This week we found out that we had regained our Green Flag Status via Eco Schools. This year we have achieved with distinction. This is what our reviewer said:
A summary of our application outcome is below:
| Congratulations !!! Fantastic work Ruechel! We are very pleased to tell you that you and your Eco-Committee at Harris Primary Academy Haling Park have been successful in meeting the requirements for the Eco-Schools Green Flag Award. We reviewed your application and noted the following: It’s great to see that your Year 5 committee members share the responsibility for keeping minutes. This shows how you are empowering and supporting your young people to develop brilliant communication skills and fostering a sense of ownership of their work. We loved reading the quote provided by a member of your Eco-Committee. They sound like a very impressive individual and their quote demonstrated how passionate they are about improving their local community and protecting our planet. It's brilliant to read that the Environmental Review helped your pupils appreciate everything that your school is already doing to benefit our environment and identify areas to work on in the future. Moreover, Your Eco-Committee didn’t let any tricky questions on the Environmental Review defeat them, instead they proactively sought input from staff members, which demonstrates their resilience and team ethos. We loved that your Action Plan goals were led by both your review findings and the interests and ideas of your pupils, which shows that you are putting them at the heart of your Eco-Schools programme. Furthermore, the global citizenship and energy initiatives outlined in your Action Plan are testament to how your Eco-Committee has carefully considered how it can involve the whole school in its activities to raise awareness and achieve maximum impact. It’s clear that you have embedded environmental issues into your curriculum with great enthusiasm and these issues are being used to enrich learning in your school, whilst engaging young people in important issues such as sustainability and deforestation. We particularly loved reading about how you are using literature as a vehicle for delivering your Brazil topic, engendering a sense of compassion and respect for our planet and its inhabitants. You have made fantastic efforts to involve all pupils and your wider school community, maximising the impacts of your Eco-Schools work and benefitting your local area and our planet. Your Eco-Committee’s role in encouraging the school community to work together produce the Shelter charity artwork is a brilliant example of this. Terrific work! Thank you for submitting an excellent application. We have loved reading about your journey this year and are incredibly impressed by the long-lasting benefits that your energy drive has brought about for both your school and the environment. It gives us great pleasure to award you an Eco-Schools Green Flag with Distinction– congratulations!