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William Patten Primary School
Stoke Newington Church Street
London N16 0NX
Office Manager: Rita Quigley
SENDCo: Caitlin Shaw

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020 7254 4014

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William Patten Primary School

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Intent
William Patten Primary School is committed to being an environmentally friendly and sustainable school.  We will enhance the progress being made towards this, by further reducing the school’s ecological footprint, embedding sustainable practises in our everyday lives.  We are committed to ensuring that children understand their roles and responsibilities in looking after the school environment and beyond, and how they can lead more sustainable lifestyles.  We are proud of our links with external agencies, such as, Trees for Cities, Greenpeace, FairTrade and the The Green Schools’ Project and the Eco Schools’ framework which we are following so that we continue to achieve the Green Flag Eco Schools award.

Implementation
As a whole school community, we are excited and committed to raising the profile of environment and sustainability at William Patten, through its effective integration within the curriculum.   We believe that increased awareness of the environment and sustainable living supports and promotes students’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.  Children’s understanding of environment and sustainability is supported by practical, first-hand experiences and collaborative activities which take place in the school grounds.  Planned and coordinated activities involving shared resources, such as the edible playground and landscaped roof garden, ensure the children develop a deep understanding of their relationship with the environment and how their choices and actions can support sustainable living.  Opportunities for applying this to a wider context, both on an immediate and wider local scale, as well as on a global scale, are then supported directly through the school’s curriculum, with specific coverage of these themes in a number of curriculum areas, including science and PSHE.  The children also have access to positive role models from the local and wider community, with specific expertise, through our partnership working with external agencies, including those mentioned above, as well as STEM.org and representatives from our families.  The subject lead has established a successful working partnership with the Hackney Council Environmental Officer, Kelly Sullivan. Kelly works with the school to ensure the highest possible standard of education in terms of environmental issues and promoting sustainable living. This year, we were named Lead Eco School in Hackney and were able to host 20 other schools from the borough who visited the school to see how best to

Impact
The school’s commitment to sustainability is evident in both the indoor and outdoor school environment.  Each classroom, for example, has a recycling area and the timetabled use of the edible garden and roof garden ensure that children observe the impact of their project work in these areas throughout the school year.  The school has achieved the Learning Outside the Classroom (LOtC) award at gold level, in recognition of ‘exemplary LOtC provision…ensuring that all pupils have access to frequent, continuous and progressive learning outside the classroom to support their learning and achievement.’  The external assessment report also acknowledges ‘wonderful improvements’ to the school grounds, specifically recognising the roof garden refurbishment and inclusion of ‘planters for each class and a greenhouse’.  The school also holds the British Council’s ‘International School Award’, acknowledging the depth in which sustainability as a theme has been taught throughout the school.  Planned special events, including the summer picnic, in which children eat the food they have grown, as well as the annual Nature Day, ensure that children develop a secure understanding of their responsibility to the environment and the importance of sustainable living. In the summer of 2022, the school was awarded a level 5 Royal Horticultural Gardening schools award, the highest level of achievement, for the dedication and commitment the children have shown in looking after and tending to the crops in our outdoor growing areas. Similarly, the Eco Team completed the 7 step Green Flag process and therefore we have been awarded Eco-School status with distinction. We have had a new Eco School team this academic year and they will continue throughout the next year too, to ensure we reach our Eco target and goals.  Children learn of the impact that lifestyle choices can make in the natural world and develop their understanding of the implications and benefits for themselves and others.   William Patten Primary School aims to educate students on making environmentally friendly choices for life.  It has achieved an Eco Schools Award at bronze level, in recognition of the progress it has made towards a sustainable lifestyle. William Patten was featured in the local Eco Schools’ brochure, showcasing the impact of the work done in school. A copy of the brochure can be viewed in the following link. https://www.williampatten.hackney.sch.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Eco-Schools-Brochure.pdf

Planting and Sowing in the school grounds

Planting and Sowing Plan 2022-23

Growing and Planting Overview 

 

Link to Environment and Sustainability Policy