Teachers > FAQ's

Frequently Asked Questions

Education

1. What provision does the Company make for Education?

a) The Company opened its first education centre in 1996, it provides educational opportunities for students of all ages. It has a dual focus aiming to educate its visitors about water and the environment.

2. Does the Company help students with their project work?

a) Yes. The Company receives many requests from students of all ages for information to help them to complete their school projects on water. The Company website has been designed to provide a lot of useful information to support these requests. In addition, booklets produced by the Company are also provided to students, e.g. Water Use In Your Home, Drinking water Quality Report, Corporate Social Responsibility Report etc. Letters with specific questions are answered in student friendly language

3. Does the Company do work in schools?

a) Yes. The Company works closely with schools and educational bodies such as its local education business partnerships to support a variety of educational initiatives. These include working in a variety of schools supporting such programmes as business awareness, practice interviews, and engineering roadshows. Members of staff visit schools to give talks on water and to support environment study days. The Company also supports some project work e.g. the development of a new pond at Shire Oak School.

4. Does the Company offer work experience?

a) Yes. Work experience is increasingly being seen as an important part of the development of our young people. The Company does offer work experience and is held on the register of Walsall EBP as being a provider of this service. Work experience placements are managed by the manager whose unit into which the student is placed.

5. What age groups does the Company work with?

a) The age range so far has spanned from 2 years to 94 years. Most requests for information come from key stage 3 students, (11-13 years). Most visitors to the Education Centre are from Key Stage 2, (7-11 years).

6. Does the Company offer any apprenticeships for young people?

a) Yes. Periodically the Company does run recruitment schemes aimed at gaining apprentices who are offered training and development designed to equip them with the knowledge, skills, and experience they need to take on key roles in the business at a future date.

7. What activities may be undertaken by students who visit Blithfield?

a) There is a wide range of available activities, including pond dipping, hunting for mini-beasts, birdwatching, nature trails, and a tour of the reservoir’s operational facilities. In addition the woodland may be used for artwork, photography, scientific field studies, and activities designed to support numeracy and literacy. Students can also learn about water, including the Water Cycle, Water Treatment Processes, and aspects of Water Science.

8. What educational materials does the Company produce?

a) The Company’s new website, www.blithfieldeducationcentre.co.uk| provides more information and educational materials than ever before, offering a wealth of information on water and environmental science to help students develop a greater understanding of these areas and achieve higher levels of attainment in their studies. Printed materials that might be of interest to students include the Water Company’s “Water Use In Your Home” booklet, Drinking water Quality Report, and Corporate Social Responsibility Report.

9. Does the Company offer any teacher/professional development opportunities?

a) Yes. The Company regularly runs teacher-training activities at its Blithfield Education Centre. These are often supported by educational bodies such as local EBP’s.

Environment

1. Does the Company have an environment policy?

a) Yes the Company does have an Environment Policy which conforms to the current requirements of ISO 14001. The policy can be downloaded from the Environment pages of the Company's website.

2. Does the Company hold the ISO14001 standard?

a) No. Hampton Loade treatment works did have the standard but the Company does not yet have an integrated Environmental Management System in place. This is currently in its infancy and will be in place as soon as is possible. The new system, which is likely to take a couple of years to develop, will be designed to conform to the requirements of ISO14001. However no decision has yet been made as to whether or not to formally apply for the standard.

3. Does the Company produce an Environment Report?

a) Yes. It is a statutory requirement for us to produce a Conservation, Access and Recreation report. For 2002/03 the Company further developed this to produce its first Environment Report. In 2003/04 it was further developed into the Company’s first Corporate Social Responsibility report.

4. What other environmental reporting is undertaken?

a) Water UK runs a Sustainability Network on which the Company is represented by its Environment and Education Manager. Each year the Company compiles a report on its environmental performance based on a set of indicators, which have been developed by Water UK. These indicators are split into 6 areas, namely, Governance, Environment, Society, Employees, Assets, and Financial and include such things as the Company’s energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, use of chemicals, generation of sludge and other waste. Although involvement is voluntary most water companies submit a similar report, which is then compiled into an industry statement by Water UK.

5. What happens if someone asks for information of an environmental nature?

a) The Environmental Information Regulations 2004 state that we must provide environmental information within 20 working days of receipt of the request. We can only refuse if we can prove that we are entitled to use an exemption provided in the regulations, or if the person requesting the information refuses to pay any reasonable charges. For more details contact the Environment and Education Manager.

6. What is an SSSI and do we have any?

a) A SSSI, (Site of Special Scientific Interest), is an area that has been given the designation as it is important for certain features which may be flora, fauna, or archaeological in nature. The Company has two SSSI’s in its ownership. The Blithfield Reservoir estate is the Company’s biggest SSSI at over 430 hectares. Penorchard Pastures near Hayley Green in the South of the Company area is the second SSSI. Owing to their designation it is important to be careful how SSSI’s are managed in order to ensure that the features for which it has been designated are not damaged. English Nature has a target to achieve 95% of SSSI’s in “Favourable” or “Unfavourable but Recovering” condition by 2010.

7. What happens if you find an endangered species while working?

a) There are many endangered and/or protected species that may become evident as work progresses. This could include Great Crested Newts, bats, and a host of other animals as well as a range of plants. It is an offence to damage these species or remove them from their habitat without a licence or consent from English Nature. In some cases an ecological survey would be required. If such a regulatory breach were to happen the Company would be liable to prosecution and would incur quite substantial fines. Hence, if you become aware of any endangered and/or protected species being evident while you are working on Company business it is important that you check the status of the species with the Environment and Education Manager so that the appropriate safeguards can be put into place. Remedial actions may be to apply for a consent/conservation licence or may require an alternative habitat to be developed. In some cases work will need to stop until remedial actions have been undertaken.

8. Does the Company recycle anything?

a) Yes, a number of resources are recycled. Paper, which is collected in the green paper waste bins located around our offices, is taken away for recycling. Cardboard is also recycled. Sludge waste from the Company’s treatment works is now spread to land and is thus utilised by farmers as a soil conditioner.

9. Does the Company do anything to help people learn about the environment?

a) Yes, the Company actively participates in a variety of educational initiatives that serve to enlighten its communities about environmental issues. Direct education is provided to visitors to the Company’s education centre at Blithfield Reservoir. The Company also supports many projects to support environmental factors, e.g. the provision of a Kestrel pole for an urban school.

10. What does “environmental” include?

a) The word environmental is often associated merely with looking after our fields and woodlands. However, in reality it is much wider then that. It also includes the effective management of energy, waste, water resources, supply chains, vehicle fleet and finances. This wider meaning is reflected in the Water UK Sustainability indicators and accounts for the diversity of indicators that have been developed to date.