Aims of the presentation Overview of the Eco Schools programme How it can benefit your school travel plan

Eco-Schools - Background  Developed by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) in 1992 following the Earth Summit in Rio  The summit concluded that there was a need to involve young people in finding solutions to environmental and sustainable development challenges  Eco-Schools was introduced into the UK in 1994  Eco-Schools operates in 53 countries to date  There are over 40,000 Schools registered world-wide  More than 10,000 schools have achieved Green Flag status globally  More than 17,000 schools are working towards achieving green flag status in England  Over 1600 schools currently fly the green flag in England

The Eco-Schools Framework, Topics and Awards Ten Topics Transport Waste Water Litter School Grounds Global Perspective Healthy Living Energy Biodiversity Green Procurement Awards Bronze Silver Green Flag Seven step Framework 1.Eco-Committee 2.Environmental Review 3.Action Plan 4.Eco-Code 5.Involving the whole school & wider community 6.Linking to the curriculum 7.Monitoring & Evaluation New role Ambassador

Bronze & silver level Awards → self-assessed. School completes online and prints out certificate Green Flag Award → Online award renewal (every 2 years) with an assessor visiting the school. The school receives a certificate and a Green FlagAwards Eco-Schools Ambassador Role – for schools which have held a green flag for at least 2 years → promote best practice

1. Role of Eco-committee Composed of pupils (all year groups), staff (teaching & non-teaching), senior management, parents & governors Meet at least once every half-term ideas generation, decision-making, raise issues, check on progress Must be led by pupils who chair meetings, decide agenda and lead projects – empowering, encouraging creativity Adults’ role to support (not dictate)

2. Environmental Review Pupils/Eco-committee must carry it out Must cover all 10 Eco-schools topics Schools can use their own or download templates from website Results are recorded, discussed with Eco- committee and should inform Action Plan Results are communicated to whole school Carried out at least 1x every 2 years

3. Action Plan To cover in detail at least 3 topics in detail (including Energy – compulsory) For G.F renewals to add 2 more topics Drawn up by Eco-committee Responsibilities shared between pupils, staff & parents Timescales included AP communicated to whole school

4. Eco-code Mission statement/sustainability policy Should be short and memorable (some schools produced rap) Pupils can produce with staff (e.g class competition) To cover as many topics as possible

5. Involving whole school & wider community Prominent Eco-schools notice board Regular communication (assemblies – run by pupils, posters/displays, newsletters, campaigns, events Inviting wider community to events builds better relationships

6. Linking to curriculum Topics to be included in daily lessons/in curriculum planning Resources for teachers available on Eco-schools website and The Pod. Pupils can be involved in designing leaflets/posters (Art/English), graphs/data analysis & collection (Maths/science), planning safe routes (Geography)etc.

7. Monitoring & Evaluation Data collection, surveys and analysis Important for pupils to be actively involved Some data used in curriculum work Targets set based on results Results & targets communicated with whole school (esp. successes and achievements) via assemblies, noticeboard, newsletters,etc.

Examples of monitoring/evaluation Check lights left on, taps dripping, etc. Create surveys (travel, waste, energy use) Bills/meter readings Weighing waste Before & after pictures (school grounds, litter, biodiversity)

Assessment visit Tour of school (led by pupils – usually from Eco-committee) Show evidence of progress (file, displays, photos, curriculum work, lesson plans, up-to-date STP) Speak to Eco-schools coordinator, senior management & other pupils if possible

Main advantages of Eco-schools method for STP Champions Gets whole school actively involved in Travel Plan (not all down to one person) Ownership of projects to pupils and parents → higher chance of achieving targets as interested in results Sustainable travel habits will extend outside school → pupils and families will be fitter & more active Wider community/neighbours more likely to support TP initiatives (e.g. parking management, speeding, engineering measures, etc)

For more information about the programme visit For free resources: