Introduction
Climate Change Schools Project
The Climate Change Schools Project, winner of National Climate Week’s inaugural ‘Best Educational Initiative’, puts climate change at the heart of the national curriculum and makes schools ‘beacons’ for positive action in their local communities. Operating since 2007, the Climate Change Schools Project empowers young people through teachers and schools to become ‘everyday experts’ on climate change.
Since 2008, hundreds of schools and thousands of young people (from nursery to college level) have participated in over 50,000 hours of activity bringing climate change to life for young people, schools and local communities by:
- integrating climate change as a cross-curricular ‘theme’ using a variety of teaching methods and strategies relevant to each individual school;
- delivering whole-school ‘Climate Change Weeks’;
- holding ‘Green Days’ for the school and local communities;
- undertaking energy audits, reducing carbon footprints and saving schools money;
- leading new entrepreneurial innovations through the ‘Boardroom vs Classroom Challenge’;
- developing allotments on school grounds or in partnership with community groups;
- producing and performing climate change theatre.
For further information about the Climate Change Schools Project, see:
www.climatechangeschools.org.uk
Aims of Climate Change Lead Schools
The Climate Change Schools Project vision is the establishment of the ‘Climate Change Lead Schools’ network who participate in an ongoing, annual process centred around three strands of activity:
- making use of the extensive, creative and dynamic resources developed especially for the Lead Schools by teachers themselves (currently ~50 Schemes of Work available for Primary, Secondary and College Level based around 6 themes of climate change);
- taking part in an annual programme of tailored teacher professional development;
- engaging in regular ‘Sharing of Best Practice’ open to all stakeholders.
The Climate Change Lead Schools network was launched in October 2008, with schools participating from across the North East (new schools join the network prior to each new academic year – see www.climatechangeschools.org.uk in May each year for Service Level Agreements available for the following academic year).
The Climate Change Schools Project supports the Lead Schools in empowering our young people to achieve a better understanding of everything from the nuts and bolts of climate change science, to exploring how to positively adapt to the impacts of a changing climate. They are helping to pave the way for what is hoped will become a national programme of positive climate change education and action, led by our young people.
