Plastic Free Schools FAQs

If you are part of the 2025/6 (current) cohort:

• You can continue your journey as planned through to summer 2026.
• You will still be able to complete your actions and receive recognition for your work.
• Our team will continue to support you throughout this final phase.

If you are on the sign-up list/ not part of the 2025/26 cohort:

Yes. We will be giving schools a grace period until December 2026 to submit their evidence via the dashboard. Once you have completed all five objectives, you will receive your accreditation and plaque in the post to display proudly in your school.

We will be giving schools a grace period until December 2026 to submit their evidence via the dashboard. Once you have completed all five objectives, you will receive your accreditation and plaque in the post to display proudly in your school. 

You will be able to access your online dashboard until the end of December 2026. After this date, access will no longer be available.

Yes. Once you receive accreditation, we will send you the Expansion Pack resources in the post so you can continue making positive change in your school. However, this will be independently led rather than supported by SAS. Please get in touch if you’re accredited but haven’t yet received your Expansion Pack resources. 

Your accreditation will still hold significant value. It recognises the hard work your school has put into creating positive environmental change, and that achievement can continue to be celebrated and built upon.

Watch this space! Plastic Free Schools is evolving into something new, so make sure to sign up to our new mailing list so you don’t miss out on what’s to come. In the meantime, you can continue using our Ocean School resources on the main SAS website. Sign up here for PFS news and updates. 

We are still developing this, but you can sign up to our new mailing list to stay updated on what’s to come. Sign up here for PFS news and updates.

We are still developing this, but you can sign up to our new mailing list to stay updated on what’s to come. You can also sign up to our main SAS newsletter and visit the ‘Take Action’ section on the main SAS website to learn more. 

Sign up here for PFS news and updates.

Please click here to fill out our feedback form.

We do not expect schools to be totally plastic free. Our aim is to free where we live from single-use plastic: the avoidable stuff that’s everywhere. Things like plastic drinks bottles, disposable coffee cups, sachets, bathroom plastics, excessive food packaging, takeaway containers etc. These are the things that are having a huge impact on our environment and which we can make changes in our lives to eliminate.

We always love to visit schools and deliver talks and workshops where we can, but we are a small team and therefore our capacity is limited. But do always reach out and ask! If we can’t then we do have an amazing team of volunteer Regional Reps and volunteer Plastic Free Community leaders who might be able to help.

Find your local Plastic Free Community

Find your local Regional Rep

Yes! It is absolutely free!

We will no longer by providing physical resources, but digital ones will be available. Please sign up here to receive updates.

Once your sign up is approved, you’ll receive an email inviting you to set up your login to access your school’s online dashboard (please check your Junk folder if you haven’t heard back from us after a day or two). Your online dashboard is where you’ll be able to track progress, upload evidence, and access all the resources you need.

We will then check through and provide feedback, approving objectives as you go. When you have completed all five objectives we will send you a certificate and plaque in the post to display proudly in your school!

Yes, the deadline to submit all evidence is four weeks before the end of your academic year (including devolved nations). This gives us time to review everything and award your official Plastic Free Schools status ahead of the summer break.

It is possible to complete every objective and submit evidence without ever sending us a photo of your pupils. We never ask for a photo of your pupil’s faces. You can upload images of your completed objective cards or plastic-free swaps without including any people or protected children’s faces. The purpose of the evidence is to show that you have completed the objectives.
As a teacher, you need to ensure that the photos you use as evidence meet your school’s policies on child protection and photos. We store all photos of children and vulnerable adults in a safe and secure way.
From time to time we need photos from our programmes to promote our work and ensure that it can continue by being funded. We also like to celebrate with you when you complete the programme and become an official Plastic Free Nursery or School. For this reason, we ask that you only submit photos that we have permission to use.

While we present the objectives in order from 1 to 5—aligned with the support and guidance we provide—you’re free to complete them in any sequence that suits you and your pupils. They’ll be opportunities throughout the year to connect with other schools working on the programme — so you can share experiences, ideas and learn from one another.