Sustainable Schools - Eco School Workshops

The Government wants every school to be a sustainable school by 2020. The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) launched their Sustainable Schools Framework in 2006 when the Secretary of State for Education setting out challenging long-term aspirations for schools to mainstream learning about sustainable development issues and sustainable practices into everyday school life through school workshops and other educational services.

Eco-Schools is an international award programme guiding schools on their sustainable journey and providing a framework to help embed these principles into the heart of school life.  It is one of five environmental education programmes run internationally by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE). In addition to Eco-Schools, FEE runs Green Key, Young Reporters for the Environment, Blue Flag and Learning about Forests. There are 46 countries around the world running the Eco-Schools programme which links more than 40,000 schools around the world.

It is now easy for Eco-Schools across the world to get in touch and explore ways of working together on environmental issues. Visit www.eco-schools.net where you will find instructions on how to register your school and carry out a search. After finding an Eco-School that matches your criteria, you can then contact the ‘match’ school by post, telephone or email! Joining the Eco-Schools programme is free and it makes tackling sustainable issues manageable and easy for all schools, whether they are children’s centres, nurseries, primary schools, secondary schools or schools with special status.

Once registered, schools follow a simple seven-step process which helps them to address a variety of environmental themes, ranging from litter and waste to healthy living and biodiversity.

Children are the driving force behind Eco-Schools – they lead the eco-committee and help carry out an audit to assess the environmental performance of their school. Through consultation with the rest of the school and the wider community it is the pupils that decide which environmental themes they want to address and how they are going to achieve them. Measuring and monitoring is an integral part of the Eco-Schools programme, providing schools with all the evidence they need to really shout about their environmental success.  

Schools work towards gaining one of three awards – Bronze, Silver or the prestigious Green Flag award, which symbolises excellence in the field of environmental activity.  Bronze and Silver are both self accredited through the website and Green Flag is externally assessed by ENCAMS.

The Eco-Schools Programme is focused around nine key environmental topics

• Water– learning how to conserve and reduce consumption
• Biodiversity- School grounds provide an ideal opportunity to introduce children to the natural environment and to biodiversity in a practical way.  
• Energy- All Eco-Schools must carry out an energy audit as part of their Environmental Review and set targets for reducing energy use through their Action Plan.
• Global Perspectives- Eco-Schools offers schools ways of obtaining global perspective with a school link or an international project on environmental issues.
• Healthy Living- Schools are key to promoting the health and well-being of young people and the wider community through
• Litter- Many Eco-Schools choose to tackle litter as one of their first priorities following their Environmental Review.
• School Grounds– should be developed to satisfy educational and recreational requirements.
• Transport– Developing sustainable transport methods to reduce fuel consumption, pollution and car use. This includes cycling, rail, bus or walking.
• Waste– developing policies to reduce, re use and recycle materials.

Eco-Schools, Healthy Schools and International School Awards are just some of the environmental award schemes on offer to schools. Sometimes it can be a little confusing as to how they all fit together, and the challenge is for schools to integrate the programmes on offer in a way which underpins the school ethos or climate for learning. There is no right or wrong way to do this as it will depend upon the school’s individual circumstances and the interests and passions of the school leadership, staff, parents and of course pupils.

However, by adopting the flexible framework of Eco-Schools and following its seven-step process, your school will also be addressing the following national initiatives:

• Sustainable schools strategy - The Sustainable Schools strategy highlights eight key doorways or areas where schools can become more sustainable.
• Healthy schools- promotes the health and well-being of pupils and staff through a well planned, taught curriculum in a physical and emotional environment that promotes learning and healthy lifestyle choices.
• International school award- support Eco-Schools linking with schools overseas as part of their Global Gateway and International Schools Award.
• ASDAN awards-  the first nationally recognised qualification in sustainability for students in secondary schools.
• Every child matters- to ensure every child, whatever their background or their circumstances, has the support they need to be healthy; stay safe; enjoy and achieve; make a positive contribution; and achieve economic well-being.
• Learning outside the classroom- Often it is outside the classroom that children have their most memorable learning experiences.