Agreed: 1 September 2024 Next review: 1 September 2025

Overview

This policy is consistent with Dukes’ values;

We lead with heart; We are a team; We love learning; We do it well.

Orchard House School is committed to being a sustainable and environmentally friendly school. We aim to reduce our carbon footprint and to implement and pursue practices which will help to foster an awareness and understanding of the environment in both pupils and staff.

The School has a duty to prepare future generations with the knowledge and skills to manage the world’s resources wisely. Pupils are expected to demonstrate an active interest in and concern for all-natural environments, and we hope to encourage each pupil to recognise their role in tending to the future of the planet.

The way the School environment is managed and maintained should provide an example to pupils of how to respect and care for the environment. Wherever possible, pupils and staff should be encouraged and expected to adopt sustainable practices.

Education for sustainable development should give pupils a greater understanding of both natural and human systems through a range of immediate environmental experiences that engage their senses, emotions and thinking. It should enable the School community to develop a life ethic that values all people and the natural environment. Ultimately, it should ensure that each school member understands and respects their environment, both inside and outside of school.

Our Commitment

We are committed to playing our part in delivering increasingly sustainable outcomes.

We will:

COMPLY with legal obligations
BENCHMARK our performance, seeking to implement best practice where practicable
ADOPT the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and intertwine them in learning and development for our staff and pupils
ACHIEVE Net Zero Carbon before 2050, in line with Dukes Education

Our Approach

APPOINT a sustainability champion to support the leadership team to implement this policy
DEVELOP our staff to increase awareness of sustainability and how it applies to our school/college/nursery and their role
UNDERSTAND the key decisions and actions that create negative impacts to the environment or society as a whole and TAKE ACTION to improve them
REVIEW how we operate and map this to sustainability risks and opportunities
CREATE a plan to implement the necessary change to continuously improve our performance
BUILD a Net Zero Carbon trajectory with Dukes Education to support the achievement of this critical goal
REPORT against key performance indicators
REVIEW our performance regularly to keep us on track
ESTABLISH additional plans to provide greater focus on key areas of impact including:
- Environmental – to provide focus on reducing impacts to land, water and air
- Resource management – to provide focus on single-use plastics and paper
- Waste – to reduce production and avoid landfill
- Procurement – to bring our supply chain with us in providing more sustainable products and services
- Wellbeing – to maintain the health of our staff, pupils and wider communities within which we operate
- Social Value – to contribute to the local community within which we are sited
- Green Travel – to reduce the impact of travel to our facilities
- Biodiversity and ecology – to bring our people closer to nature and to enhance biodiversity where we can
EMBED an awareness of sustainability issues and promote global awareness into our whole school curriculum and ethos.

The Learning Orchard: Promotion of Sustainability and Global Awareness – Cross Curriculum Links

Form	Science	STEM	English Texts Studied	Knowledge
Form 1	Animals & their Needs; Taking Care of the Earth; Plants	STEM Learning Challenges: What do Bees do, Pollution solution, Nature Walk Diary & Hedgehog Hibernation	Old Enough to Save the Planet by Loll Kirby; One Day on Our Blue Planet by Ella Bailey; Leaf by Sandra Dieckmann	Geography – Our 7 continents
Form 2	Living Things & their Habitats; Plants; Habitats from around the world	CREST AWARDS – All Star Challenges including: Animal Adventures, A Special Tree, Brilliant Birds and Bumblebee Mystery	Malala’s Magic Pencil by Malala Yousafzai; Hummingbird by Nicola Davies	The British Isles
Form 3	Plants and their Life Cycles	Natural Inks – kitchen scraps to make natural inks; Ditch the Dirt – Water filtration challenge; Squashed Tomato Challenge – Design and build a way to move Nepalese farmers’ tomatoes down a mountain	The Great Kapok Tree by Lynne Cherry; The Rhythm of the Rain by Grahame Baker-Smith; The Bluest of Blues by Anna Atkins	Settlements; Rivers
Form 4	Classification of Living Things; Ecology – How Environments Change; Electricity – Alternative Ways of Generating Electricity	The Great Plastics Challenge – create a usable product from waste plastic; Wild Cities – Create a city of buildings inspired by animals; Floating Garden Challenge – Create a garden that floats for farmers in Bangladesh	Fly Eagle Fly by Christopher Gregorowski	Mountains; Local Study
Form 5	Materials: Living Things – Life Cycles of Mammals	Solar Challenge – investigating circuits for rural Zimbabwe; Beat the Flood Challenge – building a home to withstand flooding caused by climate change	Ride the Wind by Nicola Davies; Silent Music: A story from Baghdad	British Geographical Issues; Globalisation
Form 6	Electricity; The Environment & Climate Change; Evolution	Sea Turtle Challenge – Prevent loss of sea turtle life during a hurricane; ISEB iPQ Qualification – pupils choose a project to complete based on a sustainability theme	—	—

Pupils

We aim to provide high-quality teaching and learning so that each child reaches their full potential. We are committed to educating our pupils about environmental concerns and the importance of living sustainably. We recognise our responsibility to ensure that pupils have the necessary skills and knowledge to understand environmental concerns, so that they can apply this to their lives and adopt an eco-friendly lifestyle, especially in the current climate. We will adopt the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and intertwine them in learning and development for our staff and pupils, by embedding the topics within many areas of our curriculum, including a STEM curriculum fully linked with environmental topics.

Our school is a member of the Eco-Schools Green project – eco-schools.org.uk/about/what-is-eco-schools

This is an initiative that encourages pupils to engage with environmental and sustainable development issues. It also highlights and supports the ever-growing eco anxiety that many young people feel.

The teaching of the subject will:

Enable children to gain knowledge and understanding of places in the world
Increase children’s knowledge of other cultures and, in so doing, teach a respect and understanding of what it means to be a positive citizen in a multicultural country
Allow children to learn sustainable skills
Enable children to know and understand environmental problems at a local, regional and global level
Encourage in children a commitment to sustainable development and an appreciation of what ‘global citizenship’ means
Encourage a respect for the physical environment, a sense of wonder at the beauty of the world around them and an enhanced sense of responsibility towards the Earth and its occupants.

Paper

Staff are encouraged to use electronic devices or online resources where possible instead of paper.
Staff are asked to keep their written documents to one or two sides of A4 wherever possible.
Staff are asked to use double-sided photocopying wherever possible.
Staff and pupils are asked to use the paper bins to recycle all paper.
Staff and pupils are asked to ensure that both sides of paper are used before it is recycled. To this end, each classroom should contain a scrap paper box.
Staff and pupils are asked not to print documents unless it is necessary.
Staff, pupils, and parents are asked to use e-mail wherever possible, avoiding copying paper to colleagues, pupils or parents.
When emailing colleagues, staff are encouraged to email relevant groups rather than the whole faculty, hence reducing our carbon footprint.

Computers

Staff and pupils are asked to ensure that all computers, screens, printers, and projectors are turned off after their last use of the day.
Staff are asked to lock their computer screen whenever they leave their classroom.

Water

Water use is monitored.
Reusable water bottles are encouraged for daily use.
Establish and raise awareness of simple actions that can cut down on water use substantially.

Energy

Energy consumption to be monitored.
Make sure members of the school community are aware of the link between energy use and cost.
Identify and implement effective energy saving measures where possible.
Consider using alternative sources of energy such as solar power.
Ensure all future new build and refurbishment building projects conform to the highest environmental standards where these are consistent with good financial management.

We will reduce our energy usage by:

Switching off lights when they are not in use.
Keeping doors and windows shut in cold weather and installing draught excluders so that warm air is retained.
Turning off energy-draining appliances, for example, computers, projectors and interactive whiteboards, when they are not in use.
Monitoring the temperature and frequency of heating in the school and adjusting it accordingly.
Insulating hot water pipes to reduce water waste when running a tap, as well as reducing.
Staff and pupils are asked to turn off lights whenever they are not being used.
Install LED and/or movement-sensitive lights where possible.
Ensuring all systems work efficiently, and any breakages or leaks are resolved as a matter of high priority by the site manager.
Displaying information around the school and in classrooms to ensure that pupils understand the importance of switching off lights, computers and taps when they are not in use.

Recycling

Recycling to be promoted through assemblies and form times.
Paper is to be collected in recycling boxes in each classroom.
Cartridges from computer ink will be placed in a labelled bin and collected for recycling.
Recycling provision to be included in staff rooms.
Encourage pupils to reduce their consumption of plastic-wrapped snacks in preference for biodegradable/compostable snack packaging or fruit and vegetables only, therefore food waste can be recycled.

Resources and Uniform

Outdated or unwanted resources will be offered to others who might have a use for it via charities or through PTA.
Uniforms in good condition will be collected, washed, and sold or given to children.
Redundant computer equipment will be recycled by an authorised contractor.
All newly purchased equipment will have universal charging to reduce future waste.

Transport

The school will raise awareness about the impact of transport has on the environment and people’s health.
Develop a robust travel plan which includes realistic and achievable goals.
Encourage pupils and staff to commute to school using environmentally friendly methods (walking, cycling, and catching the train).
Take part in yearly initiatives, e.g. Walk to School Week.
We will encourage the school community to use public transport wherever possible when going on trips.
We recognise that there are risks involved when individuals choose to walk or cycle to school; therefore, we will organise road safety lessons in PSHE.

School Grounds and the Wider Community/Social Value

The school should use the School grounds as a source of teaching and learning opportunities for pupils.
School habitats are used by pupils to study flora and fauna and their habitat and continue to use the community garden – aided by children, staff and parents.
The School should ensure that the grounds provide for recreational use by pupils as well as provision to undertake exercise.
Develop areas of biodiversity and a strategy to encourage wildlife within the School grounds.

Clubs, Trips and Visitors

Two Year 6 pupils will be chosen to be ECO ambassadors. They will champion the topic and promote relevant events.
Each class will have an eco-monitor.
Environmentally linked trips will be organised for each year group over the academic year.
Visitors are encouraged to come into the school and talk about geographical/sustainable issues. The Sustainability lead will encourage the celebration of certain days of the calendar, e.g. Earth Day, as well as regular assemblies focussing on sustainability issues.

Waste & Recycling

We will reduce the amount of waste we produce by:

Writing and printing on both sides of paper wherever possible.
Using emails as much as possible to reduce paper waste.
Using emails, the school’s website and parent messaging procedures when communicating with parents, to reduce paper waste.
Composting food waste, both from the kitchen and food brought into school by pupils.
Ensuring selective waste collection and organic waste treatment for composting and mulching/wormery.
Putting used paper in a scrap paper drawer and re-using it whenever possible.
Where possible, encouraging pupils to share worksheets.
Where possible, laminating frequently used documents, protecting them from damage and prolonging their use. Ensure only to laminate items which will be reused.
Pupils will bring reusable water bottles into school, as opposed to disposable plastic bottles.
Any plastic will be recycled.
We will display posters explaining important environmental considerations, for example, what sort of waste can be recycled and how litter can be detrimental to the environment.
Any paper containing personal or sensitive information will not be re-used and will be disposed of in accordance with the school’s Data Protection Policy.
Teachers will encourage pupils to partake in regular litter picking around the school grounds and local area, and take part in an eco-club as appropriate.

Waste

EDUCATE our staff and pupils about waste management best practice
IMPLEMENT the waste hierarchy to
PREVENT the creation of waste by reusing products and materials we already have
RECYCLE as much waste as possible by making sure the waste we put into recycling bins is suitable for recycling –
- Removing contamination like films that are not recyclable and rinsing out food waste containers;
- Checking packaging materials to make sure plastics have a recycle logo on them or are made of glass, paper or cardboard
SEGREGATE plastics and contaminated paper and cardboard so it can be taken off-site for energy recovery;
COLLECT uniform for reuse
PROVIDE special facilities for confidential waste paper that is shredded and then recycled
Food and compostable wastes
Fluorescent tubes and sodium lamps which are collected as hazardous waste and recycled
COLLECT data to enable us to track progress to zero waste to landfill.

Healthy Living

Healthy lifestyles will be integrated into the science curriculum.
We will promote an ethos of environmental understanding. Pupils will be taught to understand that their actions have a direct impact upon the environment.
We will discourage environmental indifference and promote the importance of understanding the impact that each individual has on the environment.
We will encourage staff and pupils to adopt healthy lifestyles, as healthy lifestyles often lead to a sustainable lifestyle, for example, walking instead of driving.