Climate Education & Sustainability
At Kells Lane, we believe that every child has the power to make a positive difference to the world they will inherit. Climate Education and Sustainability is not a bolt-on at Kells Lane — it is woven into the fabric of everything we do, from the curriculum children study in class to the actions they take as changemakers in our school and community. We are proud to hold Green Flag Status as an Eco School — recognition of our sustained, whole-school commitment to environmental education and sustainable practice. Climate Education sits at the very heart of our Conservation curriculum driver, helping children develop the knowledge, values and agency to understand the environmental challenges facing our planet and take meaningful action in response. We want every child to leave Kells Lane knowing that they can make a difference — because that is a fundamental part of Finding Their Remarkable.
Our Conservation Curriculum
Our Conservation curriculum is carefully sequenced from Early Years through to Year 6, ensuring that children build their environmental knowledge and understanding progressively year on year — moving from local, familiar contexts in the early years to complex global issues by the time they reach Year 6. Each year group explores a different dimension of climate and sustainability, giving children a rich, connected picture of the environmental challenges facing our world and the actions that individuals, communities and nations can take in response:
- Early Years — The basics of reusing and recycling, developing early habits of environmental responsibility
- Year 1 — How waste collection has changed over time, from horse-drawn carts to modern waste disposal
- Year 2 — Protecting our coastline and the devastating impact of plastic pollution on our oceans
- Year 3 — Why rainforests matter and how we can help sustain them — Under the Canopy
- Year 4 — Global conservation issues — water waste in Brazil, tourism problems in Venice and wildlife issues in Scotland
- Year 5 — Local and national initiatives including renewable energy, with a focus on the Dogger Bank Wind Farm — the world's largest offshore wind farm, right here in the North East
- Year 6 — Global and local issues linked to biodegradable products and the human impact on our climate — Global Warning
Our School Changemakers
One of the things we are most proud of at Kells Lane is the way our children don't just learn about sustainability — they live it. Our Eco-Committee leads sustainability initiatives across the whole school, championing environmental responsibility and inspiring their peers to make positive choices every day. Current Eco-Committee projects include rolling out eco-friendly pens across the school and leading a plastic lid collection to create furniture through the School-Cycle programme. Our Glue Crew works across the school to champion sustainability through reusable, refillable glue sticks — part of our commitment to the Reuse-Refill-Rethink initiative. These pupil-led projects are a powerful example of children taking genuine ownership of their school's environmental impact — and they make us enormously proud.
Our Community & Global Impact
At Kells Lane, we believe that sustainability education must extend beyond the classroom and into the real world. Our children are active participants in their local community and global conversations about the future of our planet. Our community and sustainability initiatives include:
- Litter picking in the local area, teaching children about environmental responsibility and caring for shared spaces
- Tree planting with the Forestry Commission to make our school grounds more environmentally friendly and reduce air pollution — Forestry Commission Project
- Walk to School with Living Streets, encouraging children and families to reduce air pollution and get active — read about our local impact
- Sustainable Christmas — working with Groundworks to reuse and recycle materials to make Christmas gifts — Sustainable Christmas
- Oasis Housing and MOBIE — working as part of their campaign for affordable, sustainable housing and solving homelessness — OASIS Project
- Local sustainability events — including the launch of Gateshead's electric bus fleet, connecting children to real-world sustainability action happening right on their doorstep — Go Electric
- Visiting local businesses — helping children learn how their community works, explore different careers and see how businesses are responding to the challenges of sustainability
At Kells Lane, our children don't just learn about the climate emergency — they respond to it. They are curious, brave and ambitious young people who understand that the world needs them, and who are ready to play their part. That is Conservation in action. That is Finding Their Remarkable.