Sustainable Schools, Sustainable Futures

Sustainable Schools, Sustainable Futures – A Right for All

We are in the second year of a three-year project from June 2006 to June 2009 to support about ten Hampshire schools to develop a whole school strategy for Education for Sustainable Development (ESD. Five schools have been taking part since June 2006 and four new schools have recently joined the project. We are hoping a Southampton primary school will be joining the project in September.

The project is in partnership with the charity Tools for Self Reliance (TFSR) www.tfsr.org, and pupils will be able to become involved in collecting and possibly refurbishing tools to be sent to countries in Africa, and learn about the lives of the artisans who will be using those tools.

Aims of the project

  • To engage pupils in the ESD debate and stimulate enquiry. This will enable them to gain the necessary knowledge, skills and understanding to make informed decisions regarding the sustainability of their lifestyles.

  • To empower pupils through being allowed to influence and direct change, and choose the way they investigate and learn about issues such as interdependence and sustainability.

  • To enable participating schools to show a measurable impact on all aspects of school life including curriculum, indoor and outdoor environment, policy, resource consumption, purchasing and teaching materials.

  • To develop in pupils a greater empathy with all human beings, and a desire to fight for a fairer world.

  • To ensure that all pupils in participating schools are aware that they have rights, and that all children throughout the world have the same rights.

  • To enable participating schools to raise achievement and meet the five outcomes of Every Child Matters: be healthy, be safe, enjoy and achieve, make a positive contribution and achieve economic well-being.

Implementation of the project
A steering cluster, composed of one or more appointed teachers from each of the participating schools, a representative from TFSR, the Geography Inspector for Hampshire and the two-strong education team at HDEC, has been set up to plan the project and create a coherent learning community. This group has been taking part in training for Global Citizenship and we meet regularly each half term.

Evaluation of the project is by activities with pupils to assess awareness and critical thinking, a questionnaire to measure each child’s ecological footprint, and school data on consumption and waste collected by pupils. These are repeated annually.

The appointed teacher organises training in his or her school to introduce staff to the concepts of ESD and explore a range of activities, which can be used in the classroom. Support from HDEC is given when needed.

Following staff training, pupils are taken through activities to introduce them to the concepts, stimulate enquiry and prepare them for active participation and direction of the project in their schools. This may be through the curriculum and/or focus days/weeks.

Once ready, each school democratically selects a steering committee, consisting of pupils, teachers, other staff, parents and governors. This sets targets and creates a plan of action. It is important that these representatives reflect the views of the majority rather than the individual, and to this end some mechanism for consultation is necessary. The steering committee should aim to meet at least once each half term.

To strengthen the links between schools and involve more members of the school community, schools may choose to be involved in specialist clusters concerned with subject areas or particular issues. We are planning to set these up in September 2007.

Throughout the project the HDEC website will continue be developed, providing links to the participating schools’ and other relevant, information sheets and classroom activities.

Once the project is completed there will be a conference to share our experiences and results with other schools. It is also hoped that, when ready, participating schools will support other schools through the process.


Last modified: 30/04/2008