Regional eco schools ambassador role

Everton Nursery School and Family Centre, an eco-school ambassador for the North West, are leading the way in education for sustainable development.

The Nursery School is part of a small number of eco-school ambassador schools in England. The aim of Everton Nursery School when working within environmental education is to inspire children to understand and protect the world that surrounds them from a very early age.

Achieving ‘Outstanding’ in both of their recent Ofsted reports (May 2014 for the School, September 2014 for Daycare), and three-time recipients of Keep Britain Tidy’s coveted Green Flag award, Everton Nursery School has chosen and adapted the European Eco Schools project as an integral part of their curriculum.

The programme aims to empower children to become more sustainable in and out of the classroom and to realise the value of their environment through engaging teaching methods and investigative play.

As a key part of the school’s approach to learning, children are encouraged to explore environmental issues including citizenship, health and energy conservation.

The school has a wealth of resources to support the children’s learning including a wide range of outdoor spaces with rich greenery, allowing children to explore a natural habitat and appreciate the importance of conservation.

Children are taught the significance of recycling and the impact that littering and energy consumption has on the ecosystem.
The children are even afforded key responsibilities such as caring for their own plants in the outdoor area in order to raise awareness of wasting water.

Jamie Wilson, deputy headteacher of Everton Nursery School and Family Centre said: “We are really proud to be forerunners in the eco school field. This work is really important to promote the importance of the natural world to our children from a very young age so that they grow to become environmentally aware adults.

“As a nursery school, we have embedded what we consider to be ‘inspirational principles’ in the heart of our school life to promote environmental awareness in the children’s everyday lives.”

He added: “Children are encouraged to discuss some of the most important issues affecting our natural world including littering, energy consumption and the dangers of waste.

“These group activities encourage the social development of the children as well as raising their awareness of current ecological issues.

“Environmental education is integral to understanding citizenship and our children are taught why this is important for the natural environment.”