EDUCATIONAL AND SCHOOL FACILITIES
Shaping responsible citizens for a greener future
Alasdair Sharp, UKI Head of Sales AFH at Satino by WEPA, discusses the importance of sustainable hygiene in primary schools, as we educate the next generation on infection prevention and environmental care.
Early years education plays a pivotal role in shaping children's attitudes towards the world around them. It has long been established that the first seven years of a child’s life are a complex development process and education has a direct effect on personal, social and emotional development.
Primary schools serve as the foundation for learning and establishing positive lifelong habits. Today, schools are evolving into more than just places for basic education: they are becoming hubs to foster a positive outlook on individual and planetary health. Indeed, establishing clear sustainable hygiene strategies in primary schools can help normalise the value of best hygiene practices.
Helping green minds blossom
Studies have indicated and underlined a clear need to educate schoolchildren on the importance of implementing sustainable development practices. As we move closer to a net zero future, schools should be encouraged to include environmentally friendly purchasing practices in their maintenance strategies.
Feeding practical advice and climate change measures through school education could play a critical role in the manufacturing and innovation of washroom hygiene solutions in decades to come. In addition, cultivating a holistic approach to school hygiene can equip future generations with the knowledge and skills to be sustainability leaders and forces for impactful change.
It's paramount that the hygiene strategies prevalent in primary schools exist to not only keep pupils safe but also educate them on why they're important in our everyday lives. School washrooms, for instance, shouldn't be solely viewed as washrooms; they're very much classrooms too.
Education integration
Naturally, school environments can see illness quickly spread. Tackling this issue at its source by educating pupils about the consequences of poor hygiene practices establishes a concerted effort toward infection prevention. By emphasising the importance of handwashing and infection prevention, schools can potentially reduce illness rates and absenteeism, lowering the national average absence rate from its current standing of 6.1%.
Whilst we have spent recent years educating young minds on the importance of maintaining good hygiene and instilling positive habits, there is now an increased focus on educating children on product source and production. Integrating sustainability into hygiene education in primary schools is an effective way to instil a sense of environmental responsibility in students that they can carry with them into higher education. By doing so, we can enhance their awareness of the impact of our actions on
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the planet and foster positive habits that can be inherited by future generations.
Cultivating environmental literacy
By increasing the value of sustainability among young people, we empower them to become responsible citizens actively seeking to minimise energy consumption and reduce non-recyclable waste. These behavioural traits can also feed back into the family environment, breeding wider positive changes that promote positive choices.
Sustainable hygiene practices can help in normalising the sustainable alternatives to everyday products such as bleach- free recycled toilet paper and microplastic-free soaps. In turn, these too can be used as educational opportunities.
Inspiring future sustainability leaders
By teaching hygiene habits with a focus on sustainability, primary schools become catalysts for environmental stewardship among their students. When the next generation gains heightened awareness of how their actions can positively or negatively impact the planet, positive habits are formed.
These habits, instilled from an early age, will influence future sustainability leaders, manufacturers and innovators. By fostering a deep understanding of the impact of our actions on the planet, primary schools can pave the way for a greener, more sustainable future.
For more information on Satino by WEPA, please visit the website below.
www.satino-by-wepa.co.uk twitter.com/TomoCleaning
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