Assessment, Achievement and Awards
Eco Schools
What is Eco-Schools?
In our experience, educators and young people care deeply about environmental issues and have a strong desire to actively protect our planet. However, environmental issues such as climate change, biodiversity-loss, or plastic pollution are huge global issues and the thought of tackling them can be intimidating, leaving many feeling overwhelmed and wondering ‘Where do I begin?’
The Eco-Schools programme provides a simple, seven-step framework that answers this question whilst empowering young people to make a difference in their school, local community and beyond. Since 1994, millions of young people around the world have worked through the Eco-Schools Seven Steps before being recognised for their efforts with a prestigious Eco-Schools Green Flag.
Schools connect their activities to three or more of the Ten Eco-Schools Topics. These topics break large, global issues like climate change into more manageable and directed themes that prompt young people to consider environmental changes that they can make in their school and everyday lives. (from https://www.eco-schools.org.uk)
What LKCS do
The Eco Council work with the Eco Lead to assess starting points, using the Environmental Review before deciding on which Eco School topics are going to be the focus for the year. Together, they make an action plan, suggesting small manageable targets that contribute towards achieving broader sustainability goals. Throughout the year, children are encouraged to offer suggestions on how to contribute towards earning Eco Flag and there are many whole school initiatives which all children are involved in, such as the Great British Spring Clean. Eco Council regularly monitor progress towards our goals throughout the year and provide updates to the whole school community through assemblies, write reports for the school newspaper and there is often an Eco section in the weekly parents’ newsletter.
The Eco Lead then completes an application to be awarded an Eco Flag at the end of each academic year which is assessed by the Eco Schools team.
Awards that LKCS have won
We are very proud that we successfully achieved 6 Eco Flag awards between 2009 and 2021 (awarded bi-annually).
Eco Schools changed how they grade and award Eco Flags in 2022. We achieved Eco Flag with Merit in 2022 and with Distinction in 2023 and 2024.
If you have any further questions, please contact the Eco Lead, Mrs J Clements-Ross.
Rights Respecting School Award (RRSA)
As part of our ongoing work on the ‘Rights Respecting School Award’, we aim to be a school that puts children’s rights at the heart of school life. This helps to ensure that we create a safe and inspiring place to learn, where children are respected, their talents are nurtured and they are able to thrive. We use the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) as our guide and regularly cover different children’s rights (e.g. ‘The right to education’ and ‘The right to play’) in our weekly assemblies. We emphasise that these rights are for all children and seek to support children in our country and around the world where those rights may not be met (e.g. raising money for Children in Need ensures that we are supporting children in their ‘right to health and health services’ and their ‘right to education’).
Our school council also work hard across the school to ensure we are meeting children’s rights. They speak to them to hear their thoughts and come up with ways to develop the school further (ensuring that we are upholding their ‘right to be heard’). Two years ago (2022-23), we achieved a Bronze Award for our work done in school. Last year (2023-24), we achieved our Silver Award, recognising how we had embedded these rights across the school.
If you would like more information on RRSA, please visit https://www.unicef.org.uk/rights-respecting-schools/the-rrsa/about-the-rrsa/.
