Our curriculum at Scargill C of E Primary School allows for plenty of opportunities for children to learn about our local environment, community and heritage, including local geography, history and industry. However, we recognise that looking outwards to the wider world is an essential requirement of the education we provide for our children. Our intention is to develop our children’s global learning and integrate international awareness into our curriculum, allowing children to recognise the contribution that we make to national and global communities in a world where people are increasingly connected and interdependent.
Each class at Scargill has an elected Global Committee member. These class representatives meet regularly to monitor, discuss and move our global journey forwards. The children thrive on making their own decisions, they present worships to highlight awareness of global issues and strive towards achieving goals that guide us towards becoming better global citizens.
What do our children think of our Global Committee and their impact?
“It was really interesting learning about world wetlands and how to protect them.” (worship)
“We think about how to look after our planet for future generations.”
“Children here have a voice and an opportunity to help.”
“The Global Committee show other people how to help protect the world.”
Our new Global Committee members for 24-25 have already made progress and decided to work towards and focus on some pertinent goals and interests.
- Helping to make links with children within our local area and the wider world.
- Helping to raise awareness of the environment and how to protect it.
- Helping to protect animals.
- Helping people less fortunate than ourselves.
We live in a ‘throwaway culture‘, where many of our things aren’t built to last. Each year, every house in the UK produces about 1 tonne of waste – that’s about the same weight as a great white shark!
What’s worse, is that 60% of what we throw away, is actually recyclable! That’s why it’s super important to check the label on every piece of rubbish, to make sure you’re putting it in the right bin. Even better, you can avoid throwing things away altogether, by buying fewer things, taking better care of the things you have, and finding ways to repair or reuse things that are old or broken.
So, how can you reduce your waste?
Before you throw something away, stop and think about what else it could be used for! For example, rather than using disposable paper towels to clean up in the kitchen, why not turn old clothes or bedsheets into cloths? Then, you can use them over and over again.
Ask a grown-up if they can teach you to mend small rips in your clothes, so that they last longer! And if you really have to get rid of something, see if you can give it to charity instead.
Fight plastic pollution by using reusable water bottles, bringing reusable bags with you to the shops, and always taking your rubbish home with you.