Ballapousta National School

Green Schools 2008-2009


The first meeting of our Green Schools Committee took place on Tuesday, September 30th in the GP room. The committee is made up of 10 children and five adults representing the teaching staff, ancilliary staff, parents, BOM and class representatives. We have a gender balance on the committee and hope to have representatives of the wider community and Louth Co. Co.

Ballapousta National School Litter Control Policy 2008

Introductory Statement
This policy was first drafted in 2005. It has been amended once in the interim. The following is the revised policy formulated by staff in the school year 2006 - '07. This policy applies to all persons who use the school premises and relates to all school activities.

Rationale:
The Litter Control Policy was put in place to enhance the school environment in keeping with the vision statement of Ballapousta N.S.

Aims/Objectives:

1. To ensure the school premises and surrounding areas remain litter free.

2. To foster a spirit of civic duty and responsibility in the children.

3. To promote an awareness of environmental issues by presenting the school premises as a clean, tidy, cared for area.

4. To maintain a clean and visually appealing working environment for children and staff.

Roles and Responsibilities

Litter Control is not a post of responsibility and as such is the direct responsibility of all members of staff and children under the direction of the Principal. However, all stakeholders play their part, particularly the teaching staff and especially the children

Policy Content
" At the beginning of each new school year, the Principal visits individual classrooms and outlines school policy regarding littering. The class teacher reinforces these guidelines on a regular basis as does the Principal at Assembly.

Class/School Procedures.

• Personal litter is put in the class bin or returned to the school bag to be brought home. Children /Parents are encouraged to have wrappers removed (where possible) before filling lunch boxes.
• All other wrappers and lunch papers are put into the children's lunch boxes before exiting for lunch break.
• Pencils are pared into the class bin.
• Chairs are placed on the class tables each evening by the children before the cleaner comes in.
• No paper planes.
• Children are forbidden to throw litter on the school yard or anywhere on the school grounds.
• Children are asked to pick up stray litter even if it is not their own.
• The area outside the school wall and along the roadway comes within the remit of the school litter policy.
• A rota of children from Senior Classes collect and empty the class bins into the wheelie bins for recycling each day.

Parallel Procedures
a) Individual class guidelines on litter control are regularly delivered.

b) Curriculum areas such as S.P.H.E. and S.E.S.E. are used to reinforce instructions.

c) Integration with other curriculum areas such as Visual Arts is encouraged, for example, Litter Posters.

d) The revised school Healthy Eating Policy further reduces the amount of litter/wrappers in the typical lunchbox. The children are allowed to eat their lunch in the class for 5 minutes before the 11.00 a.m. break and for ten minutes before the 12.30 p.m. break to prevent litter going outside. All children are aware that no wrappers or bags are allowed outside if they bring out food.

Success Criteria

• Evaluation of the effectiveness o the policy will be conducted through
• Continual Observation
• Parental feedback
• Visual impact of school environment
• End of year review and recommendations
• This policy is scheduled for review in November 2008 as part of our Green Schools project.

Our Green Schools Committee meeting on Tuesday, October 13th, 2008