Cleaning: a named supervisor for every contract and a structured 30/60/90-day mobilisation for new contracts
- Martyn's Law guidance written for schools and colleges
Full details are on our accreditations and frameworks page. For buying several services together, see integrated facilities management, our guide to separate, bundled or integrated contracts for schools, and how to tender facilities services for a trust.
Facilities management for schools and trusts across the region
Education questions
What does SPS Group do for schools and colleges?▾
SPS Group provides cleaning (ICS Cleaning), security (SPS Security) and fire and security systems (SPS Technical and TESS) for schools, academy trusts, colleges and universities across Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. That covers daily and specialist cleaning, gutters and pressure washing, washroom consumables, lock-up, keyholding and alarm response, campus guarding, and the installation, maintenance and monitoring of fire alarm, CCTV, access control and intruder systems.
Are your staff DBS checked for school work?▾
Yes. Staff working on education sites complete DBS checks and safeguarding training before they start. Each business sets out its own checks on its website.
Are you on any education frameworks?▾
ICS Cleaning is a Crescent Purchasing Consortium (CPC) supplier on the Build Cleaning Framework. Accreditations for each business are listed on our accreditations page.
Can you take over our existing fire alarm or CCTV system?▾
Yes. SPS Technical regularly takes over fire alarm, CCTV, access control and intruder systems installed by other companies, checks them, and then maintains and monitors them. Its system takeover checklist explains what to gather first.
Do you work with electrical contractors on new school buildings?▾
Yes. TESS works with electrical contractors on system design and installation for new builds and refurbishments, including access control, door automation, fire alarm, disabled refuge, lockdown and intercom systems.
Can you cover the school holidays?▾
Yes. Holidays are when we carry out deep cleans, floor care, gutter clearing and pressure washing, and when SPS Security patrols empty sites and responds to alarms. Fire and security upgrades are often booked for the summer too.
Do I have to use more than one SPS Group business?▾
No. Many schools start with one service, such as cleaning or lock-up, and add others later. Each service is contracted with the business that delivers it.
Which areas do you cover?▾
Schools, colleges and universities across Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, including Hull and East Yorkshire, Leeds, York, Sheffield, Doncaster, Grimsby, Scunthorpe and Lincoln, from offices in Hull, Grimsby and Lincoln.
Looking after a school, trust or campus?
Tell us which sites and services you need. We'll put you in touch with the right team, or several, in one conversation.
