Sustainability in an early years setting

Case study

Monkchester Road Nursery has involved the whole school community in planning and delivering a range of practical sustainability activities.

Key learning

Monkchester Road has introduced very young children to environmental education and developed their awareness of the impact they have on the local area.
Practical sustainability activities within the school grounds help children to enjoy learning and achieve in all curriculum areas.
Increasing the efficiency of the building has reduced the school’s energy bills.
Monkchester Road uses the Eco-Schools ‘Think’ audit tool to plan and develop its work on sustainability

Background

Monkchester Road Nursery and Family Centre in Newcastle has an ethos of encouraging children and families to care for themselves, each other and the environment. The Reggio Emilia approach to education – which recognises the environment as a child’s third teacher – is a major influence on the school.

With an awareness of the importance of the environment in teaching and learning, the staff decided to re-evaluate the whole school site and the learning spaces available to pupils. The school also established a firm commitment to ensuring the sustainability of the environment for future generations.

Key challenges

Engaging very young children

Monkchester Road had to find creative ways of seeking feedback and input from its young pupils. Solutions included taking photographs of different areas of the school, working with staff in small groups and including sustainability in circle time discussions.

Tailoring activities to pupils’ needs

Monkchester Road aims to make learning about sustainability fun as well as educational. Each activity is tailored to the learning needs of very young children.

Raising funds

The school applied for grant funding to support some of its sustainability projects. It has also raised funds through selling nearly-new uniforms.

Solution

Becoming an eco school

Joining the Eco-Schools scheme inspired Monkchester Road to redesign its curriculum and improve the school grounds. The school has installed energy-efficient lighting and heating systems featuring sensors and local controls.

Developing staff

Monkchester Road undertook an audit of training needs which identified a number of staff training needs. The school designed a professional development programme which supports a distributed leadership model where each member of staff has responsibility for an aspect of sustainability.

Embedding sustainability into the curriculum

Staff reviewed their everyday curriculum planning to ensure that elements of sustainability were embedded into day-to-day learning experiences.

Engaging children and parents

The school invited parents to provide feedback on specific areas in the school that needed improvement. Children’s views were gathered through class discussions and parents also helped their children to complete a survey about sustainability in the school.

Practical activities

Children at Monkchester Road are able to get involved in practical sustainability activities, including recycling, gardening and composting using a ‘Roly Poly Pig’ compost bin. Some initiatives, like ink cartridge recycling, help the school to save money and fund other sustainability activities.

Developing networks

Staff at Monkchester Road have developed close links with environment and biodiversity experts from the local council.

Further information

For further information contact Monkchester Road Nursery.