Campus partnership

Madeleine Ford visits the University of Suffolk to discover how a long-standing partnership with Churchill Group is driving a one-team approach to cleaning and security across the university estate

Creating safe, welcoming and high-performing university environments requires more than simply delivering services – it demands collaboration, flexibility and a shared commitment to the student experience. That ethos sits at the heart of the long-standing partnership between the University of Suffolk and Churchill Group, whose cleaning and security specialist businesses have worked alongside the university for more than a decade.

CONTRACT BACKGROUND

Churchill first began providing cleaning services to the University of Suffolk in 2008, while Amulet (part of Churchill Group) joined the partnership in 2019 to deliver security services across the university’s campuses. Over time, the contract has evolved into a comprehensive FM solution, covering a broad range of operational services under one management structure.

Following a competitive tender process in 2024, Churchill Group retained its contract with the university for a further seven years, with a three-year break clause and the opportunity for a further four-year extension. The renewed agreement reflects not only the confidence in operational performance, but also in the strength of a collaborative partnership built around shared values, communication and continuous improvement.

Justine Oakes, Head of Strategic Estates Management at the University of Suffolk, explained that the main driver in uniting with Churchill was their shared commitment to service excellence, alongside social value, sustainability and operational collaboration. The biggest motivation for both sides is providing the best student experience possible and for the contract teams to be seen as an extension of the in-house team.

Today, the partnership spans 11 buildings on the main campus and further areas off site, with between 50 and 60 staff across both teams overall.

CLEANING

In higher education environments, cleaning teams play a vital role in shaping first impressions and supporting the day-to-day experience of students, staff and visitors. At the University of Suffolk, Churchill’s cleaning teams operate across teaching spaces, communal areas, cafes, offices, washrooms and student facilities, helping to ensure every part of the campus remains clean, safe and welcoming throughout the day.

With campuses operating from early morning through to evening lectures, events and activities, maintaining consistently high standards requires flexibility, organisation and close collaboration with the Contracts Manager. Churchill structures its cleaning schedules carefully to work around the demands of campus life, minimising disruption while ensuring heavily used spaces remain presentable and hygienic.

The nature of a busy university environment, particularly one located within a town centre, also means constantly changing footfall and operational pressures throughout the academic year. From examinations and open days to graduations and student events, the cleaning provision must adapt quickly to fluctuating campus demands. Equally, quieter periods during holidays provide opportunities for larger scale works such as carpet cleans, deep cleaning and detailed maintenance tasks across university buildings.

Churchill’s longstanding presence on site has allowed teams to build a strong understanding of the estate, its users and the university’s expectations. Alongside daily operations, governance and communication form a major part of the contract’s success.

David Firth, Account Manager for Churchill, explained that monthly audits are carried out across every building, supported by team leaders who ensure standards are maintained consistently across the estate.

The contract is also underpinned by a structured governance model designed to encourage transparency and collaboration between Churchill and the university.

Justine Oakes explains: “We have a well laid out governance structure that was part of this new contract approach, so we have monthly meetings with all of our key service providers, run by our contract manager, which helps to surface any problems that might be going on in that immediate month.

“Following on from that we have quarterly, six monthly, and yearly meetings which are at Director level, these look at how we’re performing collectively and how the contract’s performing, ensuring management, monitoring, and progression are on track.”

 

SECURITY

Alongside cleaning provision, Churchill Group delivers a comprehensive security service through Amulet, one which is designed to support safety, wellbeing and reassurance across the university estate. Here, security has moved away from what would be deemed as traditional and has become a lot more about safeguarding. The service is designed not only to protect buildings and assets, but to help foster a safe and inclusive campus culture.

Hannah Bridgman, Commercial Relationship Director at Amulet Security says that the safeguarding element has really come into its own, she said: “there’s been some brilliant stories where our team have intervened and supported in difficult situations.” She highlights the ‘On the Spot Awards’ where the company gives reward and recognition to the response team.

It’s not just about keeping students safe, security officers can be called upon to support student welfare situations around the campus, particularly in the evenings and on weekends. The security team are on-site figures embedded in daily life, building strong relationships where students feel comfortable asking for help or turning to.

The role of the security team is varied because of the campus’ town centre location. This requires dealing with the general public – including responding to middle of the night safeguarding issues.

“The way the incidents vary is phenomenal, and the team are constantly having to change their outlook and way of dealing with things”, Jason Brown, Regional Director for Amulet remarked.

What has been beneficial to this are intelligence drop-in centres run by Amulet’s specialist intelligence department. Utilising this, on a six-weekly basis they share open-source data intelligence which shows any trends in security threats in the local area, including mobile theft, burglary, an increase in stabbings, or upcoming protests for example. This allows the team to make an informed decision on staff numbers, what to look out for, and a general vigilance on certain threats to keep students safe.

 

ONE TEAM CULTURE

One of the defining features of the contract is the genuine ‘one team’ culture between Churchill Group and the university. As finalists of the Dream Team award, it is abundantly clear that team collaboration and camaraderie play a vital role in the success of this contract. The cleaning side and the security side both have their specialisms yet being a part of Churchill Group, the teams have elements that are consistent with each other and means they communicate well.

“From a client end, this is massively advantageous”, explained Oakes, “it means we don’t get any lines of friction. We get the specialisms without having the relationship burden that might come with multiple different contracts.”

The partnership also creates opportunities for continuous improvement, with both organisations working collaboratively to identify efficiencies, improve service delivery and respond to changing expectations within the higher education sector. Culture and people development are another important part of the contract’s success. Staff retention and continuity have enabled strong working relationships to develop over time, while shared values around professionalism, respect and service quality help reinforce a consistent experience across campus.

Both the university and Churchill Group place enormous importance on the placemaking of the campus and it feels like an enjoyable and safe place to be. Oakes continued by stating that: “We couldn’t run the estate in the way that we do without the partnership, Churchill and Amulet are our eyes and ears. They are very visible, very communicative and recognisable for the students,” which is invaluable to campus life.

LOOKING AHEAD

With a renewed contract in place, what does long-term success look like?

For Amulet: “We like to be progressive. As we take the contract forward, we want it to look different because a lot changes in seven years. A success would be to see a change and show how we’ve adapted and remained agile over the course of the contract, whether that’s to new legislation, technology, or anything that crops up.”

Churchill: “The University of Suffolk has always been flagship for us; it’s our focal point of the area. Success is making sure our strategies and ethos align.”

University of Suffolk: “Success for the university is around placemaking. All of the functionalities we’ve spoken about move us towards creating a sense of community and place, they make a place what it is and that comes down to how we, as the university, cleaning and security, work together to create that feeling.”

CONCLUSION

The partnership between the University of Suffolk and Churchill Group demonstrates how specialist facilities services can deliver far more than operational support alone. This contract has created a joined-up approach focused on efficiency, communication and user experience. From maintaining high presentation standards to supporting campus safety and wellbeing, the success of the partnership reflects the value of long-term relationships built on trust, shared values and a commitment to continuous improvement.