Being an Eco School

BEING AN ECO SCHOOL
Eco-Schools is an international award scheme to raise awareness of environmental issues. 

We gained Eco School Green Flag status in June 2007 and continue to work to improve our school and the environment. 

What is an Eco School? 

The Eco School Awards encourage schools to think about a range of areas including waste reduction, energy saving, healthy living, water, biodiversity, transport and travel. Full accreditation is achieved through an audited programme of commitment and activity by the school and children. 

First is a Bronze Award, which is given to schools who have carried out an energy and recycling audit, and who have created a Working Group, on which both the staff and children are represented. 

The Silver Award is achieved once the school agrees on an Eco Code. We have a copy of the code in every classroom; we also have an Eco Notice Board in the corridor to promote Eco News. 

To achieve the Gold Award and have the right to fly the Eco Green Flag the school must demonstrate its on-going commitment in several of the key ‘Eco-friendly’ activities. 

Platt focuses on the following areas: 

Recycling: There are recycling boxes in all the classrooms. We also recycle printer cartridges, card and plastic. 

Composting: We compost shredded paper, fruit peel, and scraps from packed lunches and school dinners. The compost is then used in plant tubs around the school. 

Energy Saving: The Eco-commitee check our use of energy. We have also focused on water consumption checking taps are off. We also run a class competition to encourage everyone to switch off and close doors and windows in the winter to keep the heat in! 

Healthy Living: This relates to ‘Healthy Schools’ – an award we received in June 2008. The school has an accessible water fountains, and we encourage all the children to drink plenty of water. 

Litter: The school has just received the Red Flag for Action against Litter. This is awarded by Kent County Council. We are the tenth primary school to receive this award in Kent. The school with support from parents, children and the local community have an annual litter pick around the neighbourhood. But the children regularly litter pick around the school.

FAIRTRADE SCHOOL
The school is working towards becoming a Fairtrade school. With the support of staff, parents, children and governors we are committing ourselves to using Fairtrade products wherever possible and promoting Fairtrade. As a Christian school we see this as one way in which we can show Christ’s love and care for those in need and our commitment to God’s justice for all people.

OUR SCHOOL ECO CODE
We will: 

· Keep our school clean and tidy 

· Save energy 

· Use paper wisely 

· Reduce, reuse, recycle where possible 

· Eat healthily 

· Care for our wildlife

Some interesting links: