Guidance for Governors – The National Governance Association [NGA] has launched a new version of its environmental sustainability guidance. This features case studies, questions, tips, and links to the department for education strategy and other helpful resources. NAEE was very pleased to contribute to this development. The NGA’s Greener Governance campaign aims to ensure all schools and trusts have a strategy for their contribution to environmental sustainability and to equip governing boards to play their role in overseeing this work. It is asking every governing board to make the Greener Governance pledge to: [i] reduce carbon at their school or trust; [ii] put the school’s or trust’s contribution to environmental sustainability on the agenda; and [iii] ensure a climate action plan is developed to make this happen.
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Senedd Cymru – The Welsh Parliament’s Children, Young People and Education Committee is monitoring the implementation of two key education reforms: [i] The Curriculum and Assessment (Wales) Act 2021 and [ii] The Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal (Wales) Act 2018. It will do this through, focussed thematic check-ins. The committee wants to hear the views of any interested educator, stakeholder, pupil or parent on any element of the rollout. Please complete this proforma and send to SeneddChildren@senedd.wales
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DfE Snapshot – The second issue of the DfE’s Climate in Education Snapshot is now available. It includes [i] a link to the recent public sector decarbonisation scheme and condition improvement fund applications webinar; [ii] energy pods update; and [iii] apprenticeships awards 2022.
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Whole Person Education – The OECD has published Big Picture Thinking: how to educate the whole person for an interconnected world. It says that this is based on research-informed pedagogical principles that policy makers, leaders and educators can use to support equitable and effective global and intercultural competence education.
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Public First – UCL’s Centre for Climate Change and Sustainability Education was launched in April. Its mission is to transform the UK’s approach to teaching climate change and sustainability in schools by providing outstanding, research-informed and free professional development to all teachers and school leaders. On 9 June, Public Firstpublished a report outlining the results of research commissioned by the Centre to inform the early development of its work. UCL says join us on-line on Monday 4th July to hear an expert panel discuss the implications of that report for the teaching of climate change and sustainability in schools, and specifically the priorities and principles that should underpin the work of the new Centre. Register here.
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Teacher Wellness – Learning through Landscapes says that, as the end of the academic year approaches, it’s time to reflect on what has been a difficult period for teachers and children. At the same time, it says, we need to look forward and think about how we can recover and focus on improving everybody’s mental health and wellbeing: “We often talk about the significant wellbeing benefits for children of taking learning outdoors (not to mention the improved academic outcomes and environmental awareness). But there are also huge benefits for the working lives and wellbeing of teachers. This is partly because it can help make their jobs easier, more rewarding and more fun but also simply because spending time outdoors in nature is so beneficial.” Click here for more on this.
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Better Stories? – Change the Story offers KS2 resources and hands-on support for teaching about the climate crisis, citizenship and digital competence. It says: “Stories are an effective way to understand and make sense of the world around us. But are the stories young people hear about the climate crisis empowering? Do they have better stories? Can they change the story?” Change the Story sets out to help pupils explore evidence of how humans have affected the climate, and how some people are acting now to address it. It will help young people produce their own stories about how they would like the climate crisis to be tackled from now into the future.
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Post-carbon Economics – UNESCO-UNFCCC has recently run two webinars in the series Climate Change Education for Social Transformation: On the Road to COP27, which is dedicated to the goal of greening every education policy and curriculum to be climate ready. Running on the last Tuesday of every month, each one explores the critical role of climate change education and how to harness its transformative power leading up to COP27. The third webinar, Education for Post-Carbon Green Economies will discuss what needs to be integrated into educational policies and curricula to help accelerate the transition to alternative sustainable economic models and promote individual sustainable lifestyles. You can register here.
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InStar Magazine – The Royal Entomological Society has a magazine for young readers interested in insects. One feature recently was the 2022 Great Bug Hunt. This is aimed at families and schools alike.
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Travelling Sustainably – London Climate Action Week has begun. On 28 June Let’s Go Zero – a nationwide zero-carbon schools campaign – is hosting a schools-focused webinar on making sustainable travel the norm.
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Earth Hour Round-up – WWF International has compiled an Earth Hour 2022 highlights report that sets out what was achieved for this year’s Earth Hour in over 190 countries and territories. Global landmarks switched off their lights and public figures, celebrities, youth groups and brands used their platforms and voices to show their support for the movement and the issues it highlights. Across the world there were over 10,000,000,000 social media impressions and over 26,000 media headlines for Earth Hour. The carbon footprint of all this communication is not recorded.
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The Windhover – The kestrel used to be a familiar sight across Scotland. However, according to the latest annual Breeding Bird Survey by the BTO, nearly two thirds of Scotland’s population of breeding kestrels has gone over the last 25 years.
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Owl Watching – Robert Fuller live-streams videos of barn owls owls, tawny owls, stoats and kestrels from farm near York with YouTube viewers from across the world.
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421 ppm – Scientists from NOAA and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography offsite link at the University of California San Diego have announced that carbon dioxide measured at NOAA’s Mauna Loa Atmospheric Baseline Observatory peaked for 2022 at 421 parts per million in May, pushing the atmosphere further into territory not seen for millions of years. There’s more on this here.