Drinking Water in a School Setting

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Drinking Water in a School Setting

• Rachel Clements

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The Challenge

• Obesity amongst children is on the increase
• Estimated that 8.5 of 6 yr olds and 15 of 15 yr
  old children are obese
• 9/10 children are taking food to school that
  contains too much sugar, salt and saturated fat.
• When we are thirsty mental performance
  deteriorates by 10
• In an typical week 1 in 5 children eat no fruit
• 58 of children would like to be taught to cook
  at school
• Over 90 of children said they would like
  healthier meals at school

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Bigger Picture

• White Paper on improving health
• PSA Target on Obesity
• Healthy Living Blueprint
• Healthy Schools Programme

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Bigger Picture

• Public Health - a priority for NHS and government
• NHS Improvement Plan - June 2004

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White Paper on improving health

• Published in autumn
• Informed by consultation
• Policy direction for future work to tackle
  obesity - including action in schools

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A Public Commitment

• July - PSA target for obesity

• to reduce the year on year rise in the
  prevalence of obesity in children under 11 by
  2010, in the context of a broader strategy to
  reduce obesity in the population as a whole

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A Public Commitment

• Jointly owned by the DH, DCMS and DfES
• Prevention best approach improving diet and
  physical activity
• Schools are a key setting

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Healthy Living Blueprint

• Published 6 September.
• Joint DH, DfES, FSA, DCMS and DEFRA
• Sets out Govt vision - that all schools are
  healthy schools, and supports schools in
  achieving this
• Web portal points schools to information, advice,
  guidance and sources of help
• www.teachernet.gov.uk

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Healthy Living Blueprint

• All pupils should have access to drinking water
• at all times at a number of points around the
• school, preferably no from taps in the toilets.
• Pupils should be permitted to carry water with
• them and consumption encouraged both in
• class and during break and lunch time.

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Healthy Schools Programme

• Central to Healthy Living Blueprint
• Jointly funded by DH/DfES
• Involves eight strands - inc healthy eating,
  physical activity and
• National evaluation

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Healthy Schools Programme

• Quote from a headteacher on the National College
  for School
• Leadership recent 'hotseat conversation'
  (September 2004)
• Is the healthy school initiative a way forward to
  combating
• obesity? Our school gained the healthy school
  award this year. As
• a result, we have water, fresh fruits and
  delicious carrots and
• tomatoes available for all our children in the
  infants and drinking
• water on demand in our juniors all day long. The
  difference it has
• made to the children's choice of eating habits is
  profound.
• Children from poor families benefit the most
  they are being
• introduced to a variety of fruits that are well
  outside their parents'
• budgets this is empowering our school to have
  future influence
• in children's eating habits. In my opinion this
  is a positive start to
• addressing the problems of obesity as well as
  extending the
• school curriculum on health education.

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Healthy Schools Programme

• Next Step

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Food in Schools Programme

• Joint DH/DfES programme
• Support healthy eating strand of the Healthy
  Schools Programme

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Food in Schools Programme

• DfES strand involves 8 projects
• curriculum focussed
• DH strand involves 8 projects
• - follow child throughout school day

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Department of Health Strand
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(No Transcript)
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Why Water Provision?

• Health benefits
• Many other benefits for schools

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Approach

• Best Practice

Literature Review
National international examples
Needs Assessment
Pilot Evaluation
Report
Outputs Dissemination
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Best Practice

• Recommendation for children
• Current consumption
• Current situation

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Needs Assessment

• 40 schools North West and East Midlands
• Involved teachers, pupils, partner organisations
  etc
• Findings

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Pilot/Interventions

• Pilot approaches
• Resources to support

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Resources
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Evaluation

• Evaluation Aims
• Assess the success of the pilot in increasing
  water consumption
• Identify main barriers to increased consumption,
  and how these can be surmounted
• Provide recommendations on the opportunities to
  develop sustainable and transferable models and
  approaches that will allow other schools to
  benefit from the learnings

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Report

• Findings
• Key elements to effective strategies
• The impact

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Report

• If you dont drink water than your brain
• gets thirsty (female pupil year 4)
• The water is cold and encourages pupils
• to drink it (Headteacher)
• Its a great idea. You can get it when you
• want and the teachers are OK about you
• drinking in class (female pupil, year 4)

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Status Outputs

• Pilots complete
• Developing outputs
• Dissemination early 2005

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What next?

• How can the good work underway be extended?
• How can you be involved?