The government is set to open bidding for a £5.3 million contract next month for the design and delivery of a National Education Nature Park and Climate Leaders Award, aimed at helping schools “improve biodiversity” of estates and encourage pupils to get involved in green initiatives.
The award and virtual park were first announced by education secretary Nadhim Zahawi at the COP26 climate summit last November.
The government said, at the time, that the park project would act as a digital hub where teachers and pupils could find learning resources and ideas for nature-based activities.
It was also intended that pupils would be able to upload progress they make in halting the decline of biodiversity on school grounds and other education estates onto a “digital mapping service”.
Now, in a notice published on the government contract finder website, the Department for Education said it was looking for a provider to “develop, launch and administer” these ideas, and would invite bids from next month.
The initiative was welcomed by the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), but general secretary Geoff Barton said the government’s environmental education priorities needed “to go far beyond the initial aims of these projects”.
The DfE notice said the contract would run for two years from July this year, and that it would be looking to pay between £4 million and £5.3 million.
The notice said the successful supplier will be expected to “provide a digital platform that provides rich and high-quality learning materials to support teachers [and] pupils.”
It adds that the successful supplier would also be responsible for the distribution of grant funding to support the projects’ work - although the value of these grants is still to be worked out.
Responding to the notice, Mr Barton said he hoped that the government was successful in recruiting a partner with the “necessary drive, enthusiasm and passion to take the National Education Nature Park and Climate Leaders Award initiatives forward”.
But he added: “The government’s environmental education priorities need to go far beyond the initial aims of these projects and it is important that ministers do not now sit back and see their launches as being job done.
“They must be the start point for a much wider concerted effort to nurture the passion that many young people already have for the environment and work hand-in-hand with them to make sustainable progress towards tackling the long-term environmental challenges lying ahead.
“The government will need to invest time, money, resources and considerable expertise if this important work is to be successful.”
