Are our Schools leaving Children High and Dry?

Drinking in Schools, a new report providing a detailed look at the hydration status of schools around the UK and guidance on how to solve the existing hydration-related issues has been released by the Expert Group on Hydration (EGH).

Dr Paul Stillman of the EGH says, “A huge focus had been given to children’s nutritional intake in recent months - and rightly so - but the EGH is concerned that hydration is at risk of being overlooked as part of the overhaul. Everyone is at risk of dehydration and children are at greater risk of feeling effects, such as headaches, lethargy, reduced concentration and digestive problems.”

The research shows that teachers and LEAs recognise the benefits of hydration for their students but do not see it as a big priority. Ninety two per cent feel that hydration is a relatively easy problem to solve, yet only 13 per cent of schools are actually trying to solve it with a specific policy on hydration. In addition, the topic is not emphasised in the national curriculum, despite the health and performance potential benefits of maintaining good hydration.

In those schools that have implemented any hydration-related measures, 91 per cent note that children are now drinking more and are calmer, better behaved, have improved concentration, fewer headaches and less lethargy.

Here are some of the key findings from the report :

• 40% of 11-18 year olds are not drinking the recommended daily minimum amount of 1.2 litres.
• Whilst at school, children could possibly not have a drink for 8-9 hours a day.
• Just one school in ten ever gives a child a drink and few encourage children to drink throughout the day. Even at times when children are most at risk of dehydration (e.g. after physical education lessons), one-third of schools offer no encouragement to drink.
• Only 2% of schools give children a drink with their lunch and this drops to 1% for the morning break.
• 83% of respondents know that pupils would benefit from drinking more fluids throughout the day and 72% believe that better hydration would result in improved classroom behaviour.
• Two out of three schools do not allow any drinking in the classroom, which leaves at least five hours in the day when children are not allowed to drink. If this is to remain the case, active encouragement outside of formal lessons is vital.

Dr Juliet Gray of the EGH says, “We recommend that children of this age should ideally be drinking two litres of fluid a day but it looks like many children are not even managing half this amount. That is bound to take a toll on health, performance and general wellbeing, so we have pulled together some advice on how to improve the current situation.”

Chief recommendations from the report:

• Every school should have a hydration policy and hydration should be included in plans to review the school meals system.
• The emphasis on the importance of hydration in the national curriculum needs to be increased.
• Availability of drinks and access to fluids during the school day needs to be addressed.
• It would be beneficial to continue to allow children to bring drinks to school; a blanket ban would be unhelpful and inappropriate.
• Drinks should be allowed in the classroom, even if the choice of drinks is limited.
• If re-usable drinks bottles are to be used, care and education need to be exercised with regard to good hygiene practices.
• Vending can play a valuable role in providing a controlled choice of drinks to enable adequate hydration.
• Consideration should be given to providing an afternoon break for children.
• Active encouragement to drink should be given to children after PE and other sporting activities.
The research was undertaken over the last three months and more than 80 schools from England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland took part, in addition to ten Local Education Authorities (LEAs).