Welcome to Eco-Schools

Quick start guide for Eco-Schools Coordinators

Eco-Schools is flexible, designed to be accessible to every pupil and to fit every establishment.

To earn a Green Flag Award, your school needs to follow the Seven Elements, ensuring that Eco

-Schools is pupil-led, linked to the curriculum and involves the whole school and wider

community. This document is a printable summary of guidance available on our website and will

get you started in your Eco-Schools journey.

In this document:

• About Eco-Schools

• How Eco-Schools Works

• Your Role as an Eco-Schools Co-ordinator

• The Seven Elements

• Eco-Committee

• Environmental Review

• Action Plan

• Measuring

• Linking to the Curriculum

• Community

• Eco-Code

• Further Support

Welcome to Eco-Schools

Keep Scotland Beautiful is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation: Number SC030332. Copyright © Keep Scotland Beautiful 2019. All rights reserved

Keep Scotland Beautiful is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation: Number SC030332. Copyright © Keep Scotland Beautiful 2019. All rights reserved

Eco-Schools is the largest sustainable schools programme in the world,

operated internationally by the Foundation for Environmental Education

(FEE) and managed in Scotland by Keep Scotland Beautiful. It connects

19.5 million children, young people and educators through sustainable

development education and is the biggest learning network in the world

with 67 countries on all five continents participating. .

Eco-Schools is an international initiative designed to encourage whole-

school community action on Learning for Sustainability. It is an

environmental management tool, a learning resource and a recognised

award scheme which empowers children and young people to take action

towards an economically, socially and environmentally just world.

The initiative provides a framework for learning and action which affords a wealth of

opportunities for linking sustainable development education, global citizenship and outdoor

learning. Eco-Schools weaves these elements together through the everyday curricular work

undertaken by schools and encourages closer links between schools and the communities

around them.

The UN Conference on Environment and Development (Rio Earth Summit) in 1992 highlighted

the need to involve young people in finding solutions to sustainable development challenges.

The Eco-Schools programme was developed in 1994 by the Foundation for Environmental

Education (FEE) and introduced to the UK in 1995.

There are now 63 countries on all five continents participating in the Eco-Schools programme.

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is very supportive of the programme and

is an institutional partner of FEE, as is the Scottish Government.

The Eco-Schools programme is managed in Scotland by Keep Scotland Beautiful. Keep

Scotland Beautiful is the leading provider of sustainable development education initiatives in

schools, encouraging action and behavioural change by young people which will leave an

enduring legacy for Scotland; it is part of its work to help make Scotland clean and green, today

and tomorrow.

Eco-Schools in Scotland

Eco-Schools Scotland is designed to encourage whole-school community action on Learning for Sustainability. The programme encourages young people to engage in their environment by allowing them the opportunity to actively protect it. The programme starts in the classroom and expands to the whole school, eventually fostering change in the community at large.

We are grateful for the continued support of the Scottish Government in funding the programme.

About Eco-Schools

Eco-Schools has common structural features across all operating countries. The Seven

Elements, the Eco-Schools Topics, and Assessment for the Green Flag. The Seven Elements

are the same in every country, although they may have slightly different names. Eco-Schools

Topics vary across different operating countries.

The criteria of the Green Flag Award are based on the Seven Elements, which are the core of the Eco-Schools programme in every participating country.

• The first step is to form an Eco-Committee to represent the ideas of the whole school.

• The Eco-Committee then completes an Environmental Review, to investigate the current situation in the school.

• The results of the Environmental Review are used to create an Action Plan of planned projects on litter and two other topics. Eco-Schools Scotland has Ten Topics to choose from.

• The Action Plan will include ways of Measuring the progress of projects, and ideas for future development.

• Projects should be linked to the curriculum with the whole school and wider community given the opportunity to be involved.

• Finally, the whole school should create an Eco-Code representing their commitment to environmental issues.

This work is recognised by the Green Flag Award - a visible indication of your school's commitment to learning for sustainability, and an internationally recognised accreditation for excellence in sustainable development education. The Green Flag Award is renewed every two years following the same Seven Elements.

Eco-Schools Scotland has linked the programme to the UN's Sustainable Development Goals, and you will be asked to select one goal to connect to your three topics.

Keep Scotland Beautiful is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation: Number SC030332. Copyright © Keep Scotland Beautiful 2019. All rights reserved

How Eco-Schools Works

Eco-Schools is a pupil-led programme, but for an Eco-Committee to be successful, it needs the

support of educators in the school. Any member of staff can be the Eco-Schools Co-ordinator,

but it is a good idea to involve more than one member of staff to share the responsibility where

possible.

The Eco-Schools programme is adaptable for every context and will look different in every

participating school. The role of an Eco-Schools Co-ordinator is to make sure that the Eco-

Committee have what they need to lead projects in the school. The amount and type of support

needed will depend on your context, and you will know best what is required.

An Eco-Schools Co-ordinator will:

• Facilitate the management of funds and resources for the Eco-Committee and supervise

time out of class when appropriate.

• Nurture skills in literacy, numeracy and citizenship through letter writing, Measuring using

graphs and tally marks, making persuasive phone calls, or presenting at assembly.

• Motivate the Eco-Committee to help them reach their goals, encourage them to keep trying

if projects don’t work as expected.

• Encourage pupils who are not on the Eco-Committee to join in activities and put their ideas

forward.

• Support pupils to take on roles in the Eco-Committee like Chair, Treasurer and Secretary

and help them to submit materials for your Green Flag Application.

• Celebrate: make sure pupils have the opportunity to celebrate their accomplishments

Benefits for Staff

Acting as an Eco-Schools Coordinator provides excellent evidence for teaching staff to make an

application for GTCS Professional Recognition in the area of Learning for Sustainability, or to

contribute to Post Registration Training and Learning (PRTL) Requirements for Early Learning

and Childcare Practitioners.

Keep Scotland Beautiful is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation: Number SC030332. Copyright © Keep Scotland Beautiful 2019. All rights reserved

Your Role as Eco-Schools Coordinator

Eco-Committee The Eco-Committee represents the ideas of the whole school and is responsible for keeping your Eco-Schools noticeboard up to date.

Environmental Review This is a tool to assess the current situation and which forms the basis of your Action Plan.

Action Plan This is a working document which tracks your progress against your chosen topics and Sustaina-ble Development Goal.

Measuring How will you know if your topic and goal work is successful?

Linking to the Curriculum Linking to the curriculum integrates Eco-Schools into daily learning across subjects.

Community Making links locally and globally

Eco-Code A statement to show your school's commitment to environmental issues.

Keep Scotland Beautiful is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation: Number SC030332. Copyright © Keep Scotland Beautiful 2019. All rights reserved

The Seven Elements

The first step in your Green Flag journey is to form your Eco-Committee. The Eco-Committee takes responsibility for Eco-Schools projects and will ensure the whole school is involved.

Eco-Schools is a pupil-led programme so your Eco-Committee must include pupils. It can also include teachers, support staff, parents and carers, a member of the school’s Senior Management Team and local contacts. Your Eco-Committee can take many forms.

We will ask you to let us know how your Eco-Committee works in your school's context when you submit evidence for your Green Flag Assessment.

Your Eco-Committee has an important role in engaging with whole school and your local community to involve them in your Eco-Schools work. To keep the whole school community up to date with your Eco-Schools work, your Eco-Committee will need to set up a specially designated Eco-Schools noticeboard which occupies a prominent position in the school and displays things like your Eco-Code.

Your Eco-Committee should: • Meet regularly (at least once every half term). • Keep records of meetings. • Carry out the Environmental Review. • Update the Action Plan. • Take responsibility for Measuring projects. • Create an Eco-Code. • Promote your work with the whole school and wider community. • Keep your Eco-Schools noticeboard up to date.

Your Eco-Schools Noticeboard

The Eco-Committee is responsible for sharing news about your school's Eco-Schools work with the whole school and wider community and one of the ways they will do that is through an Eco-Schools Noticeboard. This should be in a central location, visible to everyone in the school. You could also have a noticeboard in your community for example in a shop, a church or community hall.

Your noticeboard should include:

• Details of who is on your Eco-Committee so that non-members can contribute ideas. • A copy of meeting notes or minutes. • A copy of your Eco-Schools Action Plan. • Details of current projects and how to get involved. • Examples of Measuring • Your most recent Green Flag Award certificate. • A copy of your Eco-Code

Keep Scotland Beautiful is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation: Number SC030332. Copyright © Keep Scotland Beautiful 2019. All rights reserved

Eco-Committee

This next stage in your Green Flag journey is to carry out an Environmental Review. The Environmental Review is a tool designed to help the Eco-Committee decide what is going well in the school and what topics to work on. Conducting an Environmental Review will enable you to set realistic targets and measure your success. The results from your review will form the basis of your Action Plan and once you have completed the review, you should be able to identify the two topics, as well as Litter, that your school wishes to focus on over the next two years.

The Environmental Review should be carried out on an annual basis to support your work towards devising your Action Plan. This will then act as a checkpoint to see if anything in your community has changed and hence if you need to add any additional items to your Action Plan. Comparing your new responses with those that you originally made will give an indication of progress and will help you to plan future Eco-Schools work.

The Environmental Review should: • Be done for all ten topics. • Involve as many pupils as possible. • Be done in a way that best suits the school's context. • Be used to form your Action Plan for the two years of your Green Flag journey.

Environmental Review Template

Please use our template to complete your Environmental Review. There are two versions to choose from in a variety of formats suitable to use with an interactive whiteboard, for printing, or for an assembly. Thanks to Tobii Dynavox, our Pictorial Environmental Review includes Boardmaker Symbols. Download the version that works best for your context here.

Keep Scotland Beautiful is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation: Number SC030332. Copyright © Keep Scotland Beautiful 2019. All rights reserved

Environmental Review

The Action Plan is the core of your Eco-Schools work and should be developed using the results of your Environmental Review. It should list projects for Litter as well as the two other topics you choose to focus on. This plan will detail how projects will be Measured, how the Community will be involved, and any links to your chosen Sustainable Development Goal. Your Action Plan is a working document and should be updated throughout your Green Flag journey. Please use the template we provide as this is the easiest way to gather the information required for your application.

Remember that work on other initiatives such as the John Muir Award, Rights Respecting Schools, or Fair Trade Schools Award can all be included in your Action Plan under relevant Eco-Schools topics.

Your Action Plan should: • Be developed by pupils using the results of your Environmental Review and suggestions

from the rest of the school. • Include projects for Litter and your chosen two topics. • Be a working document, updated regularly by pupils as much as possible. • Be displayed on your Eco-Schools noticeboard in a pupil friendly format. • Include how your projects will be Measured. Making Your Action Plan Visible

In order to keep everyone in the school up to date with your Eco-Schools projects, your Action Plan should be displayed on your Eco-Schools noticeboard. You might also consider a pupil-friendly display, like the one made by pupils at Toronto Primary School where current actions are displayed on the leaves of an Action Plan tree. Action Plan Template

Please use our template to create your Action Plan. This is the easiest way to gather the information required for your application. You can find a PPT, PDF and Word version on our website.

Keep Scotland Beautiful is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation: Number SC030332. Copyright © Keep Scotland Beautiful 2019. All rights reserved

Action Plan

To find out whether or not you are successfully achieving the targets set out in your Action Plan, you must measure your progress. Pupils must carry out one example of Measuring for Litter plus each of your chosen two topics. If you have been participating in Eco-Schools for a while, you might remember the Measuring element being called Monitoring and Evaluation. You will also need to consider how this information will be collected and shared. Will pupils weigh recycling or read electricity meters? What will you need to put into place in order to measure progress? Perhaps purchasing resources or arranging meter access. Measuring might involve:

• Graphs or tally charts. • Before and after photographs. • Video or written diaries. • Feedback from questionnaires or surveys. • Calculating bill savings. • Meter readings. • Mapping. • Weights - for example: litter, recycling or food waste • The results of a waste audit. • Your school's travel survey (Hands Up survey). • Traffic light indicators - for example: playground cleanliness • Totalling funds raised.

Measuring should: • Be done by pupils whenever possible. • Be shared with the whole school and community, for example on your Eco-Schools

noticeboard.

How you choose to measure progress will depend on which topics you are focusing on and the pupils involved. What information could you use to share your progress with the whole school and wider community? Maybe it is the amount of paper collected for recycling, or perhaps a decrease in the amount of energy being used. For example, a school trying to reduce food waste might first measure the amount of waste produced on a normal day, and compare this with the amount produced after trying to reduce it. The results of a survey of which school meals are most enjoyed by fellow pupils might also be used to reduce food waste.

Keep Scotland Beautiful is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation: Number SC030332. Copyright © Keep Scotland Beautiful 2019. All rights reserved

Measuring

As an Eco-School you will carry out a self-evaluation against Education Scotland's Learning for Sustainability criteria (Whole Schools and Community Approach to Learning for Sustainability). This enables schools to identify how the various elements of Learning for Sustainability are being integrated within their own school improvement planning. Activities undertaken as part of the delivery of the Seven Elements and the Ten Topics afford many opportunities to link to all eight curricular areas - as well as the Four Capacities - and inter-disciplinary themes such as Health & Well-being, Numeracy, Literacy, Enterprise, and Learning for Sustainability. When linking the Eco-Schools programme to the formal curriculum, schools will identify areas of the curriculum which will enable young people to:

• Achieve required learning outcomes. • Enhance their learning experience. • Develop informed attitudes. • Develop core skills. • Transfer skills across curricular areas.

Integration of Eco-Schools activities into the curriculum does not have to be onerous. It can vary from a short reference when a curriculum topic warrants it, to full-scale linking so that Eco-Schools activities fully cover particular curricular experiences and outcomes. Linking to the curriculum should:

• Help to achieve required learning outcomes. • Enhance pupils' learning experience. • Support the Four Capacities of CfE. • Help pupils develop informed attitudes. • Develop core skills. • Transfer skills across curricular areas. • Enrich the curriculum with opportunities for practical learning. • Highlight opportunities for Green Careers.

The principles contained within Taking Learning Outdoors – Partnerships in Excellence (LTS 2007) underline the many benefits of activities within Eco-Schools. The opportunity to learn more about their own environment within the school grounds, and further opportunities to suggest improvements and take part in implementing these improvements, provide young people with real life experiences in investigating, problem solving, and decision-making.

Curricular Audit

A Curricular Audit is required for all secondary schools as part of their Green Flag journey. This provides schools with an opportunity to investigate links between curricular learning and sustainable development themes. There are two template styles to choose from - a departmental view or a whole school view - or you can make your own.

Keep Scotland Beautiful is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation: Number SC030332. Copyright © Keep Scotland Beautiful 2019. All rights reserved

Linking to the Curriculum

A key aim of Eco-Schools is to involve your whole school and the wider community. It is important that everyone in the school has the opportunity to be involved in your Eco-Schools projects. Although the Eco-Committee is the group responsible for leading Eco-Schools activities, the whole school must be informed about activities and have the opportunity to be involved. Eco-Schools begins in the classroom and spreads to the wider community, giving pupils a chance to make real change. Throughout your Green Flag journey, you will have the opportunity to involve members of the community and to work in partnership with local businesses, community council, neighbouring schools and other organisations on larger projects, making your school a focal point in the community. Involving the Community could involve:

• Presentations at assembly. • Your Eco-Schools noticeboard. • Joint projects with a nearby school, nursery or organisation. • Providing information to your Parent Council. • A display in a community spot e.g. a library or church. • A suggestion box for pupils to share their ideas. • Letters to parents and carers. • Posts on social media. • Articles in the school's newsletter or website. • Posters displayed in your community. • Letters to local business, government or neighbouring schools. • A whole school day of action. • Articles in local newspapers. • Visitors to the school to provide advice or help. • Sharing the results of Measuring your projects. • Celebration to raise your Green Flag.

Keep Scotland Beautiful is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation: Number SC030332. Copyright © Keep Scotland Beautiful 2019. All rights reserved

Community

Your Eco-Code is your Eco-Schools mission statement, demonstrating your commitment to improving the school environment. Your Eco-Code gives you a great opportunity to draw attention to your Eco-Schools work within your local community. The format of the Eco-Code is entirely up to pupils. It could be a list of statements, an acrostic, a mascot, a logo, a rap or song or a poem. It should be memorable and familiar to everyone in the school and reinforce the main objectives of your Action Plan. As part of your Green Flag application, we will ask you to share your Eco-Code with us towards the end of your Green Flag journey. Your Eco-Code should:

• Be created by pupils with input from the whole school. • Be reviewed every two years to ensure that it continues to reflect your Action Plan. • Be displayed on your Eco-Schools noticeboard and prominently throughout the school.

Here are a few examples:

Eco-Code

Keep Scotland Beautiful is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation: Number SC030332. Copyright © Keep Scotland Beautiful 2019. All rights reserved

Eco-Code

Online Training Module - Becoming an Eco-Schools Coordinator

This course will give you everything you need to lead Eco-Schools at your establishment. By working through all modules, you’ll practice each of the Seven Elements that form the criteria of the Green Flag Award, and will be well placed to implement them in your context. As this is an online course, you can work through each module at your own pace. Available on both Glow and Moodle. Please register to receive login details. Remember to let us know which platform you require.

Online Q&A Sessions

Join us on Facebook, Twitter or our Glow Yammer Group and bring your questions. Most Q&A sessions have themes, but please feel free to ask any questions you might have about the programme. Please suggest future topics if you don't see what you need. All Q&A sessions take place between 19:00 and 20:00. See our Training listings for future dates.

Curricular Maps

We have developed a series of Outcome Maps for the first five levels to help link Eco-Schools to CfE. We encourage adaptation, addition and development so that you can tailor them to the needs of your particular context.

Early Level First Level Second Level Third Level Fourth Level

Young Reporters

For young people aged 8-26 years, Young Reporter’s Scotland (YRS) is the perfect opportunity to investigate and report on an environmental or sustainability issues. Build and develop skills and creatively raise awareness of sustainability issues within your community and beyond.

Glow Yammer Discussion Group

We have a Yammer discussion group set up in Glow for educators to share their experiences and ideas. Please visit http://glo.li/2pbo0TD to join us - you will need your Glow credentials to log in.

Eco-Schools Monthly Newsletter

Get Eco-Schools news and resources delivered straight to your inbox. Our newsletter focuses on a different Topic each month. Sign up here.

Keep Connected

Find us on social media or visit our website at www.keepscotlandbeautiful.org

Keep Scotland Beautiful is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation: Number SC030332. Copyright © Keep Scotland Beautiful 2019. All rights reserved

Further Support

Notes