Empowering young people to take climate action at Southroyd Primary

We first featured Southroyd Primary for their work around climate action back in 2022, but they’ve been on the journey for longer. We asked them to give us an update on the amazing progress they’ve been making as a Primary school in Leeds which wholeheartedly prioritises climate action and sustainability. It is wish 5 in action!

Huge thank you to Dave Manton, Deputy Headteacher at Southroyd Primary School, for writing this guest blog.

At Southroyd our mission statement is to “nurture active citizens” ready to take their place in the future world. As part of this, we believe it is our duty as educators to empower our children to deal with the potential uncertainties and challenges of Climate Action. In a media led World, where children are bombarded by negative images and possibilities, equipping them to recognise the steps they can take to build a more sustainable future is ever more crucial. Focusing on the incredible potential of human endeavour and ingenuity to solve problems is a key tool to combat eco-anxiety.

Since Leeds declared a climate emergency in 2019, we have built a climate action plan, following the Leeds Wellbeing’s “Climate Action Route Map” model to embed climate action into all aspects of our school life.

Find out more about the Leeds Climate Action Route Map on the School Wellbeing site.

The route map, our very own “Southroyd Climate Action Route Map” (SCARM), allows us to build climate action across all areas of school, including communication and learning, as well as auditing our own practices at all levels of school life.

At Southroyd we lead action through School Council, finding pupil voice a powerful means for accountability at all levels. School Council meet with key people across the school system, including, for example:

• The School Business Manager to explore paper and resources
• The Site Manager to explore recycling, waste management and energy efficiency
• The school catering team to investigate food
• The Governors to ensure decision making reflects our core value, to be sustainable.

“The combined actions [have] seen a marked reduction in budget spend”

Auditing our own practices has been a key part of our climate action journey, with children and adults recognising their roles in reducing energy wastage, carefully managing school resources and exploring their own practices for travel, clothing and wider material needs.

The power of our combined actions has reduced the resources required, impacted on our carbon footprint, in terms of energy and resource reduction, and seen a marked reduction in budget spend – which is hugely attractive to school leaders.

Parents and families have reflected that the impact has spread to the wider community, with the school’s communication and sustainable practices affecting habits more widely.

“I hope that other schools can make use of the excellent Climate Action Route Map”

With new DfE requirements for School Sustainability Leaders in September, I hope that other schools can make use of the excellent Climate Action Route Map, from Leeds Wellbeing, to guide their journeys in climate action.

Building a plan that provides a structured approach to building communication and leadership and audits the school’s impact on the climate is a key step to equipping our students  and ourselves to thrive amidst the challenges and opportunities of our future world.