Eco Schools


Eco Schools

The Government in England 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, the Rt Hon Alan Johnson MP set out challenging long-term aspirations for schools to mainstream learning about sustainable development issues and sustainable practices into everyday school life.

Eco-Schools is an international award programme that guides schools on their sustainable journey, providing a framework to help embed these principles into the heart of school life.

Eco-Schools 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 that run the Eco-Schools programme, linking more than 40,000 schools – from the UK to France, from Morocco to South Africa. Eco-Schools is administered in England by Keep Britain Tidy; in Scotland by Keep Scotland Beautiful; in Wales by Keep Wales Tidy; and in Northern Ireland by Tidy Northern Ireland.

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

Manor College currently holds the Bronze award for the eco-schools scheme and is working towards the silver award this year. To achieve the silver award we need to achieve the following:

  1. The school has identified an Action Team which has met on at least four occasions. The Action Team includes a parent and/or governor representative.

  2. The Action Team has completed a formal Environmental Review and has recorded the results.

  3. The Action Team has produced a detailed Action Plan (including timescales and targets) and shared the plan with the rest of the school community.

  4. The Action Team can demonstrate progress towards achieving at least two elements of the Action Plan.

  5. The school can identify progress towards one large-scale project and indicate involvement with two others. ‘Identify progress’ means that the school has an understanding of the project topic and recognises its importance to sustainable development within the school environment and the wider community.

  6. The school has a prominent, designated noticeboard, web pages or newsletter which details Eco-Schools activities.

  7. The school has informed parents and the wider community about the work being undertaken by the school in relation to Eco-Schools.

  8. The school can indicate that some environmental issues have been covered within curriculum work in most year groups.

  9. The school has agreed, adopted and displayed an ‘Eco-Code’

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