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Sustainability & Climate Action at

St Mary and St Chad’s

Sustainability and Climate Action Vision Statement

"Hand in hand, we grow a greener future."

At St Mary and St Chad CE First School, part of the Penk Valley Academy Trust, we believe that every child is a steward of creation, empowered to shape a sustainable and hope-filled world. Rooted in our Christian ethos and inspired by our school vision — "Aim High, Believe, Fly High, Achieve" — we place our pupils at the heart of our journey toward environmental responsibility and climate action.

Together with our Trust, we are committed to embedding sustainability into every aspect of school life — from our curriculum and campus to our community and culture — in alignment with the UNESCO Green School Quality Standard. This means:

• 🌱 Governance: Leading with integrity and purpose to ensure sustainability is a core part of our school’s mission and decision-making.

• 🏫 Facilities and Operations: Creating eco-friendly, energy-efficient, and resource-conscious learning environments.

• 📚 Teaching and Learning: Equipping pupils with the knowledge, skills, and values to understand and respond to climate change.

• 🤝 Community Engagement: Partnering with families, local organisations, and global networks to inspire collective action.

We celebrate the creativity, curiosity, and care of our children as they take the lead in shaping a better world — one where friendship, thankfulness, courage, respect, peace, and hope guide every step.

Together, we are not just preparing children for the future — we are empowering them to nurture and protect it.

NEWSLETTER

Throughout the year our Eco Council has led a range of exciting initiatives across the school to help bring these values to life.

Autumn & Spring Term Highlights

Waste, Recycling and Looking After Our School

During the autumn and spring terms, our Eco Council focused on improving how we manage waste around school.

👾 Meet Our Waste Monsters!

To help children understand what goes into each bin, we introduced our fun and memorable Waste Monsters:

• Paper & Cardboard Monster loves paper, envelopes and cardboard  
• Recycling Monster gobbles up clean jars, tins and containers
• Food Waste enjoys fruit and vegetable scraps, leftover food, leaves and coffee grounds
• General Waste Monsters help us sort everything else correctly

These bright and engaging characters are displayed around school and have made a big difference in helping children make the right choices.

🧹 Our Litter Picking Team

The Eco Council also introduced a litter picker rota, ensuring our playground stays clean and safe. Children have shown fantastic pride in their environment and understand how small actions can make a big difference.

🏡 Get Involved at Home!

You can support this learning at home by:

• Looking at the bins you have at home
• Designing your own waste monster characters
• Going on a “bin hunt” to see how you sort your waste
• Taking part in a litter picking walk in your local area
  (Please ensure children are supervised and wear gloves

   

☀️ Summer Term Focus

Biodiversity and the Natural World

In the summer term, our focus has shifted to caring for nature and understanding biodiversity, inspired by the work of David Attenborough.

🌼 Growing Our School Garden

Our Eco Council have begun planting:

• Flowers
• Vegetables
• New areas to support wildlife

• Through this, children are learning how plants, insects and animals rely on each other and how we can help protect our planet

🌱 Try This at Home!

Families can get involved by:

• Growing plants, herbs or vegetables at home
• Bringing plants into school to add to our garden
• Exploring local wildlife and discussing how to protect it

🔜 Looking Ahead: Biodiversity Project

🙌 Volunteers Needed

We are looking for support with:

• Gardening and planting
• Creating wildlife areas
• Helping organise activities for the children

• If you are interested, please contact Mrs Scotton and the Eco council on:
  📧 j-scotton@penkvalley.co.uk

  We are also always grateful for any help with maintaining our school garden.

   

   

💚 Thank You

Thank you to all our children, staff and families for supporting our sustainability work. Together, we are making a real difference and helping to create a greener future for everyone.