Francis 1 – There are now three articles posted in NAEE’s series of commentaries on the Francis Review of the national curriculum and assessment. They can be found in the blog section of the NAEE website. A fourth article will be posted in the coming week.
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Francis 2 – Teach the Future recently ran a webinar focused on the Francis review. The session recording is on Youtube. The slides are here and you can view the workshop chat history here, and view the Zoom transcript here.
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Global Goals – There is a range of ways to get involved in Global Goals Week [20th to 29th September] as both institutions and individuals. For example, hosting your own SDG events or a sustainability week on campus or encouraging staff and students to participate in the Act4SDGs campaign and register actions on the global map.
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National Education Futures – The FED’s 4th Annual National Education Summit on November 5th is to focus on priorities for an incoming Government. Programme details (including fee costs) here.
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Young Activators – Global Action Plan [GAP] is looking for young people aged 14-18 to join its Young Activators Network. GAP aims to build a diverse network of young people from all walks of life who are open to learn, grow and make a difference, regardless of their background or experience. If they apply to join now, they can be part of the welcome webinar this autumn.
GAP is also supporting multiple Multi-Academy Trusts with youth social action, by working in collaboration with Inspiring Leaders. It will be supporting the Inspiring Leaders September conference and sharing stories across the year of youth social action in progress, as it guides participating schools in implementing projects aimed at reaching their sustainability objectives.
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Down in the SHED – EAUC is the administrator of the SHED discussion network. Its aims are to:
- Disseminate information about Education for Sustainability [EfS] in higher and further education
- Stimulate discussion about the principles behind EfS
- Hold up a critical lens to the concept of EfS and its alternatives
- Connect EfS to wider educational concerns such as leadership and global citizenship
- Share and monitor strategies for organisational change.
You can find more information here.
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World Animal Day – WWF claims that its short quiz will help you and your students get ready to celebrate World Animal Day on October 4th. It focuses on trivia knowledge about two species in each question – which one can jump higher, which one runs faster, which one weighs more, and so on. There’s also a bonus question. Are you ready?
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Youth Decarbonisation – The Paris Agreement recognises the importance of education, training, and public participation in achieving climate action; ensuring youth and members of the public are appropriately equipped with the knowledge, skills, and literacy to create equitable system-wide transformations across all sectors. Click here to read new research on Youth Empowerment for Decarbonisation.
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Internationalisation & Sustainability – EAUC is to host a 90-minute online seminar on Post-16 Education Internationalisation and Sustainability: Challenges and Opportunities. on October 16th [1400 – 1530] c/o Zoom. The event will:
- explore the current and future challenges regarding the environmental sustainability of internationalisation processes within the post-16 education sector;
- and explore the opportunities for improving sustainability outcomes from internationalisation processes, including a first overview of findings from UK institutions piloting the Climate Action Barometer.
EAUC is also working with SOS-UK on an online workshop to gather insights and inform the direction of their equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) work. The work will include research into current EDI practices within the further and higher education sustainability sector. If you think you can contribute, you can find more information and the registration sign up form here.
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Casuarius casuarius – A UK wildlife park is celebrating the birth of a Southern Cassowary chick. This is widely regarded as the world’s most dangerous bird because of its claws. It is a long way from home. The parents of the chick are not UK residents; the male hales from The Netherlands, and the female from Germany. They have been at the park since 2012 as part of the European Endangered Species Programme.
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Big River Watch – This is asking the public to act as citizen scientists to help monitor the state of rivers after years of pollution from water companies and farming practice. The Rivers Trust has developed an app for its Big River Watch and is asking users to spend 15 minutes by their local river and fill in a survey, building up a picture of the damage done to rivers around the UK. The survey includes questions on river wildlife, signs of pollution, and health and wellbeing. The Guardian has more detail.
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Waxcaps – Plantlife says that waxcaps are known for their ecological importance, but they are also renown for being some of the most bright and colourful fungi you can find. From bright Scarlet Waxcaps to Ballerina Waxcaps, there’s never a dull moment. To get you started on your waxcap journey, why not read the Plantlife blog on how to find and identify waxcap fungi here, or download their waxcap ID guide here.