Aim

The purpose of this project is to embed environmental awareness in Early Years, from day one.

"We love to learn outside"

About us

At Cecil Gowing we are a highly enthusiastic, committed team who are constantly looking for ways to evolve our practice and provide the best start in life for the children that come through our doors. We are very conscious of the impact that we, as a community, have on our environment and feel that there are so many positive changes we can make that will teach the children how best to care for the world in which we live. 

After much consideration, we decided that the route we would like to go down is to become more ECO friendly. We are very passionate about alternative ways to reuse resources but feel that, with some funding, we can go much further than this. 

Who will our project benefit?

We aspire to reach the heart of the community with our project by providing children with the knowledge of how they can look after our environment, knowing that this will benefit them as they move through the school and beyond. As part of our aims and values at Cecil Gowing Infant school "we believe that children are active participants in their learning who want to explore and learn about the world around them". We are confident that with their ever growing knowledge of how to become more ECO, they will transfer this to their home life encouraging their families to make small changes that will make a big difference. 

We run an SOS club on site which is a service that we provide to parents if they need to work, study or have a little break. It runs before school, after school and during the school holidays. This service is not just available to those that attend Cecil Gowing, it is there for children from other schools meaning that they too will benefit from the project. 

What will we spend the money on?

- We want to create a system that enables us to recycle our water for outdoor play.

"Water play is developmentally appropriate regardless of the child’s physical condition, age, language, gender, culture, or exceptionality (Bredeikamp 1987)" (Crosser, PH.D, 2012)

- Move away from plastic and towards sustainable equipment. 

"One of the best things about wooden toys is that they’re environmentally friendly. In a world with climate change, pollution and an increasing carbon footprint, you can do your bit for the environment by choosing the more sustainable option. It’s a great way to teach your kids about these issues."  "Wooden toys force them to open up their imagination and invent new ways of playing with them. It will spark their natural curiosity and help them develop motor skills, problem solving skills, hand eye coordination, social skills and so much more!" (My 1st Years blog, '5 reasons to choose wooden toys as gifts').

- Litter pickers

"Collecting litter led to discussions around what happens to rubbish and how it is good for the environment to recycle and reuse items as much as possible. This helps to stop wasting natural resources and prevent them from going to landfill sites". (Rawstrone, 2021, Nursery World)

- Waterproofs

Waterproofs will prolong the life of the children's uniforms whilst still giving them the same experiences. (Beall, 2020, BBC) states that "Globally, an estimated 92 million tonnes of textiles waste is created each year and the equivalent to a rubbish truck full of clothes ends up on landfill sites every second".

"Even the process of getting ready to go outside at this time of year can offer lots of valuable learning experiences for EYFS and KS1 children – and if you’ve got the space to create one, its good practice to make a transition area between indoor and out where the children access waterproofs and wellies themselves. This is great for developing independence." (Early Excellence blog, 2021, 'Storming It Outdoors! The Fantastic Possibilities of Cold, Wet & Windy Weather')

Why ECO?

Outdoor learning is a huge part of our curriculum, throughout the whole school. “We are proud of our commitment to outdoor learning at Cecil Gowing. Not only do our outdoor learning sessions cover a wide range of curriculum objectives but they provide vital time for children to learn within nature. We believe that outdoor learning sessions contribute to our children’s mental wellbeing, as well as their academic progress.” 

Please help us make our vision a reality by donating to our project!

This project successfully funded on 12th April 2022