Greenfield School has been awarded a coveted Eco-Schools Green Flag!
We are so proud to have earned an international accreditation this academic year, recognising the amazing work of staff and pupils in making our school more environmentally friendly and raising eco-awareness in fellow pupils.
The Eco-Schools programme was established in 1994 and is now delivered in more than 70 countries across the globe. More than 1 million pupils attended an Eco-School in England in 2022-23.
Greenfield’s own Eco-Committee, the Future World Team, worked together with Heads of Social Responsibility Mrs Mayes and Mrs Mason to conduct an environmental review, assessing how eco-friendly our school is. Collaborating with our Bursar, our Estates Team and our Kitchen Team, they reviewed everything from biodiversity within their school grounds to how pupils and staff members travel to school. Building on their findings, the Future World Team then planned a year of action designed to advance their school’s green credentials, improve their local environment, and protect our planet.
The Future World Team planned a variety of projects including Waste Week, Make A Difference projects, Earth Hour, boosting biodiversity in No Mow May, our Children’s Festival of Fairtrade.
Our assessors highlighted the following aspects of our application as key points in our Eco status:
- Our inclusivity as instead of running a small Eco-Committee, the Future World Team includes children of any age right down to Reception; showing that young people at Greenfield are aware of environmental issues and committed to being active and creating positive change. This knowledge and attitude has provided us with excellent foundations for the many successes that we have achieved this year.
- Our whole school approach which goes beyond just the children, parents and teachers and involving kitchen, estates, cleaning and maintenance teams our targets become more achievable and sustainable. This set a positive and encouraging tone for all our work undertaken, supporting a collaborative and community ethos, vital in maximising impacts.
Eco-Schools England Manager, Adam Flint, said: “The Eco-Schools Green Flag award is an internationally recognised symbol of high environmental standards. The pupils and school staff that earn the award deserve immense credit for their hard work, determination, and creativity. Their passion for protecting our planet is an inspiration to us all.” To learn more about Eco-Schools head to www.eco-schools.org.uk
We are thrilled that the efforts of the Future World Team at Greenfield School have been successful in meeting the requirements for the Eco-Schools Green Flag Award. It is incredibly encouraging to see our curriculum evolving to include more environmental topics especially in the Early Years and Lower School. Also a special big thank you to the Estates, Kitchen and Cleaning teams as without your help none of our initiatives would have taken off.
More on our Eco-Report:
It’s brilliant to read that the Environmental Review helped your pupils appreciate everything that your school is already doing to benefit our environment and identify areas to work on in the future. Your Future World Team didn’t let any tricky questions on the Environmental Review defeat them, instead they sought out other experts in their school, such as your Estates Team and kitchen staff, to help answer questions which demonstrates their resilience and team ethos. The comments on your Environmental Review were thoughtful and gave our team a glimpse into the discussion that took place amongst young people. Great work everyone!
We love that your Environmental Review inspired the choice of projects in your Action Plan. It’s a strong approach to work on things that will produce visible impact and change, and a great example of critical thinking. We love that your actions are designed for young people to deliver and lead, empowering them and increasing their confidence. This is central to the Eco-Schools ethos. Your Action Plan shows that your Eco-Committee have carefully considered how they can involve their entire school in their planned Eco-Schools’ activities to achieve maximum impacts and raise awareness amongst their school community.
Your Action Plan is a really considered piece of work with a lot of SMART thinking. This is a mature approach – self-reflective practice, research-led planning and critical thinking – and shows an Eco-Committee that’s focused on achieving their goals. Brilliant work everyone
The three curriculum examples provided are a great example of environmental education. They are practical and fun examples of eco-education with a real-life context that will engage young people. You have provided practical and fun curriculum examples, which impressively build on the projects you have worked on in your Action Plan. This is a great way to add context to your Eco-Schools work, it means young people at your school are given the opportunity to learn about important environmental issues and then the chance to work on these issues – a great dual approach. It was great to see the uploaded example of your classroom materials. It shows a clear commitment to ensuring your pupils get engaging environmental education. Great work by all involved!
You have placed a lot of emphasis on informing as many members of your school community as possible in your Eco-Schools work and this is a strength of your application. Getting involved with Earth Hour and Joint Waste Solution is a great example of collaboration. Your ability and willingness to partnership is impressive! We’ll need this approach to fight the impacts of climate change in the future!
We hope all staff members involved in your Eco-Schools work take immense amounts of pride from the parental quote uploaded. Your hard work and dedication has inspired young people and empowered them with the belief that they can positively impact our planet – this is something incredibly special. our uploaded Eco-Board helped to bring your Eco-Schools application to life – it’s a real celebration of your eco-activity that will increase engagement from your school community. Your greatest successes link clearly to the experience of your pupils. It is great to read about your progress in reducing waste and increasing recycling across your school! This is what the best forms of climate action are about – impactful but achievable things that create a positive experience and prompt more action. We love this!
Enacting changes in a busy environment is a common challenge, familiar to all educators. It creates a pressure and takes resilience to keep going. With this context, your achievements are even greater and we feel lucky that you’ve committed to our programme and delivered the achievements that you have. This is a big achievement. We love your collaborative approach to creating an Eco-Code, this approach has allowed young people to take ownership and create a final code that will be treasured by everyone at your school. Overall, this is a terrific application. Everyone at Greenfield School should be proud of the Future World Team and the amazing and inspiring work that they’ve delivered this year. You’re more than worthy of an Eco-Schools Green Flag, Congratulations!