St. Peter's Catholic Primary School

"Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to farm the land and to take care of it."

Genesis 2: 15

Climate change describes a change in the average conditions of the Earth's climate over a long period of time. These include changes to things like temperature or rainfall. When changes happen that impact the entire planet, it is called global climate change. These changes include warming global temperatures and shifts in precipitation. Climate change is causing the whole Earth to heat up, even really cold places like the polar ice caps. It’s also known as global warming and it affects people, wildlife and the future of our planet.

The Earth’s climate has naturally changed over billions of years. But right now, it’s changing really fast. Scientists agree that humans are making it happen.

There have been huge developments in science and manufacturing over the past few hundred years. Fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas were burnt to power new factories and machines. We have continued to burn more and more fossil fuels to run cars and planes, power technology and heat our homes. When you burn fossil fuels, it releases harmful gases (such as CO2) into the atmosphere. This is one of the main causes of climate change.

The Earth needs some CO2, as it acts like a blanket to trap some of the sun's heat to help keep our planet warm enough for us to live, but too much CO2 in the Earth's atmosphere traps too much heat, causing the Earth to get too hot.

Important natural habitats, like forests, have also been destroyed to make space for farmland and buildings. Clearing enormous areas of land, then farming them intensively, also releases lots of harmful gases and causes climate change. The loss of trees is also affecting Climate Change, as trees take CO2 out of the atmosphere and replace it with oxygen. Less trees, less CO2 that is removed.

 At St. Peter's, we are comitted to becoming more sustaible to help care for God's creation and improve our world for ourselves and future generations. If we act now, we can help to slow the rate of climate change, as well as educate and give hope to the future generations. Through our curriculum, assemblies, visits and visitors, as well as with the support of our Planet Protectors and Climate Action Team, St. Peter's hopes to work to put sustainability at the forefront of everything we do.

The Secretary of State for Education, the Rt Hon Nadhim Zahawi MP states;

"The challenge of climate change is formidable. For children and young people to meet it with determination, and not with despair, we must offer them not just truth, but also hope. Learners need to know the truth about climate change – through knowledge-rich education. They must also be given the hope that they can be agents of change, through hands-on activity."

In April 2022, the Department for Education released a sustainability and climate change strategy specifically for education. By 2025, all education settings are expected to appoint a sustainability lead and develop a climate action plan. This plan will guide schools in both implementing and educating about various sustainability initiatives.

The DfE sets a target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 75% by 2037 across all education settings. By creating a climate action plan, St. Peter's is taking the important first step to reach this target. We plan to do this by:

• reducing our energy bills. Using energy more efficiently can lower our schools' costs
• by being more prepared. St. Peter's will be better adapted to deal with the negative effects of climate change, such as overheating
• opportunity for students and staff to understand more about green careers and skills
• improving St. Peter's reputation. Wecan become a leading example by showing that oour school is taking climate action
• improved staff and student wellbeing

You can find out more about the Governments Sustainability and Climate Strategy in schools by clicking the image below:

Helen Lea - Headteacher

Elizabeth Everett - Class Teacher and Geography Lead

Angela Farrelley - Business Manager

Joanne Rowlinson - Teaching Assistant

Judith Buckley - Teaching Assistant

Rachel Hampson - Teaching Assistant

Joanne Clarke - Governor