Education trust supports children to understand cost-of-living crisis
Fiona Simpson
Tuesday, April 11, 2023
An education trust’s effort to increase the use of renewable energy as living costs rise is helping pupils to understand the need for cost-cutting at home, its chief executive has said.
Bellevue Place Education Trust (BPET), which has 10 schools in London and Berkshire, has partnered with digital energy services provider eEnergy in a bid to make its sites net zero by 2030.
The switch came amid the cost-of-living crisis, when one of the Trust’s schools saw energy bills increase from £18,000 a year to £80,000 a year.
Measures taken to hit BPET’s target include installing solar panels on buildings, installing LED lights in classrooms across five schools and using intelligent energy systems in all schools to measure usage.
Pupils are also encouraged to help reduce energy usage through recycling and travel to school initiatives such as walking and cycling, as part of an eco-champions scheme.
Mark Greatrex, chief executive of the Trust, praised the impact of BPET’s net zero goal, saying children are pushing both staff and parents to become more energy efficient.
“The kids notice that the school is lit up like a Christmas tree on holidays and weekends and they are starting to challenge us about it and ask how we can use buildings more efficiently. They love the fact that there are solar panels, and they can see that the solar panels are telling them how much energy there we're creating,” he said.
“Parents have loved it, because their children are starting to challenge them too about how energy is being used at home so it's started the conversation about actually how much is appropriate,” Greatrex added.
He also said that in some more deprived areas, including Hackney, in east London, that a greater number of families of children not eligible for the pupil premium struggle to pay for food, school uniforms and extras including school trips.
The Trust has launched a fund made available to head teachers to support these families.
Greatrex said: “Head teachers are telling me it is the ones that are just above that threshold, where they're starting to say that they can't afford the trips, they can't afford the meals and they can't afford uniforms, you can clearly see them cutting back.
“Heads know the families, they know their circumstances, those families that are working really hard, but in low income jobs are the ones that we are seeing the greatest impact on at the moment across the schools. And we're just trying to support them by saying, how much can you contribute, and we'll see if the school can contribute the rest.”
