This academic year, children and staff members at St George’s Childcare have led the way in early years environmental education and sustainability. Their exceptional efforts have been recognised with the prestigious, internationally recognised Eco-Schools Green Flag accreditation.
The Eco-Schools programme, established in 1994, has been inspiring young environmentalists for over 30 years. It has grown into a global movement, with Eco-Schools Green Flag accreditation awarded to settings in more than 100 countries. In England alone, the programme reaches over 1 million young people each year, empowering them to make a positive impact on our planet.
At St George’s, staff members took responsibility for making their setting more sustainable by introducing new recycling procedures including food waste caddies in every childcare room which the children scrape leftover foods into, and committing to purchasing toys and equipment made from natural materials or recycled plastics where possible. Staff Development Lead, Deborah Smith, led the setting through the eco-schools programme with great passion and even introduced a wormery, a living wall, bird feeders and a batbox to increase the biodiversity of their setting.
The children in their nursery also proved that you’re never too young to make a difference, and got involved by going on local litter picks, growing fruits and vegetables in their allotment, taking turns being the ‘light monitor’, and engaging in learning activities around travel and transport, energy and water conservation.
Speaking about their achievements, St George’s Manager Morgane Glew said, “We have achieved a lot over the past year and plan to continue and improve on what we’ve done so far. We’ve actually been planning and saving to install a green energy system for a couple of years now and are pleased to have chosen a supplier and will be having solar panels installed on the roof of our building by the end of this year”.
A parent of Milo, aged 4, stated, “Milo has loved learning about the environment at nursery, he’s now really enjoying helping us in the garden and absolutely loves finding (and handling!) minibeasts when we’re out and about. I’ve been amazed by his understanding of water conservation and recycling from the activities they’ve been doing at nursery, and he now gives us a strong reminder to use our food waste bin at home!”
As well as being a childcare setting that is committed to environmental sustainability, St George’s operate as a charity; this enables them to put the children first in all decision making, to charge parents a fair price for childcare and to reinvest any surplus into improving the setting for the benefit of all of the children. St George’s also provide subsidised, sometimes completely free, places for children who are in vulnerable circumstances, all paid for by our community fundraising activities. While the children are in our care, parents have the opportunity to access support services and networks, seek employment or work extra hours to support the family and spend valuable time with family and friends. This relieves stress on the whole family as they work towards a positive future and a stable loving home.
If you know a family with pre-school or primary school aged children that could benefit from St George’s support, please reach out to St George’s confidentially at childcaremanager@stgeorgeschildcare.co.uk
