Eco & Sustainability
Eco & Sustainable Work
We are working alongside the other Greensand schools to improve our commitment to sustainable work. Lots of our discussions within the school’s PTA and annual festivals have considered the impact on the environment. We’ve had some heated debates about some of our well-loved traditions such as sending Christmas cards, wearing Christmas jumpers, winning prizes for good attendance and thought about how we can gradually make some of the treasured events more environmentally friendly.
Recently, we attended a Greensand Eco Summit where the schools in our MAT showcased some of the things they have been up to with regards to sustainable living. Take a look at our video!
Wilder Schools
We have been incredibly fortunate to have been supported by Harriet from the Surrey Wildlife Trust as part of our ‘Wilder Schools’ work. Harriet has been working with our Year 1 children and our staff team to think about how we can embed outdoor learning within our day-to-day curriculum. The children have had so much fun re-wilding areas of the grounds and ensuring they are attracting all sorts of bugs, insects and critters. We have planted trees, taken some of the pond-grating up so we can pond-dip and even made some bird feeders by re-using some old mugs and then making a gloriously gloopy bird food mix.
We still have lots to do and Harriet is continuing to help us think of ways to develop the use of our school grounds even further. Watch this space…!
Travel Plan
There are many things that make our school so special and unique but one of our best achievements is the success of our school travel plan. We have had a highly accredited school travel plan for many years in a row thanks to Lynn Sadd, our Senior Administrative Assistant, who has ensured our plan is in tip-top shape. As a result, we have been identified as the ‘Local Authority School of the Year’ on multiple occasions from modeshift STARS. This is all due to the large amount of work that goes on throughout the year in ensuring we actively encourage families to travel to/from school in an environmentally friendly way. Some of the ways in which we achieve such a high rating in our travel plan are:
– Taking part in the annual Road Safety Week and teaching all children how to safely cross the road
– Organising parking permits so families can park in the car-park in the town centre for free at drop-off/pick-up so they can ‘park and stride’
– Sending messages to families who park inconsiderately/across driveway
– Directing residents to ways in which they can report inconsiderate parking
– Installing bicycle and scooter storage
– Organising ‘Bike-It Breakfasts’
– Taking part in the ‘Big Walk & Wheel’ and awarding the ‘Golden Boot’ to the class with the greatest amount of active travel.
We have recently been involved in a pilot project within Surrey County Council which has explored the effectiveness and efficacy of school travel plans. You can find out more information here and you can watch a video summary of our involvement and the project below.
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If you would like paper copies for any of the information on our website, please contact the school office
