In our latest sustainability case study, REAch2 demonstrate how a large, geographically diverse primary trust is embedding sustainability through a combination of central guidance and school level empowerment
As a large, geographically diverse academy trust, which has environmental sustainability as a strategic goal, REAch2 has had to carefully consider how we implement and embed our strategy to ensure consistency and high expectations for all schools and children, whilst identifying the individual needs of schools and their localities.
High expectations, consistency and school individuality have been addressed through a number of different approaches including estate management, climate action plans and the climate change education curriculum.
Estate Management and Pupil Engagement
All 65 REAch2 schools have the same energy and waste management contracts, with our electricity contract being 100% renewable electricity across all schools. To ensure that children can actively participate in monitoring usage, each school has access to their energy portal. The half hourly readings allow schools to monitor their usage and identify anomalies. School staff are able to work with children on projects to reduce energy consumption and then monitor the impact via the portal.
Schools are also able to access their waste data in the same way, and many schools are using this data to look at reducing their total amount of waste whilst increasing the amount that is recycled. In schools where children have access to the data, can implement changes, and can see the impact, their understanding of collective action is strong, and they believe they can make positive change.
Climate Action Plans
As schools have joined the trust over a period of 14 years, schools are at different places on their sustainability journey. To ensure schools had the understanding and expertise needed to make changes, a trust wide climate action plan proforma was created. This is a school-based document, which links to the school development plan, is personalised to help each school develop from their starting point. There are trust wide non-negotiables, including teaching the REAch2 climate change education curriculum as well as a menu of actions schools can select. The action plan was developed by identifying good practice from across the trust as well as engaging with external organisations. This strategy for implementing climate action plans ensures that there is engagement from all schools whilst allowing schools to make the changes they need due to their locality and starting point.
Climate Change Education
The implementation of a climate change education curriculum was something that had to be done in a very considered way. Using the EEFs implementation guidance, we carefully explored our current position, where CCE would be introduced into our curriculum and the most effective way to do this. It was essential that the CCE curriculum was evidence informed and knowledge rich. It was also imperative that CCE was not a bolt on to the curriculum but fully embedded within subjects. This meant rewriting the science and geography units that were already being taught. This ambitious approach to adapting the curriculum was recognised as a complex, trust‑wide implementation, and therefore required a phased introduction over time to ensure the depth, quality and sustainability of the work.
Working with the REAch2 Curriculum Lead and external organisations, the decision was made to implement CCE into one subject at a time, with science being the first subject. This was then piloted with a small group of schools, to allow the curriculum and process to be reviewed before Trust wide implementation over the next two academic years. This allowed schools to fully prepare for implementation. Implementation for the second subject (geography) began with the pilot schools whilst other schools were implementing CCE in science.
It was essential that we took the same approach to developing a high quality CCE curriculum as we do with all subjects. This included ensuring that key knowledge and vocabulary was progressively sequenced across all year groups and subjects and children had the opportunity to revisit and build on prior learning.
The REAch2 CCE curriculum was designed with the following elements: Key concepts, for example renewable energy in year 4 science, knowledge, iImpact, urgency and climate justice, biodiversity, key vocabulary, actions and critical thinking, and emotional regulation.
Collective Action
The outcome of a trust wide pupil voice survey identified that fact that children wanted to learn more about climate change and what they could do about it. The outcomes of this led to environmental sustainability becoming one of four key priorities and the implementation of the Sustainability Strategy.
With over 20,000 children trust wide, it is important that they have a voice and understand how they can make change. Schools are able to do this at an individual level, through action days, engaging in a wide range of projects and working with outside organisations as well as participating in trust wide events. Promoting events such as Cut Your Carbon month and the Big Schools Bird Watch across all schools allows children to see the impact that they have, trust wide and nationally. The REAch2 Sustainability Newsletter also allows us to share the impact of our social action to everyone in our trust.
Climate change and other environmental issues also form a regular part of the REAch2 Pupil Parliament. Children have the opportunity to voice their concerns and ask questions of the decision makers.
REAch2 has a vital role in fostering a culture where climate change education and climate solutions are prioritised and valued. We are working to reduce the negative impact we have on the environment and take deliberate action to make positive change. We want to ensure that everyone in REAch2 develops a depth of knowledge to understand climate change and the actions that they can take to become ambassadors for change.
Be the first to comment