Dehydration in schools is having a damaging effect on children’s health and education, Yorkshire Water warned today (Monday, June 17th).

Children in classrooms across the region are suffering from headaches, fatigue, irritability and poor concentration because some schools are failing to provide pupils with adequate access to drinking water, say health experts.

It is also causing short and long-term kidney and urinary tract infections.

The news will come as a shock to many parents in Yorkshire after a poll recently conducted by Yorkshire Water showed that over half were unaware what their children’s daily intake of water should be.

To tackle the problem Yorkshire Water today launched a major new campaign

- Cool

Schools -

which aims to see the installation of water coolers in every primary school in the region over the next three years.

Yorkshire Water has struck a deal with the Leeds-based water cooler specialist, Freshwater Coolers plc, whereby if a business leases three water coolers, it gets one at a vastly discounted rate which the business is then asked to donate to a local primary school of their choice.

Children will be provided with refillable water bottles which they will be encouraged to take into classes with them.

Children should drink at least eight glasses of water a day, however research shows that many schools provide pupils with little or no drinking water during the academic day.

What provision there is tends to be a single tap in the toilets shared by in excess of 50 pupils at a time – an unhygienic environment in which to take a drink and one often avoided by pupils as a popular stalking ground for school bullies.

Instead many children choose to do without or drink fizzy pop, fruit juice or diluted drinks, which medical experts claim can cause tooth decay, weight problems and hyperactive behaviour.

Yorkshire Water’s Managing Director Kevin Whiteman said:

“There is overwhelming medical evidence that dehydration has very damaging short and long-term effects on children’s health.

“Yet several senior public health experts have told us it is nothing short of scandalous that the standard of sanitation and provision of drinking water in some schools hasn’t improved since they were built back in Victorian times.

“The time has come to take tap water out of the toilets. Through our Cool Schools initiative we aim to improve the availability of drinking water in schools by giving the children access to chilled tap water in a hygienic and safe environment,” he added.

Dr Martin Schweiger, a Consultant in Communicable Disease Control with the Leeds NHS Health Protection Unit, said

improving the availability of water in schools had the potential to make a huge difference to pupils’ health and performance.

“Dehydration in school children is far more common than you might think. If children don’t drink enough water, the delicate enzyme systems their bodies depend on start to get out of kilter. Headaches, tiredness, poor concentration and irritability are common signs that the body is drying out.

“And long-term problems of infection, kidney disease and high blood pressure are the price many people pay for drinking too little as a child,” he added.

Mr John Flockton, the headmaster of Newhall Park Primary School in Bierley, Bradford, where the scheme is being launched today (see details of photo-call) said:

“I am an enormous advocate of Yorkshire Water’s Cool Schools initiative which I’m confident will deliver significant benefits to our pupils. There is compelling medical evidence that providing children with easy access to high quality drinking water can enhance their general wellbeing and is conducive to a better learning environment.”

Mr Colin Gilbert, Director of Freshwater Coolers plc, said:

“We are delighted to partner Yorkshire Water in this initiative to encourage everyone to drink more water for their health’s sake. We urge the Yorkshire business community to fully support the campaign, not only to aid the well-being of the region’s children but also to aid the health and comfort of their own workforce.

“Already many companies have discovered the cost and business benefits of replacing their bottled water coolers with mains-fed water coolers,” he added.

Louise Cox, of The National Kidney Research Fund, said:

“We welcome this initiative by Yorkshire Water as it is another way to get across the important message that everyone should drink more water. Adequate water intake is essential for kidney health and The National Kidney Research Fund recommends that you drink two litres (that’s about eight large glasses) of water per day.

“We have recently launched National Drink Water Day to promote the need for everyone to drink more water. Working with Yorkshire Water to encourage more people to up their water intake is a great opportunity as a high fluid intake can also reduce the risk of urine infections, bladder cancer and kidney stones and will help us to achieve our quest for a healthier population both now and for the future.”

Yorkshire Water recently piloted its Cool Schools initiative in three Yorkshire schools and saw a dramatic increase in the amount of water consumed by the school children, who, along with their parents and teachers, welcomed the initiative with open arms.

The Government’s National Healthy School Standard encourages schools to recognise the importance of a sound education in promoting better health and emotional well-being for all children.

Colin Noble, Regional Co-ordinator of the National Healthy School Standard for Yorkshire and the Humber, said:

“The National Healthy School Standard makes it clear that a healthy school would be expected to provide clean drinking water and welcomes the facilitation of this aim.”

Professor Sonia Williams, spokesperson for the Yorkshire Regional Oral Health Group, said:

“The provision of cool, clean water in Yorkshire’s schools is an important development in promoting children’s dental health as well as for combating dehydration.

“Many drinks that children would otherwise access at school contain sugar, which if drunk at regular intervals throughout the day, will put teeth at risk of decay. Even those drinks that have the sugar content replaced by artificial sweeteners are often acidic, so that with frequent intake, the acid can directly dissolve the dental enamel. The result is a condition called ‘dental erosion’, which leaves teeth sensitive and hard to repair.

“Some of the drinks that children take to school may contain caffeine, which instead of rehydrating, dehydrates even more. People who are dehydrated may not produce as much saliva to wash around teeth to neutralise the effects of acid, whether that comes from the drinks themselves or from the action of acid-producing bacteria acting on sugary food or drinks they are consuming”, added Prof Williams.

Any schools or businesses wishing to register interest in Cool Schools should contact Project Co-ordinator Anne Reed on 01274 692515.

For further press information contact Corporate Affairs Manager Richard Sears on 01274 692585 or 07790 616520.

PHOTO/FILMING OPPORTUNITY

You are invited to send a reporter/photographer/film crew along to cover the launch of Cool Schools which will take place at 8.30am on Monday, June 17th at Newhall Park Primary School, Newhall Road, Bierley, Bradford.

At 8.30am the children will stage a demonstration at the school entrance to demand greater access to drinking water.

At 9am, Headmaster John Flockton will respond in an emergency morning assembly by unveiling the school’s new water coolers (provided by Yorkshire Water).

He will then go on to declare his school a fizzy drinks free zone and urge other headteachers to follow suit.

Reporters will have the opportunity to interview:

Yorkshire Water Managing Director Kevin Whiteman
Headmaster Mr John Flockton and his pupils
Dr Martin Schweiger, Consultant in Communicable Diseases Control with Leeds NHS Public Health Protection Unit
Representatives from two local businesses which have already agreed to support local schools under the initiative

Notes To Editors:

Following repeated outbreaks of gastro-enteritis and hepatitis A in primary schools in Leeds in the 1980s, a survey was conducted of schools toilets which were believed to be a breeding ground for the viruses.

The study found them to be dirty, smelly and unpleasant places which suffered from vandalism, particularly in the girls’ toilets.

There were broken toilet seats, no lids, insufficient supplies of toilet paper, poor hand-washing facilities and string in place of chains to flush the toilets.

As a result children were unwilling to use the toilets and suffered uncomfortable afternoons as they waited until they got home to relieve their bladders and bowels.

Children were reluctant to drink before or during school hours to reduce the risk that they would have to go to the toilet.

When they arrived home thirsty they would gorge themselves with fluids which often led to a more unpleasant problem – bed-wetting.

As a result, checklists were distributed to local schools to encourage them to improve their toilet facilities and a major awareness-raising exercise was launched.

Source: Dr Martin Schweiger, Consultant in Communicable Disease Control, Leeds NHS Public Health Protection Unit

In November 1999, a separate study was launched involving 192 schools in the Leeds area.

The survey showed that 42% of pupils in Leeds had no access to drinking water during the academic day.

Of the 58% that did have access, 56% could only get a drink of water at lunchtime and 44% could only obtain a drink from the toilet area.

While 25% of schools had installed water fountains, a staggering 86% of them were not working.

Even more worrying was the fact that only 14% of schools encouraged their pupils to drink water after PE or games when their bodies lost most fluid.

Fifty six per cent of pupils thought the toilets were dirty, 39% did not have lockable cubicles, 41% did not have toilet paper and 29% of pupils refused to sit on the toilet seat.

Source: Dr Trevor Brocklebank, Reader in Paediatric Nephrology at the University of Leeds