Greener Solihull School Awards

Damson Wood Nursery and Infant School Academy has embraced a variety of sustainability initiatives over the course of the year, engaging both students and the wider community.  

This included opening a new second-hand book swap house for pupils and families to recycle and swap the books they love, which was made by local company Balfour Beatty VINCI, working on behalf of HS2, from recycled construction materials.  

The school's eco warriors meet weekly and encourage their peers to follow the school's eco code, consider healthy eating, and get involved in activities such as the school's recycling scheme. Throughout the year, children also learnt about global issues such as plastic waste and how it affects our oceans, while they also received a talk from Solihull College nursing students on good health and wellbeing.  

As part of its work linking in with national events, the school took part in Walk to School Week and ran an artwork competition to creatively engage pupils in active travel. Solihull Council presented a banner of the winning design by a Year 1 pupil Elliot, which encourages children to ‘please walk to school’.  

Sarah Lardner, Sustainable Engagement Officer at Solihull Council, said: “The amount of creativity shown by the pupils is great. The idea of having an artwork competition to advocate for the Walk to School Week is fantastic for engaging the pupils and showing the local community the importance of this initiative. The children seem to really enjoy getting artistic throughout all the campaigns and workshops they are taking part in.” 

Monkspath’s eco group is at the heart of the school’s green activities, helping to raise awareness of sustainability through assemblies and workshops. It also showcases the school’s work on its eco notice board to inspire fellow students, and an eco-newsletter to parents to encourage families to continue sustainability efforts at home. 

Children learn about environmental issues and raise awareness by taking part in national events such as Walk to School Week to encourage sustainable travel to and from school, as well as participating in Solihull Council’s Fairtrade Trail in the town centre.  

The school has embedded Sustainable Development Goals throughout its curriculum, with a primary focus this year on developing its school environment. This included transforming the school's overgrown and unused eco garden into a thriving outdoor learning space, with children helping to design the garden with the help of its award sponsors Hill & Smith PLC.  

Throughout the year, children have also learnt about sustainable modes of transport, ocean plastic, and the effects of deforestation, raising awareness of global issues by writing to the Prime Minister. 

Sarah Lardner, Sustainable Engagement Officer at Solihull Council, said: “Monkspath school has clearly been very active in taking part in national initiatives which they believe are important, such as completing the Walk to School Week, writing poems for Fairtrade Fortnight, and being a part of the Big Recycle Hunt. It is fantastic to see the high levels of motivation both pupils and staff have towards being sustainable.” 

Activities play a big part at Valley Primary School and are led by children within the school’s eco team, ranging from litter picks, organising recycling, monitoring electricity use, and planting in the school gardens. Many children also take their eco-friendly habits beyond school. 

One of the events children took part in was a school-wide litter pick which helped to educate about the importance of not dropping litter and was even covered by the local newspaper. Some students extended the impact of the campaign by litter picking in their own communities. 

Children actively raise awareness about sustainability through posters and designed artwork to display around the school for Earth Day. This spread the message about energy usage and how using less electricity can help the planet.  

They also lead assemblies on topics like recycling, helping to support the school’s recycling scheme which sees every class have their own paper recycling bin and contribute to the school’s central pen recycling bin. 

As a result of its litter picks, recycling initiatives and biodiversity work which included tree planting, the school achieved The Bronze Award from the Woodland Trust's Green Tree School Award. 

Sarah Lardner, Sustainable Engagement Officer at Solihull Council, said: “Valley Primary School’s commitment to climate change and sustainability is evident through the time put into campaigns which have been utilised to enhance the curriculum and engage the whole school. Well done!”