University ignites the spark of social responsibility in Northamptonshire school children

Around 60 children from seven primary schools in Northamptonshire celebrated the success of projects based on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the University of Northampton (UON) last week.

The SPARK Student Awards on Wednesday 9 July was the culmination of a nine-month project led by UON’s Schools Engagement Team which not only introduced the concept of the SDGs but also introduced the idea of project management to the children.

Natasha Mycawka, UON’s Widening Access Manager, said: “This project was really about igniting the spark in their school to become socially responsible, to show their ability to work with others and to problem solve and innovate. Skills which will be important if they go on to higher education and join us as university students in a few years.

“The event was a celebration of the positive difference made by all those taking part. They listened to presentations for each other’s projects to share ideas and inspire others and to celebrate the success of their projects.”

Speaking to the children, Natasha said: ““Some of you have had some setbacks, some of you have had challenges, yet every single person in this room has demonstrated the power of young people. You are all making a positive change in your school, creating a ripple effect in your community.  One small change can make a huge positive impact. Congratulations!”

Ignite your Spark began in November 2024 and saw members of the Schools Engagement Team visit schools to introduce the 17 UN SDGs.

Children then learned what research was and how to go about designing a project from setting an objective to gathering different kinds of evidence and proposing a solution to the problem they want to solve.

Eastfield Academy was one of the first to stand up in front of their peers to present their project centred around SDG 15 – Life on Land.

Their project saw an Eco-Council meeting several times a month which led to the decision to help grow crops to be shared with other families in the school and they took part in litter picking and planted wildflowers. They also promoted actions to save energy by encouraging others to turn off lights, monitors and electrical devices when not in use. The project led to one of their teacher’s receiving a Sustainability Award and the school is now up for an award in the Northampton In-Bloom competition.

After carrying out a mind-mapping exercise, St James’ CE Primary School chose SDG 3 – Good Health and Wellbeing which led them to project-manage a day of outdoor activities for the whole school. They surveyed fellow pupils to narrow down what activities to include, emailed parents to recruit volunteers, and members of the team kept track of their budget and devised a timetable.

The other schools taking part were – Cedar Road Academy, Exeter – A Learning Community Academy, Irthlingborough Junior School, St Luke’s CE Primary School and Woodvale Primary Academy.

To find out how to get your school involved with the University, visit our Schools Engagement webpage.