How to become a Fairtrade School

 
An increasing number of schools are becoming fairtrade schools. This sounds great, but what does it mean...?

What is a Fairtrade School?

FairtradeSchools.org say “Becoming a Fairtrade School means joining a worldwide movement – a movement where young people learn that, whatever their age, they have the power to make a difference in the world.”

There are three levels of Fairtrade School.

1. FairAware School
2. FairActive School
3. FairAchiever School

FairAware Schools

FairAware Schools think about the products they use and where they come from. From the fruit served at snack times to the cotton used in school uniforms, everyone in your school will be encouraged to be more aware of the origins of the products they use.

To get the award you’ll need to complete a teaching and a learning audit. What are you teaching your students about Fairtrade and what do they know?

Finally you’ll need to complete a learning challenge based on your audit. First find out what your children want to learn more about and then take it from there. There are loads of excellent videos you can share with your children in the resource section of the Fairtrade Schools website.

This award needs to be renewed every year.

FairActive Award

FairActive Schools have a working group made up of students and staff.

It is a great opportunity to give your children responsibility and the opportunity to action change within the school. Think about how this working group can make changes to the food served at lunch, how can they ethically raise money, what topics do they think their peers should know about.

You’ll need to help them create a short, medium and long-term action plan. Challenge your Fairtrade Group to share their knowledge and plans in an assembly.

Next hold an event in your school or local community. You could make and sell homemade ethical lemonade or create and perform fairtrade themed raps, the possibilities are endless.

Finally you’ll need to complete a Fairtrade Challenge. There are loads of suggestions in the FairActive Schools Award section of the organisers website. Some of the ideas include partnering up with your local Co-op store or making a Fairtrade switch.  

This award needs to be renewed every two years.

FairAchiever Award

The FairAchiever Award is for schools that have embedded Fairtrade into their school day.

Your Fairtrade Group will need to create a Fairtrade Policy outlining their commitment to supporting Fairtrade. They will review the action plan they wrote when they were working towards the FairActive Award.

A learning audit will need to be carried out again. Time will need to be spent on working out how Fairtrade learning can be embedded into the curriculum. Fairtrade products will need to be being used in the school.

Finally you will need to take part in two Fairtrade Challenges.

This award needs to be renewed every three years.

Education for Social Responsibility

When we created some Ethical Trading lessons as part of our Education for Social Responsibility Curriculum we were amazed to learn that there are several different categories of Fairtrade.

Do you know the difference between Fairtrade Foundation, Fair Trade Certified, BAFTS, Fair Trade Federation, World Fair Trade Organization and International Fair Trade Association? 

This handy guide by Fair Trade Winds explains some of the differences between the Fair Trade logos you see on different products.

Quick quiz!

Which Fair Trade logos would you expect to see on your Fair Trade bananas?
The answer is right at the bottom of this post...

A Fair Trade International sticker will be on your bananas. Fair Trade International is certified by FLOCERT