As you might recall, in March 2013 Scottish government ministers accepted all 31 recommendations of the Learning for Sustainability (LfS) report which put forward that every learner should receive their entitlement to LfS and every practitioner should demonstrate LfS in their practice. In addition, it called for every school and centre to develop a coherent, whole school approach that impacts on their establishment’s culture, curriculum and campus, and connects them fully to their wider communities. The report introduced LfS as a concept and process which weaves together sustainable development education (SDE), global citizenship and outdoor learning into a unifying vision of learning for a better world.
Following this, the LfS National Implementation Group was established in February 2014 to deliver these recommendations. A report to ministers documents the progress that has been made and sets out a vision for LfS through to 2030 and beyond.
The strategic recommendations from the Learning for Sustainability Report (2012) are that:
- All learners should have an entitlement to learning for sustainability
- In line with the new GTCS Professional Standards, every practitioner, school and education leader should demonstrate learning for sustainability in their practice
- Every school should have a whole school approach to learning for sustainability that is robust, demonstrable, evaluated and supported by leadership at all levels
- All school buildings, grounds and policies should support learning for sustainability
- A strategic national approach to supporting learning for sustainability should be established
The report asks how can you use this learning and assessment resource to improve practice and suggests asking the following questions:
- How do you ensure all learners have their entitlement to learning for sustainability
- How do you demonstrate learning for sustainability in your practice?
- Is your whole school and community approach to learning for sustainability robust, demonstrable, evaluated and supported by leadership at all levels?
- How do your school buildings, grounds and policies support learning for sustainability?
You can download the report here.