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Lantern gives school's green dream a helping hand 

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When a vibrant West London primary school decided to tackle its environmental performance, they called on Lantern for help.

 

The leadership team at Lady Margaret Primary School in Southall had clear goals from the start; they wanted to understand the school’s current environmental impact and identify ways to reduce it.

 

One of the project’s key criteria was that pupils were central to the process and so Lantern developed an approach that was inclusive, engaging and simple to understand.

 

Understand – Assessing the impact of school operations

In order to understand the school’s current environmental impact, Lantern used ecological and carbon footprinting methods. The project team collected data about energy, water, food and procurement and developed bespoke surveys to capture information about staff and pupils’ travel to and from school and waste produced on site. Results were included in a summary report.

 

Deliver – Workshop ideas with school stakeholders

Research findings were also presented at a workshop for pupils, staff and governors. Using the data, attendees created a range of targets and activities to form the basis of the school’s new environmental action plan. The interactive workshop focused on pupils gaining a full understanding of their environmental impact and it encouraged them to find solutions that they could implement and communicate effectively to the whole school.

 

Activities were prioritised and an action plan created including details of agreed timescales, resources required and activity lead at the school. The action plan was signed off by the Headteacher ready for sharing with the wider school community.

 

Evaluate – Ongoing activities and reviewing progress

Lady Margaret’s sustainability goals have been defined and the action plan is complete. Lantern will be on hand to support staff as they launch the new strategy to staff and pupils across the school through a series of assemblies and classroom workshops. The action plan has already inspired the school’s programme of activities for this year’s science week.

 

The school plans to review its impact assessment and action plan annually to track progress.