Sustainable Schools

1. Sustainable Schools How National Recognition Schemes Support Your Schools Progress Workshop Langdale Centre 6-3-09

2. Sustainable Schools An Integrated Approach, Will It Enhance Your Schools Performance? Rich Hurst, Education Partnership Coordinator

3. North East Strategic Partnership for Sustainable Schools • One of nine regional partnerships across England • Funded by DCSF • Overseen by a Board of Trustees • A strategic body engaging with key regional agencies and initiatives • Established a variety of sub partnerships • Supports public, private and third sector organisations that support/engage with schools on sustainability agenda

4. The Children’s Plan The Children’s Plan 2007 aims to: “ make this country the best place in the world for our children and young people to grow up”

5. Securing the Future UK Sustainable Development Strategy 2005 aims to: “enable all people throughout the world to satisfy their basic needs and enjoy a better quality of life , without compromising the quality of life for future generations”

6. The Children’s Plan 2007 “ Sustainable development is non-negotiable for children’s wellbeing”

7. Care Not everyone is familiar with the language of sustainable development, but we do understand about care: care for oneself (own well-being) care for one another (near, far & future generations) care for the environment (locally & globally)

8. Umbrella Approach Learning Outside the Classroom Manifesto Sustainable Schools National Framework

9. Integrated Approach Curriculum Campus Community Teaching and learning Pupil achievement Pupil wellbeing Operating and capital budgets Pupil involvement Staff morale Built and natural environment Trust Parental involvement Local influence

10. Doorways Energy and water Buildings andgrounds Purchasing and waste Food and drink Global dimension Local well being Inclusion andparticipation Travel and traffic

11. DCSF ‘Targets’ Food & Drink By 2020, the Government would like all schools to be model suppliers of healthy, local and sustainable food and drink. Food should, where possible, be produced or prepared on site. Schools should show strong commitments to the environment, social responsibility and animal welfare. They should also seek to increase their involvement with local suppliers. Local Wellbeing By 2020 the Government would like all schools to be models of good corporate citizenship within their local areas, enriching their educational mission with activities that improve the environment and quality of life of local people.

12. Schools & Sustainability, Ofsted Findings, May 2008 • There was little emphasis on sustainable development and limited awareness of national and local government policies for this area. • Promoting sustainable development through National Curriculum subjects was inconsistent and uncoordinated. • Sustainable development was a peripheral issue, often confined to extra-curricular activities and involving only a minority of pupils. • When an emphasis was placed on sustainable development teaching was good, lessons were stimulating and pupils took an active part in improving the sustainability of the school and the wider community. • Primary schools were more successful than secondary schools in promoting sustainability, particularly in terms of using their grounds as a resource for learning about it. • Schools were more successful in developing pupils’ understanding of local rather than global issues of sustainability.

13. Building on experience

14. Whole School Recognition Schemes Certification Schemes Competition Based Schemes

18. Joint Planning Benefits • Enables a joined up whole school approach to initiatives • Enhances individual schemes which should benefit applications for award status. • Enhances learning opportunities for pupils, staff and community by highlighting the links across sustainability issues • May enable larger projects/ initiatives to happen in school eg. Collapsed curriculum days/ weeks • Should enable more effective self evaluation Challenges • Requires longer term planning and coordination • Can be difficult in large schools with many members of staff involved • Conversely difficult in small schools where one or two members of staff are reasonable for all or many of the awards

19. Sustainable School Leaders A National College of School Leadership (NCSL) study explored the distinctive characteristics of sustainable school leaders, (NCSL, 2007). The main characteristics can be summarised as follows: • optimistic and outward looking – expanding the school experience beyond the school gate to the immediate and global community, while maintaining an optimistic world view; • achievement-focused – delivering tangible sustainable development outcomes in ways that enrich the learning experiences of pupils and improve achievement; • participatory – distributing leadership for sustainable development among a broad range of stakeholders (especially staff and pupils), through a participatory approach to planning, delivery and evaluation; • systems view – an integrated, systemic understanding of the world and their place in it, and an ability to communicate this to others.

20. For more information National www.teachernet.gov.uk/sustainableschools www.lotc.org.uk North East Region W: www.sustainableschools-ne.org.uk E: rich.hurst@durhamlearning.net Rich Hurst, 0191 373 9799

21. Sustainable Schools How National Recognition Schemes Support Your Schools Progress Workshop Langdale Centre 6-3-09