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

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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)

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

11. 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.

13. 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.

14. 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)

15. 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

16. 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)

17. For more information about the programme visit www.keepbritaintidy.org/ecoschools/www.keepbritaintidy.org/ecoschools/ For free resources: http://www.jointhepod.org/ http://www.jointhepod.org/