Posted By col Can anyone help on this issue.I understand the government issuing a directive that all schools have wholesome drinking water, but are the schools allowed to install drinking fountains in the school yard, or toilet area,s if so how do they stop bacteria buildup, rats, birds etc in the school yard fountains. or is there a cleaning regime that they have to follow. In respect of the drinking fountains in toilets I was informed a while ago that there had to be a wall between the toilets/urinals and the actual fountains, again am I misinformed.

Posted By Della Pearlman The 'Healthy Living Blueprint for Schools', published in September 2004, recommended that "all pupils should have access to drinking water at all times at a number of points around the school, preferably not from taps in toilets. Pupils should be permitted to carry water with them and consumption encouraged both in class and during break and lunchtime". The Education (Schools Premises) Regulations 1999 require that adequate supplies of wholesome drinking water are accessible to staff and pupils throughout the day (see http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si1999/19990002.htm) DCSF’s Building Bulletin No 87, states that there are no standards for the distribution of drinking water outlets throughout the schools premises but bodies responsible should consider the pattern of demand within schools which can be concentrated within fairly short breaks (http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/docbank/index.cfm?id=4753). But the DCSF's Standard Spec. on Toilets SSLD 3 http://www.teachernet.go..._SSLD_toilets_AW_web.pdf says that for hygiene reasons the source of drinking water should be located away from the toilet facilities, as does BREEAM Schools’ Manual HW16 and Building Bulletin 87. I recently surveyed one of my clients (architects who design schools) on this - no drinking fountains are installed in new schools, but there are drinking fountains on external routes, and on internal circulation routes, and I would assume that these are maintained and cleaned on a regular basis.