Simon Balle All-through School’s core values include protecting the environment and driving sustainable practices in all that we do. This is done through education of students and staff and leading by example in the way that we run the school. To help reduce our environmental impact we have: The above are some of the ways we are protecting the environment and encouraging sustainable practices in all that we do. We know we can do more, and through our Eco club members, staff leadership and strong encouragement from our school Governors, we will continue to do everything we can to reduce our environmental impact. The core values of Simon Balle are closely interlinked with the environment and sustainability. We Respect the environment by striving to ensure that we take every opportunity to reduce our environmental impact. Our curriculum helps students develop the wisdom and courage to challenge school staff to take environmental action and encourages all staff and students to take responsibility for their actions. Students are given hope and they trust that the school is working hard to make a positive environmental difference. The need for us all to take a compassionate and kind view of the environment is encouraged throughout the school and within the curriculum. Our core values will help ensure that Simon Balle staff and students value our environment. Simon Balle has now achieved the Eco-School Silver award which is an important stage towards reaching the Eco-School Green Flag award. We aspire to reach the coveted Eco-School Green Flag award by Winter 2022. There are several requirements for the Eco-school Green Flag, these include: Eco-Schools is a global programme engaging 19.5 million children across 67 countries, making it the largest educational programme on the planet.Collectively Eco-schools has made, and will continue to, make a significant positive impact on the environment. We are proud to be recognised as an Eco-school. The environment and sustainability runs right the way through the curriculum at Simon Balle. As well as being thoroughly embedded within the Geography and Science curriculum, it features in various ways in other subjects such as English and PRE. Our students study the operation of the carbon cycle, the impact of human activity on ecosystems and principles of sustainable development. In addition,they consider ethical arguments around the treatment of animals and the environment, read about dystopian futures and analyse the language used by speakers such as Greta Thunberg. Students in years 7 and 8 will be taking part in a ten week action research project to look at energy and waste around the school site. The Larch Centre has a small farm. We hope the farm will help our young students to engage with the natural environment and understand how animals are integral to daily life. The farm aligns to several core values, including the development of compassion and kindness to animals, the resilience to help with clearing out chicken poo, and the responsibility to help look after the animals.
