What's The Big Idea?
The climate is changing and we all have to do something about it. The children in our schools will be the children who steward the planet into the future. We need to equip them with the skills and knowledge to do just that.
The Green Curriculum will help our students to gain a deep, coherent & linked knowledge and understanding of how we impact our world on both a local and global scale. Learning through this approach will help students to understand their role in stewarding the planet and themselves towards a more sustainable future. The Trust has made a green commitment that each academy will reflect in terms of their site, energy use and curriculum. By incorporating a Green Curriculum across the Trust we are recognising the importance of the role our students play in this commitment.
What is our Green Curriculum and how does it work?
The Green Curriculum has been arranged around 4 sustainability themes:
- Green Systems
- Green Regeneration & Diverstiy
- Green Communities
- Green Citizens
Schools choose one theme for the year and the idea is that then this theme is applied across their whole curriculum. The idea is to make it easier for schools to recognise the good work they are already doing and to see how they can adapt the National Curriculum to reflect the Trust's green commitment. It's about working smarter, not harder.
These four themes reflect the pieces of the Trust’s jigsaw logo. They stand on their own but work better when linked together! The idea is to make it easier for schools to recognise the good work they are already doing and to see how they can easily adapt the National Curriculum to reflect the Trust’s green commitment.
The toolkit acts as a resource for schools to get inspiration on the different ways they can deliver their Green Curriculum. There is a natural overlap between the strands but this supports the point that these ideas are designed to be used holistically across a school curriculum. We will collate all the examples of good practice from across the schools in the Trust and add these to the toolkit.
Each school will begin with their own Green Vision for the year and deliver this through both their curriculum and their Eco Council. Schools focus on at least one of the four sustainability themes in the toolkit. These ideas can be adapted to fit the context of the school from EYFS to Y6 and will then be delivered through different curriculum strands either to individual year groups or across a whole school. The possibilities are endless!
Green Systems
This strand is focused around the different systems that exist within the natural world and how humans have learnt how to replicate these processes to support a healthy planet. From the seasons to the water cycle, from compost to recycling, this strand will help your students to understand how natural and human made systems can work together.
Green Regeneration & Diversity
The natural world is full of diversity! This strand is focused around the rich diversity that the natural world offers us and the capacity that nature has to regenerate itself. From learning all about the importance of soil to where our food comes from, from planting a wheat field to the clothes we wear, this strand will help your students to understand how important diversity is and the part we can play to support regeneration of the natural world.
Green Communities
Community sits at the heart of every school. This strand is focused around how we can use the ideas of natural and human made communities to ignite learning. From learning about what is on our doorstep to how an ecosystem works, from making a meal together to learning about bees, this strand will help your students to understand how we are stronger when we work together.
Green Citizens
Our students will be the ones who steward the planet into the future and it is vital that they learn the knowledge and skills necessary to contribute to a sustainable future for themselves and for the planet. This strand is focused around how we can take personal responsibility for our place in the world. From learning about how we look after our own health to that of our planet, from how we get to school to how to live a happy life, this strand will help your students to be World Ready citizens of the future.