A pupil-centred approach to sustainable development
New school buildings are being built to be sustainable. Thorough plans are drafted on how the establishment can reduce its impact on the environment with thought given to insulation, lighting, school grounds and how the pupils will get there.

These new buildings are catapulted ahead in the sustainability race. But for existing schools whose premises have been up for decades — and in some cases over a century, sustainability is trickier to tackle.

Growth vs Restraint
Plus, schools are primarily for learning. Time needs to be spent on educating children and young people; not only academically but giving them room to develop into good citizens. With so many constraints — time and budget particularly, this necessary step to sustainability is a challenge.
But as far as Eco-Schools is concerned, it is doable.

Eco-Schools was developed by the Foundation for Environmental Education. It is an international programme with 37 countries across the world signed up to it. It is managed in England by environmental charity ENCAMS (which also looks after the Keep Britain Tidy campaign).

Eco-Schools aims to help children become more effective citizens by encouraging them to take responsibility for the future of their own environment. The programme provides a simple framework to enable schools to analyse their operations and become more sustainable.

Its main focus is not to get schools to be more sustainable, but to get children to be more environmentally aware. Hence, by allowing young people to take the lead, educational establishments can cover a good few metres in the sustainability marathon.

It is more about getting children to consider the environmental impact of their actions than environmental excellence. If schools can get children thinking about issues like climate change at a young age they are more likely to pick up green habits and become eco-friendly adults — and do what they can to conserve energy and resources whilst at school.

Integrated Action
Sustainability is not an issue to be tackled wholly separate from the rest of the goings on in the school. Research by the Department for Education and Skills in 2006 recognised that the best way to introduce the concept of sustainability into schools is to help children gain a real appreciation of the issues through practical learning. By incorporating it into the school’s everyday activities including how the students travel to school, what they eat at lunchtime, how lessons are taught and even where lessons are taught, schools see the financial and environmental savings of being more environmental. And, the children develop eco-friendly habits - that last.

The Eco-Schools programme helps children learn about big environmental issues by putting them into a small, local context, within their everyday surroundings.

There are over 6,000 registered Eco-Schools in England. Any type of school, whether nursery, primary or secondary can take part. Eco-Schools looks at nine different issues: litter, water, energy, transport, healthy living, biodiversity, global perspective, waste and schools grounds.

To register, schools just need to demonstrate a commitment to improving their environment. As they follow the programme and meet certain criteria Eco-Schools can apply for Bronze, Silver and Green Flag status.

The emphasis is on the children; before any action can be put into place an Eco-School must set up an eco-committee which not only includes the pupils, but is actually led by them. Teachers, governors, parents, members of the wider community like scout leaders and local authority officers can be asked to sit on the committee too.

The Driving Force
This eco-committee is the driving force behind the sustainable development of the school and should represent the whole school and make sure others are aware of Eco-School work.

The first action which Eco-Schools undertake is an environmental review looking at some of the nine key issues relevant to the scheme. The results from this help the children to formulate an action plan and decide on how to tackle the issues they feel need attention. This should list a limited number of agreed environmental objectives, with a list of the steps that will be undertaken in order to achieve success and an agreed, realistic timescale.

Achievements and Rewards
At Silver and Green Flag level schools develop an eco-code, which all members of the school community should adhere to. The pupils have a role in designing and developing this to give them a greater sense of responsibility for the values that the code represents. Once pupils have agreed the action they are going to take to achieve Eco-School status it is important they monitor their progress to see if it is going to plan.

The Eco-Schools Bronze and Silver awards are based on self-assessment by the school. Trust is placed in each registered school that the full requirements of each award have been achieved. Assessors will visit a random sample of paper-based assessed Bronze and Silver schools each year, to ensure that standards are maintained.

The Eco-Schools Green Flag are appraised by trained assessors through a personal visit.
Achieving award status, especially Green Flag raises the profile of the school within the local community and many Eco-Schools teachers have reported that the programme helped them do well in Ofsted Inspections.

As well as this 96% of Eco-Schools teachers surveyed felt that gaining a green flag improved their school and developed children’s sense of citizenship. Over 80% felt examining the way their school is run can help pupils get to grips with issues like climate change and sustainability. And by looking at ways their school can conserve energy and reduce the amount of rubbish they create — a school in Wigan reduced the amount of waste it produced annually by a third, saving £500 a year - children learn simple but effective ways to make a difference and lessen their impact on the environment.

Success in sustainability can lie in small changes which make a big difference and can be very easy to implement. Schools in the UK spend £100 million pounds on electricity each year. Energy saving light bulbs not only cut energy bills but they also last longer, giving double the benefit. If every school in Britain fitted energy saving light-bulbs, they’d save £10 per bulb in costs each year.

For every £3 that is spent on heating schools, £1 is lost through bad insulation. Simple measures such as using draught excluders and closing doors and windows could reduce this dramatically.

However, the benefits of becoming an Eco-School are certainly not just financial. Close ties to the curriculum, particularly in Geography, Science and Citizenship add purpose to the programme. In addition to this, many teachers have reported pupils having a greater sense of pride in their school environment and improvements in behaviour have also been observed.

Pupil Involvement
This is largely due to the fact that pupil involvement is one of the fundamental principles of Eco-Schools. Ensuring that young people are engaged in the whole process leads to genuine ownership of both the programme and their surroundings. Eco-Schools enhance and thrive within a caring school community where the views of others are valued and action is taken in response to these views. The school becomes a place to make positive changes and to make a difference.

Autonomy is another key aspect of the programme. The idea that schools establish for themselves where they need to concentrate their environmental efforts is essential to Eco-Schools. A one-size-fits-all approach is not the way to go. The type, size and location of each school are just some of the factors that affect sustainable activity — a 20 metre tall wind turbine would not be the energy solution for a school set in the middle of a residential estate for example.

Plus, it is important to Eco-Schools that the whole school community is consulted and given the opportunity to get involved and the key focus is not on cost cutting but on environmental improvement and education.

Eco-Schools are also privy to involvement in various projects. A grant scheme is currently in operation whereby schools can apply for up to £5000 to pay for an environmental project. Worthen Primary School in Shropshire showed great initiative in its plans to develop an eco-lab which will be a place for learning about the environment, a store for PE equipment and a bike shed. This multi-purpose building will have a solar panel and wind turbine installed on top generating its own energy.

Further information on Eco-Schools visit www.eco-schools.org.uk or call 01942 612621.