Climate Change & Sustainability Plan
Climate Action and Sustainability Plan
Whytebeams are committed to building sustainability into our daily lives and practice where possible and to teaching children in an age appropriate way, about how they can help. We have joined the ECO Schools Initiative and are currently working through the stages. Our next step is to sign up to the National Education Nature Park Initiative.
Our sustainability lead is Antoinette Sabesan.
Making our setting more nature - friendly and improving outdoor spaces.
We are lucky to have the use of two outdoor spaces which we use for growing seasonal produce such as tomatoes, pumpkins, raspberries as well as herbs such as rosemary and lavender providing children with the opportunity to grow plants from seed.
Create a wildflower area to encourage pollinators.
Create projects to take home - growing cress, beans, sunflowers to encourage wonder and learning in nature and growth.
Make bug hotels, leaf piles, stick piles in the corners of the garden to provide sanctuary for invertebrates which in turn will improve the biodiversity in our small patch of nature.
Place bird feeders and bird baths.
Talk to children about the importance of insects in our world and educate them that “creepy crawlies” are as important as the larger animals.
Maximise on outdoor learning opportunities throughout the year and provide quiet reflective times outside in nature to support the mental health and wellbeing of children and staff.
Climate education and green careers
‘Habitats’ is included as a topic within planning, encouraging children to think about where different animals live, how climate change impacts their homes and lives, what we can do to help preserve them ( hedgehog corridors, leaving hedgerows and bushes untrimmed in spring longer for nesting birds etc).
Reduce, reuse, recycle is included in the curriculum as a topic to explore in more depth but is included in everyday practice.
Talk to children about recycling, educate them as to why recycling is beneficial, discuss their household recycling systems ( do you put all the rubbish together or do you have separate bins? etc)
Children are encouraged to eat all their food at snack and lunch and not to waste it. If they are full items are not to be opened and wasted. Any leftover food provided by parents is sent home to be used later at home. Children are encouraged to eat savoury foods first.
Create active learning opportunities for recycling what we use at nursery
Organise a littler picking activity. Ensure waste is recycled with the onsite facilities.
Encourage parents to send in recyclable items such as cereal boxes, egg cartons, empty boxes etc for the children explore their creativity through “junk” modelling.
Purchase good quality second hand resources that are checked for safety.
Use buckets and watering cans to water plants instead of using the hose pipe and make use of the water butt.
Decarbonisation and reducing emissions.
Staff model mindful behaviour when using all resources and explain to the children why we do this.
Staff are mindful of turning off lights in rooms we are not using and teaching the children this skill.
Staff are also mindful of not wasting water and teaching children to use water carefully. Children are taught and encouraged to turn off the taps themselves so we don’t let the water run while soaping our hands.
Provide signage at sinks for turning off taps.
Lighting and power - use sensibly.
We use paper towels to dry children’s hands to adhere to hygiene regulations but monitor the use of these so they are not used in abundance or unnecessarily. Children are reminded to use only what they need.
We recycle and refill our liquid soap, ensuring that the same brand is used to refill each time.
We do not have a washing machine on site but staff take home washing of items such as tea, towels and hand towels and resources. A high temperature is required for food safety requirements however staff are mindful to not accumulate unnecessary washing.
We use double sided printing and minimise printing where possible. All parental communications are done digitally. We have also moved to digital record keeping in an effort to minimise physical paperwork.
Adaptation and resilience – preparing for climate change
Climate change and awareness is well built into daily practice and established in our curriculum across various topics.
Our curriculum planning includes changing seasons, weather patterns and caring for our environment and animals, providing children with an early education about human impact on the environment and environmental stewardship.
We are introducing the concept of food miles and eating produce in season.
Parents are continuously reminded of the importance of applying sunscreen on children, more so in the summer but also on sunny days in winter. We top up suncream on children after lunch.
We have several sunshades for use during the hot summer months and the children are reminded to stay in the shade.
Children are encouraged to drink often to keep up hydration levels during hot days.
Conserving water through the mindful use during daily activities and using water from play activities to water plants.
We have a water butt to capture and use rainwater for watering plants.
We make a concerted effort to reduce our nursery’s impact on the environment and regularly review our sustainability procedures.
Created November 2025
Updated January 2026