Sustainability

🌿 Sustainability and Climate Action at St Rose’s School and St Martin’s College

Our Vision for a Greener Future

At St Rose’s School and St Martin’s College, we recognise that our world is facing a critical crisis driven by pollution, poor waste management and energy inefficiencies. We acknowledge that our school and college has an impact on the environment, and we are committed to being part of the climate solution for the sake of our children and young people’s future.

Our sustainability ambition is built upon two core goals:

• Exemplify and Lead: To become a leading example of a proactive, sustainable, and environmentally friendly school and college.
• Inform, Educate and Inspire: To empower our students and the broader community by demonstrating practical steps toward sustainability.

Our ultimate aspiration is to be as close to carbon neutral (net zero) as possible across all aspects of school life by 2030.

🌍 The Four Key Pillars of a Climate Action Plan

According to the Department for Education (DfE), all climate action plans for educational settings should be structured around four key pillars:

1. Adaptation and Resilience

How the school prepares for and responds to the specific impacts of climate change.

2. Biodiversity and Nature

Efforts to protect and enhance nature and wildlife within the school grounds and surrounding environment.

3. Climate Education and Green Skills

Supporting learners to understand sustainability and climate change while developing the “green skills” needed for future lives and careers.

4. Decarbonisation and Net Zero

The practical actions taken to measure and reduce greenhouse gas emissions as the school works toward achieving net zero.

These pillars ensure a holistic approach to sustainability. Initiatives like the National Education Nature Park help schools and colleges address these areas by providing curriculum linked resources and practical activities that connect students with nature while improving the local environment.

🌱 The ‘Four C’s’ Strategy

St Rose’s School and St Martin’s College organise their Sustainability Action Plan across four interlinked action areas:

Campus

Measuring, managing and reducing the carbon footprint of the school site, identifying opportunities to reduce emissions, improving buildings and boosting biodiversity.

Culture

Embedding daily customs and practices that reduce waste and improve resource efficiency, achieving both environmental and economic benefits.

Curriculum

Developing student awareness and fostering active empowerment regarding environmental issues through coherent, practical programmes tailored to students’ needs.

Community

Keeping the school community informed, connecting sustainable practices inside and outside school, and collaborating with industry experts and the local community to reduce the collective carbon footprint.

🔄 Integrating the Four C’s with the Four Key Pillars

To deliver a comprehensive approach to sustainability, St Rose’s School and St Martin’s College align their ‘Four C’s’ (Campus, Culture, Curriculum, Community) with the Department for Education’s four climate action pillars.

1. Decarbonisation and Net Zero

Delivered through: Campus & Culture

• Campus:
  Use of the Count Your Carbon tool to measure the carbon footprint and identify opportunities for emissions reduction through building improvements and energy‑saving measures.
• Culture:
  Daily practices that reduce wastage, such as powering down IT equipment and transitioning to digital systems to reduce paper and ink consumption.

2. Biodiversity and Nature

Delivered through: Campus & Curriculum

• Campus:
  Active steps to boost biodiversity, including identifying rewilding areas and installing bee hotels and bird boxes.
• Curriculum:
  Participation in the National Education Nature Park and making use of the Pappus Project materials from the University of Gloucestershire enables students to use the grounds for sensory exploration and practical conservation, learning about pollinators and ecosystems.

3. Climate Education and Green Skills

Delivered through: Curriculum & Community

• Curriculum:
  Development of coherent learning programmes tailored to students’ needs, including growing vegetables from seed and using AI to make sustainability materials accessible for all of our learners.
• Community:
  Partnerships with industry experts and local organisations provide real‑world learning contexts and help students understand how they can contribute to climate solutions beyond school.

4. Adaptation and Resilience

Delivered through: Campus, Culture & Community

• Campus:
  Improvements include capturing rainwater in water butts and researching sustainable building designs.
• Culture & Community:
  A whole‑setting approach ensures staff, students and parents are informed and resilient, supporting adaptation to environmental challenges while maintaining student wellbeing and social responsibility.

By linking these frameworks, St Rose’s and St Martin’s ensure that sustainability is not just a list of tasks but a strategic movement preparing the school and its community for the challenges of 2030 and beyond.

🌿 Actions in Focus: How We Are Making a Difference

Greening Our Grounds & Biodiversity

• Rewilding areas identified to encourage wildflower growth and natural habitats.
• Installation of bee hotels, bird boxes and bat nesting areas to support pollinators and wildlife.
• Students grow vegetables from seed, using rainwater captured in water butts.
• Plans to develop an accessible allotment to expand our growing.

Energy & Buildings

• Implementation of No‑Mow May in parts of the grounds.
• Installation of LED lighting and motion‑sensor taps and lights to save resources.
• Ongoing research into solar panels and green energy suppliers.
• Project 2030 forming part of long‑term sustainability planning linked to new building and refurbishment across the site with a dedicated co-ordinator to ensure we meet our targets for sustainable buildings.

Catering & Consumption

• Food waste collected for anaerobic digestion, creating green energy.
• Free‑range eggs prioritised and vegetarian options offered.
• Supply chains audited to reduce food miles.
• Transition toward digital systems to reduce single‑use plastics, paper and ink.

📊 Tracking Our Progress

The Count Your Carbon tool supports transparent and accountable emissions measurement across:

• Energy
• Waste
• Water
• Transport
• Food

This provides a baseline for measuring year‑on‑year progress.

The tool categorises emissions according to the Greenhouse Gas Protocol:

Scope 1 (Direct) Emissions from sources the school owns or controls (fuel burnt in buildings, school vehicles).

Scope 2 (Indirect – Energy) Emissions from purchased energy, such as electricity used in school buildings.

Scope 3 (Indirect – Value Chain) Emissions the school is indirectly responsible for: waste, water, food, procurement and commuting.

The platform does not currently cover emissions for residential or boarding provisions, which must be accounted for separately when comparing data over time.

🌟 Empowering Our Students: Leaders of Change

St Rose’s and St Martin’s believe that education is the foundation of a sustainable future. Students are not passive learners — they are active participants in the journey toward carbon neutrality.

A Curriculum Tailored to Every Learner

• Inclusive Learning: carefully chosen resources (including University of Gloucestershire Pappus materials) adapted for PMLD and SLD students.
• Practical Ecology : Study of pollinators and local wildlife habitats.
• Resource Management: Learning where energy and water come from and how to use them efficiently.

Hands‑On Environmental Action

• Growing for the Community: Student‑grown vegetables donated to The Long Table, teaching food miles and social responsibility.
• Creating Habitats: Students create and install bee hotels and nesting boxes for birds and bats.
• Sustainable Catering: Encouragement of sustainable food choices, vegetarian options and optional “Meat Free Days”.

Developing Green Habits for Life

• Students use recycling stations and learn about product life cycles.
• Used IT equipment is repurposed to avoid landfill.
• Correct environmental disposal methods are used for medical tubing, inhalers and hearing aid batteries.

👥 Our Sustainability Leadership Team

Sustainability is driven by a dedicated group of leaders and champions:

Sustainability Leads

• Vicky Dangerfield (Head of School)
• Mike King (Head of College)
• Scott Townson (Care Manager)
• Sarah Mills (School Business Manager)

Sustainability Champions

Including the Principal, Sheila Talwar, Governors. Trustees and staff champions across Care, IT, School, College, Catering, Maintenance and Grounds.

Together, we are working to create a greener, more sustainable school and college environment.

 

📘 Further Information

What is the Count Your Carbon Tool?

A comprehensive carbon footprint calculator owned by Keep Britain Tidy. It:

• Maps emissions across Scopes 1, 2, 3
• Benchmarks data against hundreds of schools (Primary, Secondary, SEND & PRU)
• Helps identify opportunities to reduce emissions

Does not yet cover residential/boarding emissions.

What is the National Education Nature Park?

A Department for Education‑funded initiative led by the Natural History Museum, Learning Through Landscapes and the Royal Horticultural Society.

It provides:

• Curriculum‑linked resources
• Practical activities that enhance biodiversity
• A Five‑Step Cycle for nature‑based changes
• Support for all four climate action pillars
• Benefits for learning and wellbeing

St Rose’s and St Martin’s continue to improve their outdoor spaces through this initiative.