The Action Plan is core to your work as an Eco-School and should be developed using the results of your Environmental Review. Whether you are at Bronze, Silver or Green Flag level your Action Plan must be shared with the whole centre community.
At Bronze level, your Action Plan should list the actions you are going to take to improve your environmental performance, an indication of when you will undertake these actions and who is responsible for achieving these actions. At Silver and Green Flag level, the range of objectives in your Action Plan should be wider and they should be accompanied by a detailed timescale for achieving each step and list the activities you plan for the children to increase their awareness of the topic.
Look at the results of your Environmental Review. Pick out which of the nine themes you want to tackle e.g. litter, energy, waste, etc. You may want to consider which of the nine topics can be best applied to and understood by young children and begin with those. Decide what action you can take to improve these issues and how the children will be involved. Decide what your measure of success will be.
Make sure the action you take is something that the children can help with, understand and that it is measurable. For example if you decide to tackle energy, your measure could be looking for a reduction in energy bills. Decide timescales for each action. Do you want to achieve your target in a few weeks, by the end of the term/year or is it longer term?
Assign people to be responsible for each action. Whilst it may not be possible to assign children to every task, teaching or non teaching staff may be responsible or even a parent or community member. Those responsible must ensure that children are involved as much as possible. Complete your Action Plan. Do not be over ambitious in the targets you set. Failing to meet targets or deadlines can be demotivating. Make sure that the whole centre is involved in delivering your actions and that management support your Action Plan. If your
Environmental Review has suggested a large number of issues to address, do not feel that you have to achieve them all at once – prioritise them, and divide the targets into short, medium and long term. It is much better to go forward in small steps and celebrate success frequently. A template and an example of a completed Action Plan are available for download in the Links and Resources section of this website.
| Green Flag: | 1,194 |
| Silver: | 3,873 |
| Bronze: | 4,639 |
