Pupils and staff pictured at the Green Flag Eco Schools celebration event
More than 60 Caerphilly County Borough schools have joined together for a special Eco School celebration event.
Earlier this month Caerphilly County Borough Council’s Sustainable Development Team held an Eco School celebration event to congratulate the 61 schools that have achieved the Eco School Green Flag award.
67% of schools (61 schools) in the Caerphilly county borough have now achieved Green Flag status, with 16 schools achieving their second Green Flag award, 21 schools achieving their third Green Flag and 11 schools achieving the prestigious Platinum Award (fourth Green Flag).
80 pupils attended the event along with teachers, headteachers, councillors and officers to celebrate their achievements.
To achieve Green Flag status, schools set up an eco committee (led by pupils), complete an environmental review of what the school currently does to be more sustainable and decides on some actions to improve the school further.
Eco Schools is a whole school project that supports the delivery of Education for Sustainable Development & Global Citizenship in both primary and secondary schools, which supports the Estyn Inspection framework, while helping the school save money and reduce its environmental impact.
There are eight topics that schools can tackle under the scheme covering waste minimisation, litter, school grounds, transport, healthy living, global citizenship, energy and water. By establishing eco committees the pupils become the driving force for environmental improvement through their school and local community, involving staff, parents, governors and local community groups.
To celebrate each school’s achievements children and staff were introduced to ‘The World of Ogs’ with Francine Davies. Through storytelling, creative eco art and craft pupils had the chance to express their creativity by turning old clothes into unique and quirky characters. ‘The World of Ogs’ is an exciting way of engaging children and staff in imaginative play and creative writing. Francine read from the ‘Og Diaries’ and gave everyone a taste of how The Ogs are helping children engage and learn new skills and tackle a variety of subjects on the National Curriculum.
Cllr Ken James, Caerphilly County Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Community & Leisure Services, said: “This is an impressive landmark illustrating the dedication of the schools in Caerphilly county borough to improve their sustainability. Our schools have really taken ownership of the Eco Schools programme and instigated real change in their schools and across the wider community. It’s wonderful to see our youngsters caring for their local environment and setting the benchmark for future generations.”
For more details about the Eco School process in Caerphilly County borough please contact Tracy Evans, Education for Sustainable Development Officer, CCBC at [email protected].
For more information about ‘The World of Ogs’ email: [email protected] or visit www.theworldofogs.com.
