APPENDIX 6
Memorandum from the Centre for Research,
Education and Training in Energy (CREATE)
INTRODUCTION
The Centre for Research, Education and Training
in Energy (CREATE) was established as a charity in 1988 by the
Government, the Institute of Energy and industry to promote best
practices in energy education. Over the years it has become involved
in school energy management and energy as a component of broader
environmental and sustainability issues.
CREATE firmly believes that education in itself
is not sufficient and that at a local level schools must demonstrate
real quantifiable results in terms of energy and water saved,
reduced dependency on the car for school journeys, increased recycling
of waste materials and appreciate the impact these actions can
have in a global context.
THE WHOLE
SCHOOL APPROACH
CREATE champions the concept of the whole school
approach to energy as it integrates pupil's learning about energy
with the management of energy by the school. Pupils reinforce
and enhance their knowledge about energy by applying it to the
wiser use of energy within their school. This is done in ways
that,
— support the curriculum;
— are appropriate to their age, understanding
and experience; and
— meet the statutory requirements for
education for sustainable development (1).
Energy is a particularly good entry point into
action for sustainable development because,
— it allows pupils to translate general
concerns about the environment into practical action within their
schools and homes;
— it can be started at any time of
the year;
— it is applicable to all ages and
abilities;
— energy consumption is already quantified,
so improvements in energy efficiency can be identified quickly
and then celebrated by the pupils involved;
— wiser use of energy leads to improved
levels of pupil and teacher comfort, together with cash savings
that can be put to educational uses.
This approach is supported by research work
carried out by Dr Frank Heller of the Tavistock Institute (2).
He shows that where pupils are empowered to take action on energy,
they develop a more positive attitude to a range of other environmental
issues about which no training was given. In addition, it has
been proven in the USA that improved energy efficiency in schools
provides a better learning environment leading to higher attainment
levels amongst pupils.
As part of the whole school approach, pupils
could carry out the following as ways of satisfying statutory
learning objectives:
— carrying out energy surveys;
— suggesting improvements;
— evaluating their probable impact;
— helping to decide which ones to adopt;
— assisting in their implementation;
— taking part in monitoring their progress;
— contributing to the evaluation of
their success;
— helping to report and disseminate
information about the evaluation to the whole school community;
— helping to decide how the contribution
of different sections of the school community should be recognised
and rewarded;
— collecting and assessing ideas and
suggestions for further improvements;
— assisting in the review and revision
of the school energy policy and action plan.
To do this, teachers develop ways of using their
school building and its energy systems (lighting, heating, hot
water, insulation, ventilation, air-conditioning, computers, apparatus,
equipment, controls, etc) as educational resources that show the
practical application of energy concepts learnt in the classroom
to familiar "real world" situations that have relevance
to the comfort and safety of pupils;
In addition, all other people that are part
of the school community (teachers, principal, parents, cleaners,
caretaker, administrative and ancillary staff, parents' committee,
out-of-hours users, etc) are also involved in these processes
in ways that are appropriate to their status. The attitudes and
techniques have relevance far beyond the school, so the sustainability
message can reach into pupils' and staff homes, and permeate into
the wider community.
For success it is necessary that the school
has a co-operative culture rather than a confrontational one,
and therefore that all members of the school community are treated
as being equal as far as their ability to make useful contributions
to the wiser use of energy. (It is probable that professional
energy management expertise will only be found amongst municipal
staff and perhaps some parents.)
INITIATIVES, OUTCOMES
AND EVIDENCE
(a) Energy Saving Trust Research Project
(3)
In 2002, The Energy Saving Trust commissioned
CREATE to investigate how the energy education required by national
curricula was being implemented in the UK. It was found that:
(i) Although energy education is included
in all UK national curricula and curricula guidelines, it is often
not easily identifiable and this leads to patchy implementation
in schools.
(ii) Many teachers are delivering energy
education but do not recognise that this is what they are doing
or the key role that the wise use of energy plays in sustainability.
(iii) The majority of schools do not have
mechanisms for involving pupils in energy management even where
pupils investigate energy use in their schools as a learning activity
and the school is environmentally aware and professes to support
sustainable development.
(iv) Some schools involve parents in energy
education. Where this is well structured, it motivates both pupils
and their families to take an active interest in the wise use
of energy at school and at home.
This research is being used by OFSTED as part
of its current investigation into sustainability education in
schools in England being carried out by a team headed by Leszek
Iwaskow HMI.
(b) SchoolEnergy
This UK-wide programme, funded through the Energy
Saving Trust and managed by CREATE, encourages better energy management
through a variety of mechanisms. For the six years to March 2002,
grants were paid to schools to upgrade their energy systems. The
schools undertook to:
(i) develop an integrated whole school approach
to energy;
(ii) assess their current performance and
investigate options for improvement;
(iii) prioritise these options and select
some for implementation;
(iv) adopt an energy policy that was regularly
reviewed and revised;
(v) set consumption targets and monitor performance;
(vi) implement an action plan to progress
towards these targets;
(vii) involve pupils in these processes in
ways that support curriculum requirements and are appropriate
to their age, understanding and experience;
(viii) develop the use the school building
and its energy systems as educational resources to show the practical
application of energy concepts learnt in the classroom to familiar
"real world" situations that have relevance to the comfort
and safety of pupils.
During these six years, SchoolEnergy facilitated
£8 million investment in energy saving measures in 1,816
schools and gave nearly one million pupils the opportunity to
convert their general concerns about the environment into specific
practical action that yields easily quantifiable results.
The programme resulted in lifetime reductions
in CO2 emissions of around 450,000 tonnes and most schools reduced
their fuel bills by 15%. In many cases, the availability of the
grant released further funds and stimulated interest and action
far beyond that required under the terms of the scheme.
Curriculum support materials have also been
produced. These include,
— Energy Zone (4) —an
analysis of the statutory curriculum showing where energy is
— a context in which required content
could be delivered.
This leaflet also suggests pupil activities and
highlights those energy topics that support education for sustainable
development.
— Saving Energy in Schools—a
pack of curriculum activities to inspire pupils and save schools
money
— Openings! —a guide to
quality energy education materials and support organisations
— a special edition of the Action Energy's
Building Energy Efficiency in Schools—a guide to the
whole school approach (6)
Further educational materials related to the
environmental and sustainability aspects of energy are available
as downloads from the SchoolEnergy website (5). Teachers have
responded favourably to all these sources of information and ideas.
SchoolEnergy is presently under review and it
is unlikely that the grant element of the programme will continue,
which is disappointing considering its achievements.
(c) Sustainable Energy in Schools Action
Group (SESAG)
SESAG is a self-appointed group of representatives
from key stakeholders in energy education and school energy management,
seeking to develop a collaborative approach to sustainable energy
programmes and activities. Participants include officers from
DEFRA, DfES, the Carbon Trust, the Energy Saving Trust, ENCAMS,
NAHT, BRE, local authorities. The Group, for which CREATE provides
the secretariat, is currently identifying appropriate programmes
to further support schools in reducing their energy consumption
and in developing complementary curriculum activities. The focus
for the work has evolved from outcomes identified in (a) and (b).
As always, lack of funding will be the main constraint on the
Group's plans.
(d) Eco-Schools Award Scheme
This is a European scheme to recognise those
school, colleges and field study centres that are involving pupils
and students in the reduction of the adverse environmental impact
of the institution and to enhance its positive features. It is
managed by ENCAMS. CREATE was involved in the developing the original
education material on energy (7).
The Chief Executive of CREATE is a member of
the Ec0-Schools Steering Committee and two CREATE officers serve
as Eco-Schools Assessors. They have found that in the schools
that they have visited, pupils are very keen to take action on
environmental and sustainability issues. In many cases Eco-Schools
is a great motivator for activities that go well beyond the requirements
of the curriculum. However, there are some schools where the enthusiasm,
dedication and shear hard work of pupils and inspiring teachers
is negated by the difficulty of getting their contributions recognised
by senior managers and local authority personnel and translated
into support, involvement and policy.
(e) School Turnkey Energy Programme (STEP)
STEP is a series of awareness-raising seminars
and workshops for school personnel. A key message is that the
whole school approach to energy should be a component of a school's
environmental/sustainability policy and, as such, enhances learning
and helps control costs.
STEP has been running for over 10 years under
the management of the Building Research Establishment's Sustainable
Energy Centre (BRESEC) as part of what is now Action Energy. Two
officers of CREATE are on the panel of lecturers. Each year STEP
delivers about 80 events in partnership with local authorities.
Once the presentation is over, it is up to the local authority
personnel to maintain momentum. In some cases this does not happen
because of time or funding constraints or because the people involved,
particularly those with an engineering background, are unsure
how to work with educationalists.
BRESEC is also responsible for a range of energy
management publications aimed at different members of the school
community. The key one is Building Energy Efficiency in Schools
(6), which CREATE helped to write. Though it promotes the whole
school approach, BRESCEC does not provide specific guidance on
the educational potential of energy systems and energy management,
or on how to involve pupils.
(f) Support agencies
CREATE is frequently asked for advice by organisations
such as Energy Efficiency Advice Centres (EEACs) about the approach
to take when dealing with energy in schools. This shows that there
is a great deal of interest in energy and its wise use within
schools, but increasingly more and more organisations are offering
educational services to schools, with little experience of how
schools operate and curriculum matters. This is now a worrying
development and there is a need to consider some sort of accreditation
scheme for personnel offering ESD support to schools. The newly
launched Foundation Certificate in Sustainable Development could
form the basis of such accreditation.
(g) PFI programmes
An increasing number of school refurbishment
programmes are now being funded through PFI. Whilst any development
to improve the learning environment for pupils is most welcome,
there is concern that sustainable development is not being considered
in building programmes.
CREATE notes with regret that a PFI scheme for
schools in one Midlands authority imposes no requirement on the
contractor to take any steps to improve energy efficiency. Roofs
are being replaced without any improvement levels to insulation
and replacement lighting is not energy efficient. The contractor
has also taken over the energy management of the properties and
sees no point in encouraging energy efficiency as any increase
in consumption has been allowed for in their contract price. CREATE
could find no argument that would make the contractor change his
opinion, even though cash savings would accrue to the contractor.
This cannot provide value for money for the taxpayer. It also
wastes the educational potential of the school building and energy
systems, is bad for the environment, and sets a poor example to
pupils of environmental concern and sustainability in action.
February 2003
REFERENCES
(1) The National Curriculum Handbook
for primary teachers in England (page 23) and The National
Curriculum Handbook for secondary teachers in England (page
25): (1999) The Stationery Office
(2) Creating Active Energy Awareness
is Secondary Schools—Report to Funding Bodies: (1998)
Heller, F. et al. The Tavistock Institute, London
(3) A Review of Energy Education in
UK Schools: (June 2002) CREATE, Wigan
(4) Energy Zone for England (2001),
Energy Zone for Wales (2002): CREATE, Wigan
(5) SchoolEnergy website: www.schoolenergy.org.uk
(6) Building Energy Efficiency in Schools—a
guide to the whole school approach (EEB1) (2000) Building
Research Establishment's Sustainable Energy Centre, Watford
(7) Energy towards a sustainable lifestyle
(First edition 1996): Eco-Schools, ENCAMS, Wigan
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