This online teacher networking session was attended by schools from across the district and beyond, and continues our focus on support for Schools’ Sustainability Strategies. This online teacher networking session was attended by schools from across the district and beyond, and continues our focus on support for Schools’ Sustainability Strategies. Register here for our upcoming networking session.
Sustainability Support for Education
Lizzie Insall shared news about this free online service commissioned by the Department for Education (DfE) to assist educational institutions in England with their sustainability initiatives. The platform offers tailored guidance, quality-assured resources, and suggested actions to help settings—from early years to further education—progress on their sustainability journey. It aligns with the DfE’s strategic aims to integrate sustainability into education and reduce environmental impacts across the sector.
She explained how the service will help in assessing your school’s current standing, and setting the next steps to be taken, on your sustainability journey. Topics for focus are provided, which come with groupings of actions, each action having a description and guidance. The service provides an array of online resources, all of which have been quality assured.
Lizzie also highlighted the DfE funded Climate Ambassador Programme, climateambassadors.org.uk, which connects schools with volunteer climate and environmental experts to develop and implement climate action plans. Additionally, she reminded us of the valuable resources available through the National Education Nature Park initiative, https://www.educationnaturepark.org.uk to engage students in biodiversity projects and environmental monitoring, whilst contributing to nationwide biodiversity data. This hands-on approach not only enriches students’ understanding of the natural world but also supports the DfE’s strategic goal of creating a better environment for future generations by enhancing biodiversity, improving air quality, and increasing access to nature in and around education settings.
Sustainability Strategy in Practice: Insights from Beaumont School
Our second speaker, Trudie Gorham, Sustainability Lead at Beaumont secondary school, shared her experience of a consultative visit from Let’s Go Zero ambassador Mel Parr. Mel had assessed the school’s sustainability profile, as displayed on their website, prior to the consultation and her insight and ideas for improving this further had impressed Trudie. The aim of the visit from Trudie’s perspective, was for Beaumont to understand how to embed longer term sustainability strategies. Mel was able to appraise current strategies and give advice on getting more members on board, developing a rolling document and improving the website. She advised on restructuring of the school’s strategy to ensure clearer vision and accountability.
Trudie shared the impressive sustainability work that is happening at Beaumont, across the three key areas: students, staff and the school as a whole, summarised here.
Discussion then followed about the time and effort required to develop and maintain such a wide and effective strategy as Trudie has shown at Beaumont. It was agreed that there is rarely enough dedicated time to implement this work – highlighting the need for a team to share responsibility, if not the whole school, rather than relying on a single individual. For this to be successful, it has to be led with passion.
Our session reinforced that sustainability in schools is a collaborative effort. By accessing expert guidance and developing team-driven initiatives, we can create lasting environmental change within our own education settings.
Useful Links:
Sustainability at Beaumont School
Sustainability Support for Education
Climate Ambassadors
National Education Nature Park
Watch the DfE Sustainability Strategy Overview
For more information from the Sustainable Schools Group in St Albans District, including SustFest Schools Week, please sign up to our newsletter using the form on our Schools page here. We send out twice-termly District news and information on making your school more eco-friendly, and hold termly online networking sessions. The Sustainable St Albans Schools Group webpages have lots of useful information. If you are still in need of advice or support, Sustainable Schools will try to link you with an experienced school eco-rep in our District. Use the contact form on our main Sustainable Schools page.