What s your role? It will take input from a number of people to make your Eco-committee a success. Use these cards to discuss the various roles and work together to decide who will take on which job. Once you re all agreed, attach your photos to the Meet your Eco-committee poster and pop it up on your noticeboard to tell the rest of the school what you re up to! Who will do what? An Eco-committee can have as many members as you like, you ll just need to all agree to attend regular meetings and commit to work together to deliver the projects you agree on. To ensure your Eco-committee has a good structure, it is best to allocate roles. By following the steps below you will find out more about the key roles and learn how to decide who will do what. 1. Read the roles to get a feel for what being the Chair, Head Co-ordinator, Communications Manager, Treasurer or a Project Partner involves. 2. Place the job description cards out on a flat surface, so you can see the side with the big, bold words written on them. Using only the words showing, can you figure out and all agree which card reflects which role? 3. Turn the cards over and discuss each role and its responsibilities in more detail. Are you surprised by any of the tasks listed? 4. Which role appeals to you? Think about the skills you have that could help you in that position and be prepared to discuss these with other members of the Eco-committee. Are you organised and energetic? Do you prefer others to take the lead? Do you have a particular interest in wildlife or recycling? 5. Before you volunteer for a role, think about if you will you be able to commit to it as well as fit in your learning and other activities. If everyone is very busy you could share the role. 6. Get talking and agree on the structure of your Eco-committee! You may need to all say the positions you re keen to do and open it up to a vote (ask a teacher to help organise this if you want). And remember you could swap roles each term so everyone gets to have a go. You may not be familiar with all of the words in the job descriptions if you want a helping hand check out our glossary at www.greenschools.coop/ecocommittee to find out what they mean. WHAT S YOUR ROLE?
Get prepared Once you ve agreed who s taking responsibility for which job, you need to ensure everyone is ready to get to work. Remember to visit www.greenschools.coop/ecocommittee regularly for new activity updates and top tips! We ve also prepared some templates that will help you run your Eco-committee. Good luck from the Green Schools Revolution team! www.greenschools.coop/ecocommittee
The roles Read through the job descriptions below to get an understanding of the various roles. There are others, these are just to get you started! If you already have various Eco-committee roles, do any of your existing roles match these ones? Could you spread responsibility or involve others? This is just a quick introduction to the roles see the job description cards for more information! Chair Every Eco-committee needs a Chair and we re not just talking about something to sit on! The Chair is the person who leads the meeting, helps everyone make decisions and ensures each meeting runs to order. It s a really important role that requires a combination of skills. You need to be really interested in eco/green issues and will need to have a few ideas about how you could make your school more environmentally-friendly. Don t forget, other Eco-committee members will also have good ideas, so you need to be a good listener. You need to think about the positives and negatives of an idea and be willing to try things out. You also need to be organised. The Chair is expected to be at every meeting and should encourage other Eco-committee members to attend too. Whilst leading the meeting, the Chair needs to be firm but fair, to help the Eco-committee achieve their objectives. Head Co-ordinator The Chair needs someone to support them at Eco-committee meetings. You need to attend all meetings and take the minutes, so you need to listen carefully and write or type quickly! You should also be a good communicator not only do your minutes need to be clear and concise so that everyone understands them, you need to record all the main points. You need to be really organised as another part of the role is to co-ordinate the Project Partners. THE ROLES
Communications Manager If you re a natural communicator, love writing and talking, and are full of new ideas about how to promote the Eco-committee, then this is the role for you. Your jobs is to shout about the Eco-committee s work this could be writing articles (stories) about projects for the school newsletter, giving Eco-committee updates in assembly (which will make you practice your public speaking) or interviewing people on important issues and reporting back at Eco-committee meetings. You ll also be in charge of the Eco-committee noticeboard and will work with Project Partners to keep it up to date and collect any suggestions that have been provided. Project Partner Are you interested in eco issues? Are you a team player who likes getting things done? You ll attend all meetings, take part in discussions and suggest ideas. You need to be a good listener and not get upset if not everyone likes your idea this time you ll get your chance. You re also a person who makes things happen, which could see you working with teachers and pupils on different projects e.g. digging an eco-garden, protecting wildlife, talking about green issues in assembly or running a competition. You need to be quite confident when talking to people but don t worry too much, it s always good to work in a pair or as a team to get things done. Treasurer Are you good at keeping an eye on money? Do you have great attention to detail? Your Eco-committee will need a budget (it is up to the Headteacher or Governors to say how much it is) and your role is to keep a close record of how much has been spent and on what. You will provide a budget update at each meeting and will help the Chair make decisions on what the Eco-committee buys. You can even apply to Green Schools Revolution for grants to fund projects! www.greenschools.coop/ecocommittee
The Chair leads the Eco-committee to make decisions on green issues on behalf of the school. The Chair also: Leads Eco-committee meetings and helps the Head Co-ordinator write up and distribute the minutes Greets other Eco-committee members punctually at every meeting Tells everyone at the meeting what s on the agenda and reads the minutes of the last meeting Asks the Project Partners to update the Eco-committee about their projects and checks actions have been completed Leads the discussion on other ideas members would like to talk about and checks that everyone has had a fair chance to speak Sets priorities for the Eco-committee at the end of the meeting, The Chair asks the Project Partners what they want to do next, and where they want to focus their efforts Agrees who will take on which project, ensures that all Project Partners agree the Eco-committee s action plan and checks that everyone knows what they need to do before the next meeting Meets with the Headteacher/Deputy Head/Caretaker to keep them updated on progress. ECO-COMMITTEE JOB DESCRIPTION: CHAIR
Good listener Driven Calm Diplomatic Fair Dedicated Leader Passionate Punctual www.greenschools.coop/ecocommittee
The Head Co-ordinator supports the Chair, takes minutes at meetings and co-ordinates the Project Partners. The Head Co-ordinator also: Goes to all Eco-committee meetings, listens to the discussion taking place and writes down actions Writes/types up the minutes after the meeting and checks their accuracy with the Chair Distributes the minutes to the Chair, Communications Manager, Treasurer, Project Partners and Headteacher/Deputy Head/Caretaker so everyone can see the Eco-committee s progress Prints out a copy and adds it to the Eco-committee noticeboard. This makes the Eco-committee accountable to the whole school! Helps the Chair write the agenda for the next meeting to make sure key items are discussed and project updates are given Takes copies of minutes from the last meeting to the next, for everyone to see what was discussed last time. ECO-COMMITTEE JOB DESCRIPTION: HEAD CO-ORDINATOR
Good communicator Driven Able to prioritise Accurate Supportive Committed Articulate Good listener Organised Focussed www.greenschools.coop/ecocommittee
The Communications Manager helps promote Eco-committee projects, and tries to encourage support from the school. The Communications Manager also: Attends all Eco-committee meetings and suggests ways to promote their activities Networks with pupils/teachers/parents to tell them about the Eco-committee s work and get them involved in events Writes articles for the school newsletter and invites the press to eco-events, to help share success stories Works with members to give everyone updates in Assembly Checks that the minutes are regularly updated and put on the noticeboard Keeps the Eco-committee noticeboard looking tidy with the support of Project Partners Changes the eco questions on the Eco-committee noticeboard to provide everyone with fun facts and thoughts. ECO-COMMITTEE JOB DESCRIPTION: COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER
Approachable Articulate Confident Eye for detail Keen networker Responsive Creative Good public speaker www.greenschools.coop/ecocommittee
The Treasurer outlines what the Eco-committee has bought, spent, and how much money remains. The Treasurer also: Goes to all Eco-committee meetings and gives an update on the budget, outlining what has been spent and what was bought with the money. They also let everyone know what remaining funds the Eco-committee has Keeps a log/spreadsheet of what the Eco-committee has spent money on. They also keep copies of receipts for things that have been purchased Helps the Chair make a final decision on how the Eco-committee spend their money. Unfortunately they can t support all of the projects suggested by members, so sometimes they have to make tough decisions Meets with the school Finance Officer to talk about money and discuss ways in which they can: - Put business cases forward to the Headteacher for more money - Fundraise at school to support particular projects - Write grant applications, if the Eco-committee are applying to external organisations to ask for support. They can apply for grants for specific projects from Green Schools Revolution Meets with the Headteacher, Deputy Head or Governors to talk about how they are spending their money. They need accurate reports! Ensures that the Eco-committee s money is kept safe and secure. ECO-COMMITTEE JOB DESCRIPTION: TREASURER
Trustworthy Security conscious Good with numbers Organised Team player Responsible Eye for detail Accountable Methodical Confident www.greenschools.coop/ecocommittee
Project Partners help Eco-committee members and others to deliver green projects. Project Partners also: Go to all Eco-committee meetings and take part in discussions Offer ideas and suggestions about how to make school and the local community more eco-friendly Discuss priorities for the Eco-committee with the Chair and work with them to agree an action plan Help carry out the actions agreed by the Eco-committee and progress projects. Their work is varied but fun! Make sure everyone in school knows about the Eco-committee projects Support the Head Co-ordinator and Communications Manager when they need help. This could mean talking in assembly, updating the Eco-committee noticeboard or conducting waste audits around the school Represent the wider school, so they need to listen to ideas and raise them at the next Eco-committee meeting! ECO-COMMITTEE JOB DESCRIPTION: PROJECT PARTNERS
Supportive Helpful Full of ideas Hardworking Organised Flexible Team player Committed Reliable www.greenschools.coop/ecocommittee