The North American Association for Environmental Education [ NAAEE ] has a brilliant programme that recognises young people who are making a significant contribution to environmental education and the world. You can learn more about it here. This is how Joseph Sarvary, Class of 2018, begins his recent reflection on the impact of the awards…
There have always been mixed views on whether Ofsted should be judging schools on their sustainability work. Those who support this see that being taken seriously by Ofsted is a good thing as it confers a sort of respectability on what is being looked at: it’s obviously as important as maths, the argument goes. Others…
Natural History – We hear that the DfE will – after much delay – finally be putting its proposals for a new GCSE in Natural History out for public consultation. We wonder how much of the original proposal has survived. Do keep an eye out for it – and for confirmation that there will be a parliamentary Select…
Last year, in a post on the Our Shared World website, John McLaverty (Oxfam GB) and Safia Mizon Thioune (Protection Approaches) argue that the DfE impartiality guidance provides a narrow interpretation of the 1996 Education Act and engenders confusion, rather than clarity, over the responsibility of educators to foster democratic and active citizenship. These are…
No Plan in Place – A new National Audit Office report on the DfE gives an overview of the approach taken by the Department to environmental sustainability. It covers: the DfE’s approach to delivering and overseeing its sustainability strategy, the progress in the first year of its strategy and in meeting environmental obligations, and its capacity to influence…
SEA CHANGE: An Atlas of Islands in a Rising Ocean is a new book from the University of California Press. Its author is Christina Gerhardt. Pages: 320 ISBN: 9780520304826 Price: £30.00 This is not just an Atlas but more an experience. As you turn the pages you realise that you are hearing life and death…
The poet, John Clare, was born into a largely illiterate labouring family in Helpston, Northamptonshire, 230 years ago today. His poetry covered nature, folk literature, social injustice, and the inner self, and he was a unique observer of what England was like in the early nineteenth century. In his late teens an Enclosure Act altered the nature of the…
You might have seen an email recently from WWF international which says: A new threat faces our ocean. Deep seabed mining would not only interrupt the intricate rhythm of the ocean, but also threatens generations to come with its impacts. We need to make a stand, to protect the beauty of our seas – together.…
Green Economy – The FED has launched its National Education Consultation Report 2023 – Its title is: Towards a long-term plan for education. The report says this on page 8: “The future of our young people is tied to the future of the planet. Not only is climate change the biggest priority for this generation, but it is also changing…
Our Chair of Trustees, William Scott, has been reading the Foundation for Education Development’s [FED] National Education Consultation Report [2023]: towards a long-term plan for education. It’s fair to say that he’s FED up despite being impressed. Having seen a lot of the FED’s prior output, I did not open this document with any great…