hertfordshire county council the dcsf national framework for sustainable schools a commitment

Hertfordshire County Councilwww.hertsdirect.org

The DCSF National Framework for Sustainable Schools

www.teachernet.gov.uk/sustainableschools• A commitment to care• An integrated approach across campus,

curriculum and community• ‘Doorways’ –Food and drink, energy and water,

travel and traffic, purchasing and waste, buildings and grounds, inclusion and participation, local wellbeing, global dimension


The DCSF National Framework for Sustainable Schools (p.11)

By 2020 all schools will be… models of energy efficiency… …sustainable travel….waste minimisation…

Places where pupils are brought closer to the natural world…play…

…enabling all pupils to participate..

…enriching their educational mission with activities that improve the environment and quality of life…and lives of people in other parts of the world.


International Schools Award(p.13) DCSF Target: All schools to have started the ISA by

2010

• A majority of pupils within the school impacted by and involved in international work

• Collaborative curriculum-based work with a number of partner schools

• Curriculum-based work across a range of subjects

• Year round international activity

• Involvement of partner schools and the wider community in the UK


OFSTED

New SEF form

1b

-whether your school has any other characteristics, including awards received, for example DCSF International Schools Award; Healthy Schools

-whether your school is implementing the sustainable schools framework

-Community cohesion


OFSTED

Schools and Sustainability- A climate for change? May 2008

‘Where schools placed an emphasis on sustainable development teaching was [at least] good, lessons were stimulating and pupils took an active part…’


OFSTEDRecommendations

1. Integrate global and sustainable development into school development plans.

2. Identify a key person to coordinate and manage sustainable development within and outside the classroom.

3. Give all pupils the opportunity to put their understanding of local issues into a global context, so that they can see how their decisions can have an impact upon others now and in the future.


QCA

• Global and sustainable development provides many opportunities for compelling learning experiences.

• How do we involve more than the ‘usual suspects’?

• How do we use subjects to deepen and sustain the learning achieved in one-off events?

• How an we make it manageable? Using school specialisms, existing events, the local community, distributing the leadership for this work?


In Hertfordshire…

• Working towards a joined-up approach

• Working with partner organisations

• Next phase –working with schools (Pilot)

• An area of the hertsgrid(Materials from this conference)

A useful site: www.boltonesd.org.uk(Esp funding pages and SEF ideas)


Objectives of the Pilot• To provide support and CPD • To link schools to existing initiatives• To try-out and improve upon a pathway of

activities• To share good practice• To evaluate impact upon achievement, wellbeing

and the environment• To identify key drivers and barriers for this work

within Hertfordshire• To identify criteria and measurements for the

future Award


What is the commitment?• For the lead practitioner to attend 6 network meetings

throughout the year• To use the S3 tool to evaluate the school’s current practice

(full training given)• To write a workplan that builds on existing initiatives and

involves the participation of students• To write three short evaluations• To submit a longer final evaluation• To be willing to share good practice with others at

meetings and via the hertsgrid• To be willing to engage with a researcher attached to the

programme


What are the benefits?

• An opportunity to work with other schools• Largely free CPD• A pathway through• Access to resources and initiatives• Evaluation built-in• Potentially improve t&l experiences, student

participation and wellbeing, prepare for OFSTED and save money!

• An opportunity to shape the future


DCSF SS Activity 1: Cultivating Care

A commitment to care

Care for oneself

Care for each other –across time and space

Care for the environment


Activity:• In pairs discuss What would a school look/feel/do that promotes… -Care for oneself

-Care for each other (across time and space)-Care for the environment

• Share your ideas with the rest of your table and summarise onto flipchart paper

• How would you know whether these were happening or not? (Possible ways to measure impact)

• How do this link to ECM? ‘Every Child’s Future Matters’ SDC


DCSF SS Activity 2: Defining sustainability

Cornerstones of sustainability …

-Social justice

-Environmental stewardship

-Economic wellbeing

-Inclusion, participation and good governance


Activity… Use photographs for your school and its community.

The first person chooses a photograph that they think is to do with one of the four cornerstones of sustainability. The next person chooses a photograph that they think links with it and so on until no-more links can be made.

Then the process starts again until there are no more photographs.

What does sustainability look like in each of the four areas at the moment?

What would you like your global and sustainable school to be like in 2020?? Can you come up with some action words that describe it?


Some examples from schools:

‘At Whiteshill Primary we are aiming to be a sustainable school by encouraging all children to join-in school life, to take responsibility and have fun.’

‘We will be a sustainable school by not wasting resources. We will persuade others by being responsible ourselves.’

NCSL pilot


Definition from Forum for the Future…

‘A dynamic process which enables all people to realise their potential and improve their quality of life in ways which simultaneously protect and enhance the Earth’s life support systems.’

hertfordshire county council the dcsf national framework for sustainable schools a commitment

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