Our responsible business commitment is to develop a future generation schools programme on water
What is this commitment?
Research with our customers and community showed education about water was important to those we serve, in particular, to influence the next generation of water users. We have therefore committed to a five-year programme to increase our education activities to reach more young people year on year.
We plan to upgrade our education materials for our key visitor sites at Arlington and Ardingly reservoirs and, if we progress with any new surface water reservoirs, we will work with the local community to develop education centres for the site.
We will build on our STEM ambassador programme and run the Know h2ow awards for secondary schools – working in partnership with the STEM Hub to promote this and encourage other organisations to take part too.
This activity will contribute to the WaterUK Public Interest Commitment to promote social mobility in our industry.
Desired impact – For the next generation to understand where their water comes from, to value the work we do, and the part they play, inspiring future water workers from diverse backgrounds.
How have we performed?
Following the pandemic, we decided to rethink how we deliver our school programme in a way that fits schools’ priorities (as many were focusing on closing the gaps that have opened up in core pupil progress during the pandemic) and their curriculum. We also wanted to extend our outreach to other organisations and to families.
We launched our AquaSmart online platform in October 2022 where pupils can follow our Aquanauts characters to complete missions and learn about becoming water wise. Access is not limited to schools, and parents and other users can also access AquaSmart online.
With Ashford Borough Council we have completed AquaSmart trials in five schools with their eco committees. These trials are followed by school visits and we have completed three of these so far, delivering presentations to approximately 200 children per school and also providing a water butt to thank them for their participation and further their water efficiency journey.
In partnership with Kent Green Action, Kent County Council, we have previously run social media and direct mail water efficiency project including a school competition with a chance for five of them to win a water butt. Kent Green Action is currently under rebranding and will become Greener Kent, once rebranding is complete, we plan to re-establish our communication campaign including direct discussion with schools.
We are in talks with other local authorities within our supply area to enrol them in the development phases of testing in order for us to gain greater insight from a wider demographic. Including schools in Sussex, Surrey, and Hampshire.
We are working with Wilder Schools, Surrey Wildlife Trust about incorporating AquaSmart within their programme. With a plan of extending the partnership with other Wildlife Trusts within our supply area.
We are also working with teachers to align our content with the eco schools programme to make it possible for them to use AquaSmart to deliver education on water as part of the national curriculum. We also participate in the Waterwise project to develop a national curriculum on water.
We participate in Ofwat’s innovation fund project on Water Literacy with Waterwise and Northumbrian Water. This project has been given approval to form a national water literacy programme, similar to the carbon literacy curriculum. The Water Literacy project seeks to raise awareness of the value of water and connect society’s water use to the environment and its role in reducing the impacts of climate change. It provides citizens with greater awareness and understanding of the systems involved and techniques to empower positive behaviour changes at home, in the workplace or in communities.
We have shared our work and experience with Waterwise through our membership of the steering group managing their strategic objective that “people valuing water through life-long learning about water and how to use it wisely”.
We have actively promoted AquaSmart at many of our community events this year, providing AquaSmart activity sheets to children about how to use water wisely, giving out free devices and directing parents and children to the AquaSmart website.
We are developing more AquaSmart materials for event days and children’s social clubs.
We are also carrying out school water audits, where an engineer visits the school to undertake a full water audit, explain the findings and provide recommendations on where water can be saved through the installation of water efficient products. The engineer also looks for unaccounted water usage, or “customer side leaks” and repair any internal leaks, all funded by South East Water. Following the visit a full report is provided to the school.
AquaSmart is available online here.
“I now know how to save water and I think I can!” Pupil at Alton Infant school