At Kates Hill Primary School, we endeavour to provide children with an education and set of skills that enable them to aspire to be the best version of themselves. We want to encourage them to question the world and to consider their place within it. To this end, we have established an Eco Council.
What is an Eco Council?
An Eco Council is a group of pupils who will meet regularly to discuss Eco friendly and environmental issues within school. This will not only help prepare them to live their lives with consideration for global issues, but it will also have a direct impact on all who are part of our school community. Eco councillors will be nominated by their peers, in conjunction with their teachers.
There are 3 key reasons to have an Eco Council.
1. Promoting Environmental Awareness from a Young Age
Primary school is an ideal time to teach children about environmental issues. By establishing an Eco Council, we will help our pupils understand ecological responsibility, sustainability, and the impact our actions have on the environment. Through hands-on involvement, the pupils will learn to value and protect natural resources, laying the groundwork for lifelong environmental awareness.
2. Developing Leadership and Responsibility
The Eco council will provide pupils with leadership roles that will allow them to take responsibility for specific projects and initiatives, such as recycling programs, energy conservation, and school gardening. Likewise, being part of the council will empower them to make decisions, organise events, and solve problems, so fostering a sense of ownership and pride in their contributions to the school community.
3. Encouraging Active Citizenship
A pupil-led eco council teaches pupils the importance of civic engagement and community involvement. They will learn that even at a young age, they can positively impact their surroundings and that their voice and actions matter. These experiences help pupils understand democracy and teamwork and can inspire them to engage in community and environmental initiatives in the future.
Our Eco Council
The Eco Council will work together to provide the tools to promote and develop sustainability throughout our school. It will involve teachers and pupils, to ensure that everyone works together to improve the quality of our school, encouraging environmentally friendly changes.
As an Eco-School we will:
- Elect new Eco Council members annually
- Hold regular meetings
- Choose specific areas in the school to work on
- Set appropriate and achievable targets
- Introduce whole school projects
- Link our ideas to our curriculum work
- Check and monitor that successful improvements are being made
- Keep the whole school up to date with progress
We will begin each year by completing an environmental review to look at our successes, as well as areas for improvement. This, in turn, will be used to create an action plan for the upcoming year. Throughout the year, each Eco Councillor will meet with their class to discuss ideas about changes needed and improvements made to the school, which will directly impact on future projects and endeavours. This will ensure that every child has a voice and has ownership of each project.
Our Starting Projects
- Paper recycling
- Plastic recycling
- Composting of fruit waste
- Switching lights off