Leading A Greener and Award-Winning Future for Children

We are delighted to receive the King’s Award for Enterprise – Sustainable Development because it recognises our commitment to sustainability and social justice in Early Years. The award celebrates the collective efforts of our staff, children, families, and the wider community in embedding sustainability at the heart of Early Years Education and Care (EYEC). We have been working with partners to reduce our carbon footprint, monitoring and measuring our progress through ISO14001 and Planet Mark, introducing meaningful social and environmental sustainability initiatives and building partnerships – all of which means our procurement is more ethical and sustainable. We have also got to know some really interesting organisations. For example, forging strategic partnerships with City Harvest, Fashion Enter, Green Bottoms, and Bikeworks.

Our focus is on embedding the three pillars of sustainability (economic, social, and environmental) into daily practice. These are connected by the seventeen United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and ultimately, the source of social justice. Because how we act and make decisions within three pillars can aggravate or reduce the current climate challenge facing our children. We therefore have a duty to be better informed before we make our daily decisions – whether it’s what we eat, what we wear, how we support our communities, or how we reduce waste. Every small step counts and, together, they can help shift the trajectory of climate change.

Becoming sustainability informed is therefore all about mindset change and appreciating that everyone will begin from their own starting point, so it is neither a stress nor a guilt trip. Sustainability is sometimes hijacked by the finger waggers who do a good job at shouting but generally anger and alienate people – with little impact on changing hearts and minds. It’s not about media headlines or slogans like the Just Stop Oil campaign.

At LEYF, we have woven sustainability through governance, leadership, operations and pedagogy. It’s a glop, but if Gwyneth Paltrow can get away with Goop, we should be alright! We are a little bit obsessed with Education for Sustainability which is championed by the LEYF Eco Champions who have been trained in the art of ‘sustainability pedagogy’ so they can coach colleagues and capture the moments of change through our Diploma in Sustainability in the Early Years.

Ultimately, the plan is for all LEYF staff to be sustainability informed so they can encourage sustainability in practice, support the children to exercise their rights as environmental stewards and lead action research. This enables us to learn more and then share it widely and freely with the sector, so everyone benefits. We are keen that everyone joins the Action for Sustainability in Education, Community of Practice where the common factor is an interest in all aspects of sustainability here and internationally.

In a recent conversation with Nick Corlett, our Sustainability Manager and a key player in achieving the King’s Award, he reminded me that we wanted to win this award so we could shine a light on the often-overlooked role EYEC has in building a more sustainable future for so many children. Sustainability isn’t an add-on — it’s woven into how we care for children, support families, and work as a team.

So, join us and become a sustainability torch!