Children across North Tyneside have been brushing up on the best way to get perfectly clean hands.
North Tyneside Council has provided every first and primary school with ‘GlitterBug’ hand hygiene kits, designed to help children understand how to wash their hands thoroughly.
And one of those schools is Fordley Primary School in Dudley, where children across the school have been enjoying using the kits.
After rubbing the glow-in-the-dark ‘potion’ on their hands, they washed them as they normally would and then used an ultraviolet light to show areas where they’d missed, and the ‘potion’ remained.
Six-year-old Rosie was one of the children taking part, afterwards she said: “We used this special soap and it smelled like sun cream, but Mrs Pringle didn't tell us it was magic.
“When we washed our hands with the peach soap, she put a magic light on our hands, and it made some bits of our hands turn blue. The blue bits were where the germs were.
“I had just washed my hands really well but there were still lots of blue bits around my nails. It was horrible!
“I washed them again and we checked, and they were nice and clean this time."
Speaking about the importance of the kits, North Tyneside Elected Mayor, Norma Redfearn CBE said: “Good hand hygiene is critical to help prevent the spread of germs and bacteria and it’s important children form these habits when they’re young.
“Now, more than ever, we know how vital this is which is why we have provided these kits, as well as some other helpful resources, to our schools.
“The kits are a really fun, engaging and interactive way for children to learn about the importance of good hand hygiene, and it’s wonderful to hear such brilliant feedback from those taking part.”
All middle and high schools in the borough have been offered some educational sessions with the UV light boxes, which will be delivered by the local authority’s school nurses.