Ministry Outcomes – The Ministry of Eco Education has published its 1st Year impact report outlining the results of its work with 15 schools. Its Preface written by Dale Vince says: “From schools in Plymouth to Liverpool, our pilot has gone down really well and shown how prioritising the environment has a positive impact on society. Teachers feel more confident about what to teach our children about the climate crisis and most importantly, the curriculum has inspired children to creatively tackle environmental issues around them – the fashion shows, bird hides, solar panels, wildflower meadows have all been outcomes of the Ministry of Eco Education lessons. The curriculum is making a difference for young people.”
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Teacher Survey – A nation-wide survey investigating teachers’ views on climate change and sustainability is being conducted by the Centre for Climate Change and Sustainability Education (CCCSE) at University College London. The survey aims to deepen understanding of teachers’ practice related to climate change and sustainability, to find out how confident, prepared and supported teachers feel to incorporate these into their teaching, and to investigate teachers’ related professional development experiences and needs. You’ll find the survey here. The school of everyone entering will be entered into a draw to win one of two £100 prizes to purchase climate change and sustainability teaching resources.
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Ipsos MORI Evaluation – Connecting Classrooms through Global Learning was the British Council / FCDO project that aimed to work with schools and teachers to provide young people with the knowledge and awareness to take action on local and global issues and develop their core and transferable skills. An evaluation by Ipsos MORI of this £34.5m initiative was published in the Summer.
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Exploring the Evaluation – A panel of experts meets online at 1630 on November 1st to discuss issues raised by the evaluation. There will be inputs from Professor Douglas Bourn (UCL), Jessica Bruce (Ipsos MORI), Lorenzo Newman (Learn More), Neil Williams (British Council) and Rob Unwin (South Yorkshire Development Education Centre). You can register here.
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School Roles – The latest Elephant Times Magazine [ET3.1] is now available. It features articles by Tim Brighouse & Mick Waters, and hopes to stimulate new conversations about schools and their future role in meeting learner needs in a world of accelerating change.
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Pearson Positive – The recent Pearson School Report offers an in-depth examination of our education system. In terms of climate change, it reports that, over the last year, teachers report a 48% increase in pupil awareness of the issues, and a 19% increase in their anxiety about them. It also reports that 65% of headteachers say that will take steps to be a more sustainable and eco-friendly school.
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Partnership in Southwark – The Southwark Schools Learning Partnership has chosen sustainability as a theme for their collaborative work this year. The Partnership is a collaboration between eighteen local schools based in and around the London Borough of Southwark. NAEE President, Prof. Justin Dillon recently contributed to their work.
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SEEd is Hiring – SEEd is advertising three new roles: a Director, a Development Officer, and an Operations Officer – to stimulate its development. This new team will work closely with Ann Finlayson, the current CEO and founder to agree and deliver a new strategy. They’re looking for people with energy, enthusiasm, and belief in a positive future for us all, and who believe in the art of the possible. If you would like to know more, then please visit the website.
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Slowing Fashion – Recently, over 40,000 young people discussed and then voted on the impact of fast fashion on the climate. The results, say Votes for Schools, were surprising, with many young people expressing hope for the future, particularly with regards to climate change. Details here.
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Youth COP – The Transform Our World Youth Summit is running between 7th-18th November, coinciding with COP27. It aims to bring schools together for sessions of climate learning and discovery. The Summit will have 18 youth-led sessions for a range of ages. You can book sessions here.
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3 & 8 – The government is falling behind on its promise to protect 30% of the land and sea for nature by 2030, according to arecent report by Wildlife and Countryside Link. In 2020, the government promised to protect a third of the UK for nature and biodiversity. By 2022 it turns out, only around 3% of England’s land and 8% of its seas were protected. There’s more here on the BBC.
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Cutting the Green Tape – Joss Garman’s climate memo offers a commentary on the rumours about efforts to remove restrictions on what might be called free farming. ‘What’s real and what’s just noise?’ he asks, and ‘What is the danger to the UK’s efforts to address the climate and nature crises?’
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Coedwigoedd glaw Cymru yn teimlo’r gwres – As Wales reeled from an unprecedented heatwave, Dave Lamacraft looked at the impact on a very precious habitat. You can read about this in Welsh or English on Plantlife.
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Buzzing Beez – The winners of London’s Natural History Museum’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition were announced last week. American photographer Karine Aigner won this year’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year for her image of a buzzing ball of cactus bees spinning over the hot sand on a Texas ranch. The BBC’s Discover Wildlife has the details.