Environmental Policy for St Ailbe’s School

 

Title: St Ailbe’s School Environmental Policy

 

Scope: Whole school and community

 

Relationship to school mission statement:

Providing a quality learning environment, creating an atmosphere of trust and confidence between students, parents and staff which enhances self-esteem and self worth. To provide pupils with a positive outlook on life and with due consideration for others and for property.

 

Rationale:

There is a serious problem with litter in the school and also with pupils awareness of and attitudes towards environmental issues.

 

Goals:

   To make the school a litter-free school

   To gain Green Flag status for the school

   To give the pupils enough environmental awareness and appreciation to bring back to their families and their communities.

   To develop an environmental garden in the school

   To greatly reduce the amount of waste produced in the school and to reuse and recycle a greater proportion of what is produced.

   To involve all stakeholders ie Student Council, Parents Council, BOM, Staff and Pupils in the implementation of the School Environmental Policy.

   To enhance the image of the school in the local community

   Overall to contribute to the general enhancement of the environment in both the school and the surrounding community.

 

Policy Content:

Waste management

-         Separation of waste in the classroom

-         Newspaper recycling

-         Composting

-         Recycling survey

-         Litter blitzes – major items to be banned eg ban carrying of bottles into classrooms

-         24 hour litter survey followed by Litter-free day

Enhancement

-        Window boxes in classrooms

-        Atrium clean up

-        Wildlife garden

-         More attractive bins

-         Leaking roof to be repaired

-    Toilets to be cleaned up and enhanced

-    Feasibility of extending canteen to be looked into.

 

 

Education and awareness

-         Environmental awareness week

-         Radio-com and TMWR

-         Incorporating environmental issues into current curriculum eg CSPE, Sciences, Art, History, Geography and Maths.

-         Form & Fusion

 

Roles and responsibilities in developing and implementing the policy:

Staff environmental committee

Parents council

Students environmental committee

All staff and students must take ownership of the plan

 

Implementation procedures:

Banning of carrying of bottles into class and subsequent confiscation.

Incentives not to litter eg Coke machine, litter spy.

Teachers to ensure a classroom is left as they found it

Chairs to be put on desks after last class in afternoon so as to allow cleaning staff to clean rooms easier.

Parents council to fundraise for environmental projects

Student Environmental Committee to devise and fundraise for environmental projects

Recycling bags to be placed in every classroom and photocopying room

Specialist recycling days to be held in the school eg paint tins, ink cartridges, batteries etc

Compost bins to be purchased and compost to be used in environmental garden

 

Success Criteria:

Green flag status

Tidy schools prize

Decrease in waste produced and increase in recycling

Cleaner and enhanced school and community

 

Monitoring procedures:

Staff and pupils to see if rooms are left clean when a class departs

Caretakers to report on litter black spots and waste management

Specific students along with parents to develop environmental garden

 

Review procedures:

Policy committee in conjunction with student council and student environmental committee to meet on a regular basis.