RCT Schools Eco Award

The award aims to support schools to reduce their environmental impact, to encourage wildlife on school sites, and to support learners to gain relevant skills for a low carbon future.  By engaging in this initiative, schools will be supporting the delivery of the Council’s Climate Strategy - 'Think Climate RCT'.

Categories of Award and Themes

RCT School Eco Award is built around three specific categories:

• Biodiversity & Nature
• Waste & Recycling
• Energy & Carbon Saving

The criteria for each of the categories has been developed for the specific challenges and opportunities facing RCT schools and their locations and building types. Achieving the awards will help schools make impactful changes, one step at a time, that will feed into achieving greener, less wasteful, and eco-friendly schools.

Schools will need to meet all aspects of the set criteria in order to achieve the award.  When a school successfully completes the Bronze Award, they will receive an award that is relevant to their specific school context, and which will provide a solid foundation for progressing towards the Silver Award and beyond. The criteria for the Bronze Award can be seen below:

Energy Dashboards

Two energy dashboards have been created to assist schools with energy monitoring and management:

1. An energy dashboard for headteachers / school staff which enables school staff to monitor their school’s energy usage and assist with budget management in relation to energy consumption. 
2. An engaging pupil energy dashboard which can be used by pupils to see how much energy their school is using, and hopefully, reducing throughout the year.

Award Criteria

Each level of the award (Bronze, Silver, Gold) is designed to be achieved over the course of an academic year.  Schools that participate in the RCT Schools Eco Award in the current academic year will be invited to report on their progress at the beginning of the following academic year, by completing a short Microsoft Form. The questions are designed to ask schools to confirm that they have met the required criteria under each award category.

If schools do not meet all sections of the award criteria by the beginning of the following academic year, then they will be invited to report their progress again the year after in the hope that they can then move on to the next stage. This annual progression through the awards will continue until the Gold Award level is achieved.

The School Councils and Eco Committees within schools that successfully complete the Bronze, Silver or Gold Award will have the opportunity to present the work that they have completed through the programme to representatives of the Council.