ANCHORSHOLME PRIMARY SCHOOL
A POLICY FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, “A COMMITMENT TO CARE”
Sustainable development is essential to ensure quality of life without damaging the planet for the
future. This requires a balance between economic prosperity, social equity and care for the
environment.
Anchorsholme Primary School is acutely aware of its responsibility to promote and practise sustainable development and this approach is reflected in our school vision:-
· Care and respect for ourselves, others and the environment.
· Co-operation between school, home and community.
· Consistency and fairness in our values and expectations.
· Challenge and support for all to reach their potential.
Our Objectives
· To encourage our students to care for themselves (their health and well-being), for each other and for the environment.
· To challenge our students to use their individual talents so that they can contribute to the
economic prosperity of their local community, the country and the global environment.
· To promote and practice the principles of social equity both in school and through our links
with local, national and global communities.
· To empower our students to lead sustainable lives through educating them in sustainable
behaviours.
· To share responsibility with the wider community for promoting and practising policies which show concern and care for the future of the global environment.
We will endeavour to address issues of global sustainability across all areas of school life.
Inclusion and Participation
As part of our commitment to the ‘Every Child Matters’ Agenda, our students are encouraged to
participate in decision making through a curriculum delivery emphasising skills development and
through such bodies as the Student Voice and the Eco-Committee. We encourage them to
feel confident about finding solutions and to enjoy making positive contributions to society. Issues
such as discrimination, equality of opportunity, citizenship, cultural and spiritual awareness and
care for the environment are consistent themes for all students to engage in.
Food and Drink
We acknowledge that better catering helps to improve student and staff health, concentration
and learning outcomes. In line with our School Food Policy, all food and drink offered to students, staff and visitors are nutritionally healthy and where possible, produced locally. Parents are aware of this policy and actively support it.
Energy and Water
As an Eco School, we are conscious of the need to conserve energy and water and the school
has promoted methods to encourage efficiency in these areas. We continually monitor energy use and develop ways of reducing consumption.
Travel and Traffic
The School’s Travel Plan promotes walking and cycling to school. We engage with CYPD Cycling
projects and Blackpool Borough Council's ‘WOW’ scheme to encourage walking to school. This
contributes towards safety, fitness and alertness of our students and also reduces emission
levels and congestion.
Purchasing and Waste
The school reuses and recycles wherever possible and has a policy of only printing when
necessary. Equipment and lights are switched off when not in use and wherever possible, we will
reuse or dispose of old equipment in an ecologically sound way.
Buildings and Grounds
The school was not built with sustainability at the forefront of its design. However, this is an area that the school addresses and invests in regularly. We aim to improve the open spaces of the school with new seating areas, cycle facilities, wildlife study provision and school gardens tended by the children.
We will work with the council departments, local community and national bodies to develop our green open spaces to create a ‘natural equilibrium’.
Our hope is to be granted a 75% rebuild in 2011. We will use this opportunity to address sustainable issues as part of the plans for a new build.
Local Well–Being
Through engaging with parents, local businesses, schools and community groups, we regularly
provide activities such as Environment Days, raising awareness of sustainability issues.
Global Dimension
As a school, we participate in many activities linking us to the wider world such as the Comenius Project and we have close links to students in New York.
We are exploring the possibilities of twinning with a school in Malawi to study the production of vegetables in our school grounds. We hope to communicate regularly to compare the environmental and climate issues surrounding our gardening.
We will continue to extend this ethos of sustainability throughout the school in our determination
to move towards a healthier, safer, more inclusive and equitable society and to encourage our
students to become ambassadors for sustainability in the wider community.
Monitoring and Reviewing
The policy for sustainability forms part of the School Improvement Plan and should be reviewed
annually by the School Leadership Team, the School Council and Governing Body. Monitoring progress towards our objectives is the responsibility of all curriculum teams and should be an integral part of the School.
