We are very proud to be an Eco-School. Our Eco-Committee is made up of children from across the school and is supported by school staff and Governors.  The Eco-Committee decide on an action plan at the beginning of each academic year to focus on different areas to improve.

For the 2022-2023 academic year the Eco-Committee achieved the Eco-Schools Award and have received the following feedback on their application: 

We are very pleased to tell you that you and your Eco-Committee at Trinity St Mary's C of E VA Primary School have been successful in meeting the requirements for the Eco-Schools Green Flag Award.

We reviewed your application and noted the following:

You have an extremely large Eco-Committee supported by 4 adult members of staff. This demonstrates a whole school approach to the Eco-Schools programme and a commitment to environmental education and pupil-led eco-action. We love the inclusive approach you’ve taken to setting your Eco-Committee. This sets a positive and encouraging tone for your work, which supports a collaborative and community ethos, vital in maximising impacts. Great work! The pupil quote provided is brilliant. They’re clearly a passionate and impressive young person and we’re delighted that they have been given an opportunity to make a difference through the Eco-Schools programme, what a fantastic ambassador for your school and our programme. The meeting minutes and agenda uploaded were both neat and professional, we loved reading them. It's brilliant to read that the Environmental Review helped your pupils appreciate everything that your school is already doing to benefit our environment and identify areas to work on in the future. It is brilliant that you were able to split your Eco-Committee into detailed groups to complete the sections that could then be shared and discussed. Your Eco-Committee didn’t let any tricky questions on the Environmental Review defeat them, instead they sought out other experts in their school, such as your School Business Manager and catering company, to help answer questions which demonstrates their resilience and team ethos. It was an absolute pleasure taking the time to read through the comments on your Environmental Review and gain insight into the rich discussion that occurred whilst completing it. We love that your Environmental Review and achievable aims inspired the choice of projects in your Action Plan. It’s a strong approach to work on things that will produce visible impact and change, and a great example of critical thinking. We think it’s a great idea to design actions that can extend beyond the school walls and into the homes of families. This ethos is going to make a huge difference and inspire your wider school community. We love that your actions are designed for young people to deliver and lead, empowering them and increasing their confidence. This is central to the Eco-Schools ethos. The three curriculum examples provided are a great example of environmental education. They are practical and fun examples of eco-education with a real-life context that will engage young people. You have provided practical and fun curriculum examples, which impressively build on the projects you have worked on in your Action Plan. This is a great way to add context to your Eco-Schools work, it means young people at your school are given the opportunity to learn about important environmental issues and then the chance to work on these issues – a great dual approach. It was great to see the uploaded examples of your classroom materials. It shows a clear commitment to ensuring your pupils get engaging environmental education. Great work by all involved! You have placed a lot of emphasis on informing as many members of your school community as possible in your Eco-Schools work and this is a strength of your application. Our team loved seeing the example digital newsletter that was uploaded. Getting involved with The Essex Wildlife Trust as well as Chelmsford City Council is a great example of collaboration. Your ability and willingness to partnership is impressive! We’ll need this approach to fight the impacts of climate change in the future! We hope all staff members involved in your Eco-Schools work take immense amounts of pride from the phenomenal parental quote uploaded. Your hard work and dedication has inspired young people and empowered them with the belief that they can positively impact our planet – this is something incredibly special. Your greatest successes link clearly to the experience of your pupils. It is great to read about the positive impact of your entire journey and work as an Eco-School this year. This is what the best forms of climate action are about – impactful but achievable things that create a positive experience and prompt more action. We love this! Time is a common challenge, as well as funding for many desired changes. It creates a pressure and takes resilience to keep going. With this context, your achievements are even greater and we feel lucky that you’ve committed to our programme and delivered the achievements that you have. This is a big achievement. We love your collaborative approach to creating your Eco-Code pledge, this approach has allowed young people to take ownership and create a final code that will be treasured by everyone at your school. We think it is fantastic that you have been able to implement your own school values into your pledge! Overall, this is a terrific application. Everyone at Trinity St Mary’s CoE VA Primary School should be proud of the Green Team and the amazing and inspiring work that they’ve delivered this year. You’re more than worthy of an Eco-Schools Green Flag, Congratulations!

The Eco-Committee supported Chelmsford City Council with their Keeping Chelmsford’s Waterways Clean campaign by undertaking a litter pick in South Woodham Ferrers and they are featured in the video below:

https://loveyourchelmsford.co.uk/green-living/keeping-chelmsford-clean/