Sustainability Curriculum Year 1 - 6
Our aim is to teach the pupils of Henry Maynard about the climate crisis and how we can implement change.
Each year group focuses on a specific aspect of the climate crisis and explores it in detail with a text underpinning the learning.
This learning leads towards a creative learning outcome that is shared with the wider school community yearly on Earth Day.
In addition to what is going on in the classroom, each class will visit our Kitchen Garden at our infant site, to understand the need for sustainable living through our food production, by getting hands-on experience with an experienced gardener and teacher.
Example lessons - Year 1
Core message – Deforestation
Lesson Breakdown:
- Climate Change in it’s simplest form – Climate change is like Earth feeling a bit too hot because of too many activities like using cars and factories. This makes the weather act a bit differently, sometimes becoming too rainy or too hot. We need to be kind to our planet to keep it happy and healthy.
- Read The Lorax.
- Nature walk to look for animals in nature and their habitats – what would happen if they lost their homes?
- Why are trees important? A look at the air we breath and the gas we exhale.
- Let it grow! – Growing your own tree.
- Creative outcome for Earth Day – Trees and their inhabitants
The Kitchen Garden
A hands-on space to teach our children about sustainable food production through gardening.
Each class receive two sessions of gardening with an experienced gardener.
They learn about:
•Where our food comes from
•How to grow and care for plants
•Nutrition and Healthy Eating
•Sustainable food practices
Earth Day
Each year, we have a day of focused learning around the climate emergency which involves a carousel of activities within year groups.
Guest speakers from Green Peace, Solar for Schools and The Wilderness Foundation join us to further our children’s understanding from a broader prospective.
Our infant playground is then transformed into a ‘Science Fair,’ with an exhibition of our Sustainable unit learning for children to share with their adults and peers alike.
We then open our playground up for parents and children to explore our Forest School, Kitchen Garden and browse the many vendors from Waltham Forest Recycling, Eco Ranger School Catering and Dr Bike for bike repairs.
Our core message to our children is clear – Let us love and look after our planet!
Have a look at our Earth Day celebrations in 2023!
