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Mellor St Mary CE Primary School

Learning Together

Climate Action - Sustainability Plan

 

 

What do we believe?

 

The Church of England’s vision of education Deeply Christian, Serving the common good (2026) states ‘Good schools open up horizons of hope and aspiration and guide pupils into ways of fulfilling them… rooted in God’s love and compassion for all people and for the whole of creation.’

As a Christian school, we encourage our children to:

  • Be responsible for themselves and others,
  • Respect life in all its forms,
  • Look for hope in difficult times or situations,
  • Be courageous to stand up for what we believe in.
  • Pray for forgiveness for the things that we have done wrong.
  • Love one another and the world in which we live.

Therefore, our Sustainability Climate Action Plan for 2025 (and beyond) is bound by these core values as well as our common purpose to ensure all those within our school community live life in all its fullness (John 10:10) through the promotion and protection of God’s World.

 

What is Climate Change?

 

The dictionary definition is:

A change in global or regional acclimate patterns , in particular a change apparent from mod to late 20th Century onwards and attributed largely to the increased levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide produce they the use of fossil fuels.

There are many factors that can make the Earth warmer and colder including:

  • greenhouse gases caused by human activity,
  • deforestation, where more than half of the world’s surface has been ploughed and paved,
  • ozone layer trapping heat closer to the Earth’s surface
  • different types of air pollution which have different effects on the atmosphere.

The challenge of climate change is formidable. For children and young people to meet it with determination, and not with despair, we must offer them not just truth, but also hope. Learners need to know the truth about climate change – through knowledge-rich education. They must also be given the hope that they can be agents of change, through hands-on activity and, as they progress, through guidance and programmes allowing them to pursue a green career pathway in their chosen field (DFE 2023).

 

 

What can we do?

 

The DFE has called on all education sectors to create a sustainability climate action plan to show how we, as a school community, can support national and international initiatives which are aimed at protecting the world through direct climate action. As a school, we have important role to play in this, particularly reducing our environmental footprint to work towards net zero and giving all children, young people and adults the knowledge and skills to thrive in the green economy and to help restore nature.

 

Through our sustainability climate action plan, we will engage directly with children and young people who are passionate about the natural world, want to do their best to protect it and can influence their wider communities.

 

Through their learned and lived experiences from early years to Year 6, our children will develop a broad knowledge and understanding of the importance of nature, sustainability and the causes and impact of climate change and to translate this knowledge into positive action and solutions.

Using the four areas identified in the DFE’s Sustainability and climate change strategy Sustainability and climate change: a strategy for the education and children’s services systems - GOV.UK our sustainability and climate action plan will focus on:

  1. Decarbonisation e.g. taking action to reduce carbon emissions and becoming more energy efficient.
  2. Adaptation and Resilience e.g. taking action to reduce the risk of flooding and overheating.
  3. Biodiversity e.g engaging with National Education Nature Park Home | Education Nature Park
  4. Climate Education and Green Careers e.g. knowledge rich comprehensive teaching about climate change.

 

It will also include:

Creating an environment from an early age where we can connect to nature is essential for self-enforcement in protecting and valuing nature’. Ensuring our children will:

  • spend time in nature and learn more about it
  • become actively involved in the improvement of their local environment
  • know that regular contact with green spaces can have a beneficial impact on their physical and mental health. 

 

Climate adaptation and decarbonisation activities can provide powerful learning opportunities.

Ensuring, our children will:

  • participate in the implementation of climate adaptation measures
  • learn in buildings designed for net zero
  • find out more about the impact of energy and water use
  • See sustainability brought to life in the buildings around them, allowing them to gain experiences which will enhance and contextualise their learning.

 

Mellor St Mary CE Primary School Climate Action Plan is created in conjunction with information from Lets Go Zero, Global Action and National Education Nature Park.

 

This is the first draft and will be amended on a continual basis.

Reviewed by the Governing Board on : 28.02.2025

Created by: Mrs Carins Sustainability lead, Mrs Embley-Peers Headteacher, Mr Metcalf Sustainability Governor.

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