What has inspired you to care about sustainability? Why is sustainability important to you? What are your hopes (and maybe fears) for the future? The South West Learning for Sustainability Coalition is collecting sustainability stories with the hope of inspiring and shaping change. The Coalition has a stall at the Sustainable Schools Conference in Bristol on 2nd July, so…
New NAEE guide highlights ‘environment’ in the school curriculum How can teachers respond to the challenge of teaching about pollution, endangered species, deforestation, climate change, and other environmental issues? The National Association for Environmental Education (NAEE UK) has looked carefully at the numerous opportunities that the new early years and primary curriculums provide, for teachers and children in early years settings and primary schools, to…
Pig’s Egg is a brilliant book that explains about animal life cycles in a novel and amusing way. Pig is upset that his friends goose, duck and hen can fly and that they don’t have time to spend with him, as their eggs have all hatched (which introduces new vocabulary, particularly ‘gosling’ as a baby goose).…
The Giant Recycled Acorn project aims to raise awareness of recycling through a creative artwork which raises money for the Acorn Children’s Hospices. This is a competition for community groups and schools, and teachers are encouraged to enter their students’ work – both primary and secondary. Participants should create an Acorn picture in any size or medium. These can be painted,…
UNESCO’s report on delivering global citizenship education, Global Citizenship Education: Topics and Learning Objectives, is aimed at anyone who wants to promote the idea of global learning. The report sets out a series of nine topics to explore GCE in the classroom. It identifies learning objectives and themes for teachers to explore with students, and for policy makers to incorporate into the curriculum…
If you click here, you can see how the UK’s electricity is being generated at this moment. Data are updated every 5 minutes, with a <5 minutes lag in getting the data on line. It’s impressive stuff from UK Energy Watch. The scope for school use of this site is huge, as there is…
A Random Act of Wildness is any thing that you can do in an average working day to bring a little nature into your life. It can take a few seconds, a few minutes, or if you lose yourself completely, a few hours. This idea from the Wildlife Trusts has been running through June, so…
Building skills and confidence in using school grounds Sam Goddard, Forest School Leader, and Chair of Herefordshire Forest School Group, explains why outdoor play and learning is crucial to children’s healthy development, both physically, mentally and emotionally. In his acclaimed book ‘Last Child In The Woods’, Richard Louv says that many of our children are suffering from ‘nature deficit disorder’.…
The British Association for Early Childhood Education is a national charity supporting early years practitioners with training, resources and professional networks, and campaigning for quality education for the youngest children. The Association believes every child deserves the best possible start in life and support to fulfil their potential. A child’s experience in the early years has…
This year’s CLOtC Conference will take place on Thursday 26th November at Gilwell Park Conference Centre in Epping Forest, Essex. It will focus on how learning outside the classroom (LOtC) can help develop the character attributes that lead to academic achievement and success, and draw on the evidence that LOtC builds resilience, improves communication and team work skills, and helps…
UNESCO has published a new book to stimulate the discussion on the role of learning and education in the 21st century. Rethinking education – Towards a global common good? was released at the World Education Forum 2015 in Incheon, Republic of Korea, and feeds in to the policy debate and negotiations of the post-2015 development agenda. Unesco says: “We…
Where will you be today? Will you be inside (again)? Or will you be with your students in the warm breeze and experiencing that feel-good factor that comes of fresh air, exercise, and the stimulus of the natural world? If not, why not? It is empty classroom day, after all.