Sustainable early years education

Sustainability is a big word that’s being talked about a lot in nurseries, but very few are taking sustainability and eco-awareness to the level that we have.

That’s not to blow our own trumpet in any way. We want share what we’ve learned, to help other kindergartens and nurseries to achieve their own levels of sustainability too.

We understand that a true sustainable nursery is not an easy thing to achieve, and much depends on the location and environment where a particular nursery
is based.

That’s why, with the Young Friends Tribe, we have built a framework to allow other nurseries to take a step-by-step journey towards creating a sustainable nursery at a level which is possible for them.

The Young Friends Tribe aims to provide inspiration and motivation to other nursery owners and staff, showing them what they CAN do so that they can make small changes, one at a time, which eventually add up to a big change.

Our Values

Sustainability

Respect

Authenticity

Supportive
Leadership

Community

Sustainability

Sustainability is at the core of our approach. When we talk about sustainability, we’re talking about the changes which will ultimately impact on our ability to protect our environment and save our planet.

But we’re also talking about sustainability for humans – little and large – so everything starts with the child.

Children who are supported to follow their interests and learn in an age-appropriate way develop a love of learning and a fascination with their world which lasts. They also develop more confidence in themselves, their place in the world and their physical capabilities. Their highly developed sense of self-awareness and empathy for others also helps to make them more resilient, supporting their mental health and general wellbeing.

Everything we do is based on proven education methods that stick, igniting a passion for learning, and an understanding of their role in protecting our world that will stay with our little responsible citizens for their entire lives.

Respect

Caring for our planet begins with respect. Respect for our environment, our natural resources, and for every form of life, from the smallest bug to ourselves. Anti-bias runs through everything we do, and we show our children how to respect themselves, each other and all the diversity they around them. We celebrate people’s differences, and train our staff to recognise and respond to the individual interests of each child.

We respect our staff, who do an extraordinary job, and we work with them to make this a great place to work. We respect the needs and concerns of parents, and ensure our communications with them help them to understand the importance of our distinctive approach to Early Years education.

Authenticity

We don’t just talk about sustainability, diversity and child-initiated learning, we live by them. In every one of our natural environments, every child has a genuine experience of what it means to live a sustainable life. From growing, cooking and eating only natural, plant-based foods, to eliminating single-use disposable items, our children learn from experience every day.

We are constantly learning too, critically reflecting on what we are doing, evaluating research, and evolving our methods and our environment. Our staff are highly trained and great attention placed on their professional development in line with our sustainable ethos. Although flexibility is key to meaningful education, nothing is done without sustainable purpose.

Supportive Leadership

Through our Young Friends Tribe Approach, we are establishing ourselves as leaders in embedding sustainability in Early Years education. As authentic, respectful and supportive leaders, we are dedicated to driving conversations at the highest level and communicating and demonstrating the benefits of Young Tribe across our sector.

We believe we’re unique in the UK in the trailblazing approach we have taken to building our sustainable early years setting. We also believe that it’s essential for more children to benefit from it. But we understand (because we’ve done it), that changing the way nurseries do things is not easy. That is why we’ve developed a supportive framework to help others in Early Years to become eco-nurseries, at whatever level is possible for them. We’re not here to preach, we are here to help.

Community

Our Young Friends Kindergarten is a community in which everyone works together for the good of the child. Our kindergarten is also part of the wider community, and our children, their parents and our staff are part of that.

By encouraging our children to value diversity, we help them to become exceptional humans, who will pass-on what they learn to others in their communities throughout their lives.

We are also part of the Early Years education community, and are dedicated to helping other nurseries in all their diverse settings to adopt the Young Friends Tribe Approach.