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There are seven steps to becoming an Eco-School. These are
interesting and rewarding steps that the whole school can be
involved in:
- set up an Action Team
- carry out an environmental review to identify the areas where
action can be taken
- create and carry out an action plan to set environmental
targets and work towards achieving them
- monitor and evaluate progress in working towards the
targets
- integrate environmental activities within the school's
curriculum
- involve the whole school and the wider community in the
environmental activities, making sure the school is generating
regular publicity
- create an 'Eco-Code' that sets out the school's aims and
mission.
Action Team
This group leads the school's environmental actions. It could be
set up just to work on Eco-Schools, or could be an existing
group.
The group should reflect the whole school community and involve
pupils, teaching staff, non-teaching staff, parents and governors.
Caretakers and bursars can often help move some actions
forward.
The Action Team could meet every half-term but monthly meetings
are a good way to make sure that progress is made.
The environmental review
The environmental review helps the school identify its
environmental impacts. It is important to tackle each of the
Eco-Schools topics:
- Litter
- Waste minimisation
- Energy
- Water
- Transport
- Healthy living
- School grounds
- Biodiversity
- Global perspectives
This information is used to draw up an action plan to show what
needs to be done, and celebrate when aspects have improved.
It is important to include as many people as possible in the
review. Some schools divide the topics between year groups or
individual classes. Taking photographs of the site is an excellent
way to record how things were before actions were done.
Publicise the results of the review and ensure the whole school
gets a chance to contribute to the subsequent action plan.
The environmental review is then carried out every year so that
changes and improvements can be demonstrated.
The action plan
You will need to draw the action plan from the results of the
environmental review.
It is important to choose just two or three of the Eco-Schools
topics to work on at a time. Include these within the School
Improvement Plan so that success criteria, time-scales, resources
needed and the people responsible for the actions can all be
included alongside the other areas of the school's planning.
Pupils should take responsibility for some actions and links
should be made between related areas of the curriculum and school
management.
Monitoring action and evaluating progress
Monitoring and evaluating are important parts of the process.
Without these aspects it will be difficult to celebrate when
actions have been achieved and analyse what else could be done if
the initial course of action has not worked.
Activities to monitor and evaluate are most successful when they
become part of the school routine. Meter readings for energy and
water can be used in Science and Mathematics; data on school travel
can be interpreted in Mathematics and presented graphically by
drawing, using IT skills or both.
Waste analysis can provide valuable sorting, classifying and
weighing experiences.
Linking to the curriculum
The seven existing topics alongside global citizenship and
biodiversity provide explicit links to Geography, Science and
PSHE/Citizenship. They can be used as themes to be explored and
expressed across the curriculum for pupils of all ages.
By including the work into the existing curriculum rather than
by adding it on, the Eco-Schools programme can become part of the
whole ethos of the school. Drawing up where your Eco-School fits,
maybe by highlighting or adding a key to a current curriculum
plan.
Involving the whole school and wider community
Highlight what is happening in your school by including the work
on the schools website, installing an Eco-Schools noticeboard
outside the school and putting up displays in community
buildings.
Try to get media coverage and invite members of the community to
share in the actions and work of the school. Maybe take part in the
'Day of Action' which may be carried out during a weekend, or as
part of the school day.
The Eco-Code
This is the mission statement for the school and should include
contributions from everyone. The Eco-Code is drafted and the school
consulted before it is promoted in classes, on the website and
noticeboards. Every year it is brought up for consideration and
amendments made if necessary.
How to register
To join the Eco-Schools programme, visit the
Eco-Schools website (link opens in a new
window). |