Please find our most frequently asked questions below.
Click on the question to expand the content:
Please do not worry, if you are a newly registered Eco-School you will need to request a new password.
In all cases please use our logging in help sheet to get you started.
There is no cost to register your school as an Eco-School- please use our FREE resources that you will find on your school login to help you to Eco-Schools Green Flag success.
Your school should not need to pay for additional support from third parties in order to achieve its Eco-Schools Green Flag.
As we are a charity and receive no government funding we ask schools to pay £200 (plus VAT) after their Eco-Schools Green Flag assessor visit. This payment covers the development costs for supporting Seven Step resources, desk assessment of your application, your Eco-Schools Green Flag and Certificate- including postage and package.
The invoice will be sent following your Green Flag assessment visit, on receipt of payment the award pack, including your flag and certificate, will be sent. You will have 30 days to pay the invoice and can pay by cheque to Keep Britain Tidy or by BACS.
If you are unsure whether your school is registered, please re-register and this will update you school’s details and allow you to access all Eco-Schools resources.
Enter your e-mail address on the login page and click ‘Forgot Password.’
Schools can login to their page and update their details, alternatively please contact us with the changes (please provide the school name and postcode).
Schools can only use the Eco-Schools logo once they have achieved their Eco-Schools Green Flag- schools will then be able to download a copy of the logo via their school login. If you would like to feature the Eco-Schools logo in a magazine article or on a web page, then please contact us with the request and the text you intend to use.
We retain the right to ask schools to remove our logo from their website if we believe they are no longer following the Seven Step criteria or taking part in activities which are harmful to the environment such as balloon releases.
The Eco-Schools Green Flag needs to be renewed every two years. The application process is the same for renewing your Eco-Schools Green Flag as it is for applying for your first flag. If you are unsure of your renewal date please contact the Eco-Schools team with your school name and postcode.
If your school does not meet the criteria upon desk assessment you will be given the opportunity to submit further evidence. If you are unsuccessful following a visit by an assessor, you will be given the opportunity, with support from the Eco-Schools team, to be reassessed within six months of the original assessment visit. You will not incur another charge for the reassessment.
If upon this reassessment it is felt that you should apply at a later date with a ‘first time’ application, your school at that point will be eligible for the full charge.
If your school does not meet the criteria upon desk assessment and is ‘rolled back’ you will be given the opportunity to submit further evidence to the team before a date is arranged for an assessor to visit you.
Any type of school can join Eco-Schools. This includes nurseries, primary schools, secondary schools, colleges, special schools and pupil referral units. If you are unsure whether you are eligible to join the Eco-Schools programme please get in touch.
The assessment will last approximately two hours- depending on how much you wish to show our Assessor. The Assessors will want to have a tour of the school and speak to members of the Eco-Committee, as well as staff.
Bronze and Silver awarded schools receive a certificate, which can be downloaded from their school login once passed. When schools achieve the Eco-Schools Green Flag accreditation they receive a letter, certificate and flag.
The Eco-Schools Green Flag measures 100cm by 150cm and comes with care instructions. The diameter of the Eco-Schools logo is 75cm.
Flying your flag no longer requires planning permission. Following the 2012 Olympics the rules on flying certain types of flag were relaxed and Eco-Schools Green Flags now have ‘deemed consent’. There is a guidance document on the Green Flag Award® for parks and green spaces website that provides more information.
Schools can choose to go through each award stage (Bronze, Silver and Eco-Schools Green Flag), but this is not compulsory. A school may obtain their Bronze Award and then decide to work towards their Eco-Schools Green Flag straight away. Alternatively, a school could go straight to Eco-Schools Green Flag from registration, depending on the level of work that has been completed.
Yes, you can. We have several partnership packages for organisations, designed to help us work together to support schools on their Eco-Schools journey. Please visit our Get Involved pages.
