Skip to content

FairActive Award

After learning about Fairtrade for your first award, you can move onto FairActive and start taking action for Fairtrade!

Just work through the steps below and log on to complete your self-assessment to get your FairActive Award.

Once you have set up your Fairtrade group, they should think about what they would like to achieve and make short, medium and long-term plans for the group. These can be referred to and updated as you go along in your schools account. Schools use the action plan to think about events, assemblies, peer-to-peer learning opportunities, and to investigate different Fairtrade products that might be used in school, like hot drinks in the staff room or cotton uniform items.

1. Set up a Fairtrade group

It is important that your Fairtrade Group reflects the opinions of students in different year groups so that the whole school are represented. Although young people can take on responsibility for most activities, staff are crucial – from helping students to organise themselves to getting buy-in for Fairtrade around the school. It is also really useful to get members of your catering staff and perhaps a Food Technology teacher, a school Governor, parents or local Fairtrade campaigners in the group as well.

We recommend that the group meet at least once a term to see how their work is progressing. Often schools combine their Fairtrade group with an Eco group or even with the school council.

2. Hold an assembly

Perhaps your newly-formed Fairtrade Group would like to present an assembly to help raise awareness and understanding of Fairtrade across the whole school. We have a range of assemblies to choose from in our Assemblies section or you could make one of your own.

3. Hold an event

Hold an event in your school or in your local community.

Whether you host a bake sale, run a Fairtrade football tournament or collaborate with another local school to share your Fairtrade knowledge, events are a fantastic way to engage others with Fairtrade.

4. Take one of our Fairtrade challenges

Because every school is different and what is possible in one school is not always possible in another school, the Fairtrade Challenges are designed so that you can pick and choose which one you would like to work towards. It also means that if you renew at FairActive you can try something different each time.

We are aware that with the current circumstances this may be more challenging and so have added suggestions for how you could complete some of these challenges virtually or in class bubbles.

For FairActive you will need to take one of the challenges below:

Make a Fairtrade switch

Making a switch might involve working with your canteen, catering company or even local authority to switch to Fairtrade bananas in your canteen. You could also encourage a local café or restaurant to switch to Fairtrade ingredients.

Run a campaign

Have a look at our Take Action pages and see if there are any national campaigns that your school would like to be involved with or perhaps younger pupils could create a campaign to encourage staff to switch to Fairtrade tea and coffee in the staffroom.

Put on a Fairtrade event

This might be a Fairtrade bake sale, a Fairtrade fashion show or running a stall at a local event to raise awareness of Fairtrade. This will need to be an additional event to the one required at step 4.

Fundraise for Fairtrade

This could be through a Fairtrade tuckshop or perhaps a bakesale. Take a look at some of the activities and games that we have such as ideas for event decorations and quiz sheets.

Invite a visitor to speak about Fairtrade

There are many people that you could invite to speak at your school – your local Fairtrade town group may have somebody who would like to come and speak to pupils about Fairtrade. Or get in touch with your local Co-op store to see if they have somebody who can talk about Fairtrade in your school or at a parents’ or community event.

It is also possible to request a speaker from a member of staff from the Fairtrade Foundation.

A school visit related to Fairtrade

This could be a visit to an exhibition about trade, a schools conference or an event where a Fairtrade producer is speaking. Or talk to your local Co-op store about running a Fairtrade visit, event or activity with them.

Why not attend one of our young people appropriate online talks during Fairtrade Fortnight 2021? Check out this page for more information.

Hold a Fairtrade conference

This would involve inviting other schools to come along to a day or an afternoon of Fairtrade activities. You can use our schools map to find out which other schools in your area are working towards their Fairtrade Schools Awards. If you would like any help with this challenge please let us know at schools@fairtrade.org.uk.

Involve the wider community or another school

Take your learnings and activities to another school in your area, show them what you have been up to and help them begin their Fairtrade journey. Or perhaps you could work with a local Fairtrade towns group on a project to share your Fairtrade work with the wider community.

Invent your own Fairtrade challenge

We’re sure that you have lots of great ideas that would suit your school so do feel free to get creative and come up with another activity that promotes Fairtrade in your school and/or local community.

Join us on Twitter at  @FairtradeUKEd