APPENDIX 40
Letter to the Clerk of the Committee from
Peter Townsend
EAC INQUIRY RESPONSE
A lobby that wants to develop separate qualifications
and standards to certificate people wouldn't have the desired
impact. Far better to plug away at integrating these issues into
the curriculum—building it in as an element within subject
areas such as art, science, business studies, and citizenship.
Like equal opportunities, awareness and good practice, there is
not some magic wand to be waved to change the world, but a continuous
push to mainstream this thinking so that eventually it is automatically
a consideration, a factor in thinking and approach, that results
in the required changes in practice. When you have both a business
case and a moral case this shouldn't be that hard to sell . .
. But extra layers of bureaucracy and more talking shops (and
in this case loads of thick paper-consuming reports) don't achieve
much other than keeping loads of bureaucrats occupied in going
round in circles.
How to achieve desired change? Need a strategy,
not a shopping list. Need strong leadership and direction, with
some real authority and resources. Need effective campaigning—making
the strong case with simple messages. Need to secure genuine commitment
to making it happen—not lip service. I don't think setting
up a unit that is buried within a Government department is necessarily
the answer (there are hundreds of these).
other points;
— Education reforms should take more
account of sustainable development;
— The Government should electronically
publish asap and consult, on the draft national strategy for Education
for Sustainable Development (ESD) produced by the Sustainable
Development Education Panel;
— Learning should play a role in sustainable
development.
— The Government needs to effectively
use formal and informal learning to support its sustainable development
strategy?
— Education for sustainable development
needs to be at the heart of the work of the DfES; that it is co-ordinated
across the full range of the Department's responsibilities; or
that it is addressed effectively within Departmental policies
and strategies.
— Education for sustainable development
needs to be within the remits of DfES agencies, including: Office
for Standards in Education (OFSTED); Qualifications and Curriculum
Authority (QCA); Teacher Training Agency (TTA); Learning and Skills
Councils (LSC); Learning and Skills Development Agency (LSDA);
National College of School Leadership (NCSL); Connexions Service;
Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE)—and
needs to be addressed within Agencies' policies and strategies.
February 2003
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