At COP26 the Department for Education launched a draft strategy for how it wants the education system to play its part in the fight against climate change.

The document - with the snappy title, Sustainability & Climate Change A draft strategy for the education & children’s services systems - was developed by the DfE’s new Sustainability and Climate Change Unit in consultation with other stakeholders including teacher unions and youth associations.

The strategy is based around five “Action Areas” that it sees as central to a future where children are educated about climate change and sustainability. So what might this mean for schools? Let’s take each Action Area in turn:

Action Area 1: Climate Education

This talks about young people needing to have a better understanding of the climate and a greater appreciation of and contact with nature.

From this, it would enable them to contribute in practical ways to increase climate resilience and enhance biodiversity.

At the moment sustainability and anthropogenic induced climate change is mainly dealt with in science, geography and citizenship, with the emphasis and time given to it being very much up to individual schools or across multi-academy trusts.

It does not appear the DfE intends to change the curriculum but it does appear it wants a more consistent approach to this in every school.

It’s not clear how Ofsted will monitor this, although it fits well with its “deep dives” agenda i.e. ensuring that schools aren’t narrowing their curriculums merely to achieve good rest results.

Unlike secondaries who have subject specialists, most primary schools will need to enhance generalist teacher knowledge to fully incorporate this into their curriculums, although their ability to integrate subjects should make this relatively straightforward once the Earth science is fully understood.

The INSET for this will need to be easily accessed and appropriate for the needs of each school. MATs and other school networks could help to moderate this process and make it more manageable and affordable.

Notable, the section also makes clear that schools do not need “both sides” of the climate issue: “Teaching about climate change and the scientific facts and evidence behind this, does not constitute teaching about a political issue and schools do not need to present misinformation or unsubstantiated claims to provide balance.”

Action Area 2: Green Skills and Careers

We are already seeing a rapid expansion in the area of “green jobs” across numerous sectors and, as such, the DfE envisages FE and HE “teaching the skills of the future, [to] develop research and drive innovation to develop solutions…and nurture future leaders”.

To feed this system, schools at all levels will also be expected to place more emphasis on science, technology, engineering and maths (Stem), tap into the Climate Leaders Award scheme that is being proposed and make their campuses part of the new National Education Nature Park.

By implication, this must also mean that a greater proportion of A levels would need to be Stem to lend themselves more readily to the expectations placed on FE and HE to assist the new green economy.

Primary children would need to become more aware of green jobs in the same way they might have a topic on “People Who Help Us” (Fire-fighters, Doctors etc).

This could then be built upon in secondary, further and higher education when it comes to subject and career aspirations.

Action Area 3: The Education Estate

Schools will be actively encouraged to move towards a zero-carbon state, by implementing retrofits (eg, LED lighting, insulation, eco heating and cooling systems) and increasing their campus biodiversity.

There will be trials of “biophilic” primary schools to see what effect green infrastructure has on health and wellbeing.

There will also be a review of school food standards to see how carbon footprints and waste can be reduced. All this needs to be undertaken as part of a supported school “Climate Action Plan”, which presumably will have a format to follow.

Any DfE instigated new builds (not already contracted) will be net zero in operation. By involving the children in these aspects, the curriculum can be enhanced by “real life” experiences and so readily lends itself to linking with Action Areas 1 and 2.

Schools don’t have to wait to implement these things.

If nothing else, by embracing sustainability, they can save money on utilities, enhance the curriculum and bring benefits to the community.

Many local authorities already offer an energy reduction and retrofit service for schools and there are also opportunities for the independent sector to access commercial packages with payback over time using savings made on running costs.

Hopefully, more funding and assistance will be forthcoming to fast-track this process for many more education establishments.

Action Area 4: Operations & Supply Chains

This links strongly to Area 3 and emphasises again that the management of procurement and waste is a prerequisite to substantially lowering carbon footprints.

Apart from energy, procurement also covers all the other “stuff” schools need to run from paperclips to photocopiers. Each item needs to be scrutinised so that judgements can be made as to whether it is really needed and if so how and where it might be sourced.

Schools are often rammed with redundant equipment and resources which were bought and then left idle due to a passing education. Reusing and repurposing are also overlooked.

The strategy also talks of support for schools through working with WRAP and Defra. Procurement also includes consideration of the provenance of goods and whether they come from ethical sources. Adherence to Fair Trade practices can help with this too.

The carbon footprints of transportation also need to be assessed. Once again, all this is rich pickings for children if incorporated into the curriculum.

Action Area 5: Data

This envisages the DfE being a one-stop shop for assessing how well the education sector responds to the climate crisis and the movement towards zero carbon.

It intends to flag up case studies of good practice and invite trials and pilots which can then be evaluated for their effectiveness.

This reflects what Ofsted does in terms of surveying, compiling and highlighting exemplar practice which can be helpful to others.

Linked thinking

Overall, the DfE strategy has a useful diagrammatic overview of the strategy which shows commendable joined-up thinking as is the recognition that sustainability is more than just alleviating climate change.

Let’s just hope that it overcomes the notoriously siloed education system, not just in terms of traditional curriculum subjects, but also in blinkered thinking.

After all, education has a key role to play in how it teaches the next generation about these issues. Any development of strategies that align with this should be a catalyst for school leaders to drive this agenda forward and play their part.

Dr David Dixon was a primary teacher for 15 years before becoming a headteacher for 20 years. He now advises schools on curriculum and leadership and helps schools with sustainability practices. His new book Leadership for Sustainability: Saving the planet one school at a time is out in February 2022