Interview: Raising the bog standard - Joanne Almond, HealthySchools co-ordinator, Sandwell council

Horrible toilets mean pupils drink less to avoid going. This can lead todehydration, constipation, headaches, fatigue and a lack ofconcentration.

Learning and behaviour also suffer.

For five Sandwell schools this is not a problem, though. They've justbecome the first in the country to win the national Bog Standard Award,which is organised by Education and Resources for Improving ChildhoodContinence (Children Now, 29 March-4 April).

The name is misleading though, because to get the award bogs must bebrilliant (see box).

Joanne Almond, Healthy Schools co-ordinator at Sandwell council, decidedto go for the award after listening to children. "The Healthy Schoolsteam have trained more than 65 school councils and through talking andworking with young people we discovered toilets were a major concern.It's really important for health and wellbeing at school," she says.