A simple addition, put straight to work

Installing an outdoor tap for West View Primary School, Hartlepool, to support the pupils’ new fruit and vegetable garden – delivered as part of our social value commitment to Hartlepool Borough Council.

The Opportunity

West View Primary School was creating a fruit and vegetable garden – a space where children could learn about growing food, caring for plants and sustainability through hands-on outdoor learning. What the garden lacked was a practical way to get water to it. Without a nearby supply, every watering meant carrying cans out from inside the building. RPS was already working across Hartlepool on the council’s decarbonisation programme, and the school sat within the communities we were serving. We saw a chance to give something back that was small in scale but would be used every single week.

What we did

Our engineers surveyed the school grounds with staff to agree a location that was close to the garden, safe for children to use and easy to isolate and drain down over winter. We then installed a new external tap, run from the school’s existing supply and fixed to the outside wall with the pipework clipped and protected. The work was carried out at no cost to the school, scheduled around the school day to avoid any disruption.

Why it matters

The tap was used from the moment it was commissioned. Staff have already used it for outdoor water play, giving children opportunities for exploration and learning that were not practical before. The school has since secured grant funding for raised beds, which will be built in the autumn term – and the tap will be what keeps them watered as the plants grow. For RPS, this is what social value should look like: a real, specific need in a community where we are already working, met with our own trade skills. The programme cutting carbon across Hartlepool’s buildings is also leaving something behind in its schools.

Project Details

ADDRESS

West View Primary School

CLIENT

Hartlepool Borough Council

WORKS

Outdoor tap installation

Project Gallery

The free outdoor tap has been a fantastic addition to our school and has already made such a positive difference. The children have loved having easy access to water for outdoor water play, providing lots of opportunities for fun, exploration and learning. We are also very excited that, through a grant we have received, raised beds will be created in the Autumn term. The tap will be a really valuable resource for watering and caring for the plants as they grow. It’s a simple addition that has already been put to great use and will continue to support our children’s outdoor learning and growing experiences throughout the year.

Laura Wears Teacher, West View Primary School

We’re delighted to have been able to support West View Primary School. The new addition to the garden will be a great resource for the children, and it’s fantastic to see the social value initiative of RPS making such a difference in the communities we work in
Graham Rothwell CEO, RPS Group

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Growing Together: Supporting West View Primary School

A new outdoor tap has been installed to support pupils’ fruit and vegetable garden, delivering meaningful social value for the Hartlepool community.