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Water provision

  • Last modified date:
    8 February 2007
Primary Schools Water poster

The Water Provision pilot project is being carried out in 40 schools across two regions, the North East and the East Midlands. The project consists of research followed by a needs assessment in the schools, intervention and evaluation.

Research

The needs assessment revealed the following key findings:

  • Primary schools tend to have more considered approaches to water provision and access is greater.
  • In secondary schools, students have poor access to water, and facilities are scarce and usually outdated.
  • Schools involved in health-promoting activities such as National Healthy Schools Standard are more likely to recognise the benefits of drinking water and to have explicit policies in place.
  • Teachers must support an increase in water provision if it is to be introduced successfully.
  • There is a broad understanding of the importance of drinking water among students, but only the small minority drink the recommended daily amount.
  • Existing water facilities are frequently insufficiently durable to withstand school life, and suitable sites for facilities are restricted in number.
Intervention

Improving provision

The research recommended that additional water provision facilities be installed in most schools, according to the number and quality of existing facilities, the layout of the school, potential access points and student populations. Water coolers, swan-neck fountains, tap chillers and filters were sourced from a number of different suppliers and installed as appropriate, and water bottles and water filter jugs were provided to many schools.

Driving consumption

It is important to encourage consumption by setting up school policies and providing resources which promote drinking water among all audiences - teachers, students and parents. Resources were developed and trialled during the pilot which will provide guidance on these issues, and posters were also distributed to be displayed around schools.

Evaluation

The evaluation during the course of the pilot looked at changes in access to water, awareness among all audiences of the benefits of drinking water, levels of consumption, barriers to consumption and methods of surmounting these barriers and whether schools have effective water provision strategies in place. The methodology consisted of school visits and interviews, questionnaires and discussion groups with all key stakeholders, before, during and after the intervention.

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