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Waste paper in primary schools drives innovative new business
29 January 2011,
In 2007 primary schools, on average, produced 45kg of waste per pupil per year. A dominant fraction of this was paper and card. Businesses are looking into ways of producing re-useable resources for teachers.
In 2007 WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Program) commissioned a ‘WastesWork’ report to analyse the waste produced in our primary schools. They found that our primary schools produced approximately 186,500 tons in
To try to reduce the paper and card waste, businesses are looking at initiatives that re-use resources.
Julie Roworth, primary teacher and owner of Easy Peasy Classroom said, “We are all spending far too much time printing and preparing resources which are inevitably unable to withstand hundreds of little fingers. We need sturdy, reusable products we can store and use again and again.”
Easypeasy classroom coats all their products, or print on to plastic, so these high quality resources have an average classroom life of at least 4 years. Products include visual timetables and role play sets for indoor and outdoor use.
With the emphasis on the environment, easypeasyclassroom.co.uk aim to also reduce time and energy spent on downloading, cutting, printing and laminating by our busy teachers and TA’s.
Easypeasyclassroom.co.uk is a company established in 2009 by a primary school teacher and her business partner. They offer teachers inspiring, ready to use, printed sustainable resources that would normally take a long time to prepare and produce.
Lucy Simpson, Easy Peasy Classroom,
Visual Timetables in the Primary Classroom
It is surprising how much of a positive impact such a simple tool as a Visual Timetable can have on young children starting school. We have used a visual timetable for several years in our Reception classes. Every day, at the children’s eye level and in a prominent place in the classroom, we display pictures representing each of the day’s activities in sequence from left to right.
Initially we spend a few minutes each morning talking through the sequence of events for that day, familiarising the children with the pictures and reinforcing any significant points relevant to each activity.
Eventually it becomes unnecessary to talk through the images as the children will be familiar with the pictures and use the timetable independently. Once, after talking to some parents at the beginning of the day I turned around to find most of my class changed into their PE kits as I had forgotten to change the timetable from the previous day.
A Visual Timetable presents the abstract concept of time in a tangible way. The timetable builds upon children’s strengths as visual learners. It helps to build confidence and alleviate anxiety by clearly communicating to the child what events, activities will take place and what will come next in an uncomplicated way.
Using a Visual Timetable is generally regarded as good practice for EAL children, children with language and communication difficulties or those on the Autistic Spectrum but clearly provides a reassuring structure for all children.
At www.easypeasyclassroom.co.uk Visual Timetables arrive printed on a thin, durable plastic ready for you to attach your Velcro or blue tac. There are 4 sets to choose from; EYFS, KS1, KS2 or the smaller sized Individual Planners. Each set has slightly different images appropriate to each stage of learning.
The Individual Planners at Easy Peasy Classroom have been put together with younger children in mind. Often used with children on the Autistic Spectrum, an Individual Planner may also be useful supporting a child needing additional input selecting or completing activities or for a child with one particular obsession.
Individual planners help children begin to make simple choices; the child may choose the order in which activities take place or participate in the creation of their timetable by selecting some of their favourite activities.
An Individual Planner can be displayed on a small board that can be carried around or based at a child’s individual work station. Children can be encouraged to remove each picture after the activity is complete giving a sense of achievement and progress.
Written on behalf of Easy Peasy Classroom, specialists in printed resources for Primary Schools