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  1. Support index
  2. Engaging the school community
  3. Tips for getting started

Tips for getting started

Have you signed up to Energy Sparks but need some help getting started? If so, take a look at our top tips…

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Audience

This page provides help for all registered school users.

You will need to sign-in to follow the instructions on this page.

Setup an ecoteam

Having a group of passionate individuals, supported by an adult co-ordinator or sustainability lead will ensure that environmental actions are taken throughout the year. The job of an eco-team is to raise awareness of environmental issues, drive forward sustainable actions and create a sense of pride and shared purpose across the school.

Whether you are looking to set up an eco-team for the first time or already have a team in place, our activity - Set up an Energy- or Eco-team to lead on energy efficiency at your school - will help you ensure that energy saving is at the heart of your school’s environmental action. 

Involving staff and pupils

A whole-school approach encourages ownership and responsibility, helping energy-saving actions become part of daily routines and leading to lasting behaviour change. 

Different members of the school community have unique roles to play:

  • School leadership can support change through policies, communication, and investment.
  • Estates teams are key to managing building-related changes, such as heating controls and energy systems.
  • Teachers help embed sustainability into lessons, making real-life connections to subjects like science, geography, and maths. They also model positive behaviours and support students in leading energy-saving actions around the school.
  • Pupils benefit by applying real-life school data to subjects like maths, science, and geography. They also develop leadership and communication skills as they promote positive behaviour across the school.

Students can act as the "eyes and ears" of the school - reporting issues like rooms being too hot or lights being left on. Most importantly, they learn that their actions matter: they can help their school save money and reduce its carbon footprint.

Sign up for training

Energy Sparks offers free online training to help users get the most out of their accounts.

We provide a range of courses tailored to different roles within the school, such as school leaders and estates teams. From time to time we also run sessions on specific topics such as heating control, and invite external experts to share their insights.

Add more users to your account

For the best energy-saving results, schools should have at least three registered staff users on Energy Sparks so that energy-saving becomes a community effort. These should include a member of the senior leadership team, a site manager and a teacher. When staff leave the school, they should hand over their Energy Sparks user role to another suitable staff member.

To encourage more colleagues to get involved with Energy Sparks, you can set them up with a user account on Energy Sparks. 

Schools can even earn points for doing this by signing in and recording the action: Introduce a new staff member to Energy Sparks

Complete your first programme

A great place to start using Energy Sparks is with our programmes. These are groups of related activities and actions, designed to be manageable within a short term by an eco-team. 

If you are new to Energy Sparks, we recommend completing our Get Energised! programme.
  • Go to section
  • Setup an ecoteam
  • Involving staff and pupils
  • Sign up for training
  • Add more users to your account
  • Complete your first programme
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