Memorandum from Groundwork
Groundwork welcomes the opportunity to submit
evidence to the Environmental Audit Committee's Inquiry on Environmental
Education. We submitted evidence to the Committee's last inquiry
on this subject a year ago and welcome the decision to follow
up the Government's progress on the Sustainable Development Action
Plan.This submission gives a brief introduction to Groundwork
and our work in schools and wider educational activities. Our
written evidence to the original inquiry provided an overview
of our views in this area however with this submission we have
sought to focus on the specific questions set out in the terms
of reference. We would be happy to supplement these comments either
through further written evidence or by attending a committee session
to give oral evidence.
INTRODUCTION
Groundwork is a federation of 50 locally-owned Groundwork
Trusts in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, between them working
with over 100 local authorities to deliver "joined-up"
solutions to the challenges faced by our most deprived communities.
Groundwork has 23 years experience of engaging
and involving communities in practical projects to improve quality
of life and promote sustainable development.
Each Groundwork Trust is a partnership between
the public, private and voluntary sectors, with its own board
of trustees. The work of the Trusts is supported by the national
and regional offices of Groundwork UK and Groundwork Wales. Groundwork
works closely with the Government and devolved assemblies, local
authorities, RDAs and businesses. Groundwork also receives support
from the European Union, the National Lottery, the landfill tax
credit scheme, private sponsors and charitable foundations.
Groundwork's projects are organised into local,
regional or national programmes embracing six themes: communities,
land, employment, education, youth and business. Groundwork recognises
that people, places and prosperity are inextricably linked and
therefore aims to design projects that bring benefits for all
three at once. We believe this integrated approach is vital if
we are to bring about sustainable development.
GROUNDWORK AND
EDUCATION
Since its inception in 1981, Groundwork's work
with schools and education projects has been a key area of activity.
Between 1981 and 1990 this work was locally initiated and focused
on involving schools in practical regeneration projects. However
since 1990, these local activities have been complemented by a
range of national programmes aimed at delivering education for
sustainable development.
An audit of Groundwork's education work showed
that between 1981 and 2002, projects were delivered in 3,857 of
the 8,759 schools in its trust areas. Within these schools more
than 350,000 students have been active participants in programmes,
and it is estimated that 2 million young people benefited from
and had been influenced by their school's involvement in community
projects and work in school grounds.
The core of Groundwork's activities are locally
devised education programmes and one-off activities provided for
schools. These programmes are devised with schools and local partners
and are linked to wider regeneration activity in the neighbourhood.
Many of them involve improvement of the school grounds for use
as an educational resource which not only benefits those children
working on the project but delivers future benefits for all the
children attending that school. All Groundwork education projects
have helped to contribute to National Curriculum targets.
Since 1990, local projects have been complemented
by national education programmes which have been designed to address
the Groundwork's core interests—the environment, neighbourhood
regeneration and sustainable development. These national programmes
have been supported by the ODPM and corporate sponsors, and have
delivered projects in more than 2,000 schools engaging almost
150,000 young people directly as participants.
Below are some examples of national programmes:
Our Place, Our future—aims to cultivate
a sense of pride and responsibility in children towards their
local environment through project themes concerned with neighbourhoods,
food, heritage and waste management. (Sponsored by Environmental
Action Fund, DEFRA).
Motiv8 - provides opportunities for young
people at risk of being excluded to develop personal, social and
practical skills by undertaking environmental projects. (Sponsored
by Dresdner Kleinwort Wassenstein).
The Past on Your Doorstep, The Future in your
Hands—This aims to help children understand the industry
at the heart of their community, and the environmental impact
of that industry or company on the local area. (Funded by the
Heritage Lottery Fund).
Supergrounds—is the largest ever
private sector investment in school grounds. Over the next three
years more than 450 school grounds will be transformed through
Supergrounds funding. (Royal Bank of Scotland and National Westminster
Bank in partnership with Learning through Landscapes).
INQUIRY QUESTIONS
1. Has the term Education for Sustainable
Development lost its currency? Does it have any resonance
with the general public? Has the environmental message been lost?
1.1 Education for Sustainable Development
(ESD) is a not a widely-known term and its resonance with the
general public is very limited. Sustainable Development is yet
to have "currency" as a term and it is therefore a concept
which needs to be promoted to create a better understanding of
sustainability and its implications for the way that we live.
Amongst policy makers, the terminology "Sustainable Development"
and "Sustainability" is widely used and there is a danger
that the environmental message which is at the core of these terms
gets lost when applied in such a variety of contexts.
1.2 However, the terminology itself is perhaps
not the important point. Those involved in Education for Sustainable
Development have been trying to promote the concept to gain a
wider recognition and understanding of its importance in education.
One of the objectives in the DfES' Sustainable Development Action
Plan is for the Government to provide leadership to encourage
schools to engage with the ESD. We do not believe that this leadership
has been forthcoming and the work already being done has not been
built on to create progress in promoting sustainable development
in education. There are a number of initiatives and projects on
ESD ongoing and this work needs to be built on and given the appropriate
resources to take it forward. At present, Education for Sustainable
development is still reliant on the good will and funding from
individuals and organisations that are committed to the concept.
2. The DfES said that the Sustainable Development
Action Plan was supposed to signal the start of a process of change,
identifying the most powerful levers—what can be achieved
immediately and what can be built upon. More than a year on can
it be said that that process of change has begun and have there
been any immediate achievements?
2.1 An optimistic view would be that the
Sustainable Development Action Plan has created a shift towards
change. The publication of the Action Plan was valuable in raising
the profile of the issue and creating some clear targets. The
Action Plan has also created discussion and debate on the issue
of ESD which is a positive step in the right direction. However
although the process of change has begun, there has not been significant
progress as yet. We are concerned that the DfES are not giving
this issue the attention it deserves and therefore progress may
be limited in the future.
2.2 There is much good work already been
done on ESD. Groundwork's range of activities in this area would
form a good basis on which to build a national framework for ESD.
Creating a national framework to the work done on ESD would be
a significant step forward, and given the wealth of experience
and best practice available, this would not be difficult to achieve.
3. Government is currently reviewing the
UK Sustainable Development Strategy. What should the Strategy
include in order to significantly strengthen the role of learning
within it?
3.1 The UK Sustainable Development Strategy
should have a stronger emphasis on education and learning. The
connections between education and other objectives the Strategy
should be explicitly made. Groundwork's experience has shown that
ESD not only creates understanding of environmental education
issues but contributes to learning outcomes across the curriculum,
as well as impacting positively on young people's behaviour, their
health and well-being, and improving the quality of life for local
communities. ESD offers an opportunity to influence the behaviour
and attitude of future generations and it is therefore fundamental
in achieving the other goals set out in the strategy.
4. Does the 14-19 Working Group's report,
"14-19 Curriculum and Qualifications Reform", go far
enough? Will ESD be adequately represented if this report is used
as the basis for the forthcoming White Paper? What should the
White Paper say about ESD?
4.1 The 14-19 Curriculum and Qualifications
Reform report emphasised the need for vocational education and
training opportunities. In this respect, the report offers an
opportunity to integrate ESD into vocational training. Groundwork's
experience shows that getting young people involved in practical
environmental action in their local communities brings long term
benefits to individuals by contributing to learning outcomes and
the delivery of core curriculum subjects, and improving practical
skills.
4.2 However, ESD did not feature strongly
in the report and therefore we would be concerned that the White
Paper may not also not feature this subject. Groundwork believes
that the full potential of ESD to support educational outcomes
and also deliver the Government's objectives in a range of areas
is still not being realised. The White Paper offers an opportunity
to redress this and embed ESD into the curriculum and the managements
of schools. There are a number of measures the White Paper should
include:
— Modules on ESD should be included
in teacher training courses and career development training. A
module on ESD should also be introduced into the leadership qualifications
for headteachers.
— All Education establishments to have
a nominated ESD strategic development co-coordinator.
— An entitlement for all children to
experience out-of-classroom learning together with guidelines
on the type of visits this should include.
— Ofsted inspectors should be trained
in the benefits offered by ESD and be aware of the specific contents
that schools might deliver.
4.3 In addition, the issues surrounding
out-of-classroom learning need to be addressed. Out-of-classroom
learning is obviously key to ESD as many of the learning opportunities
on sustainable development are out-of-classroom activities. The
Education Select Committee recently carried out an inquiry into
this subject to which Groundwork submitted evidence. That inquiry
was looking at the barriers to education outside of the classroom,
such as training and teachers' fear of litigation through accidents
involving those in their care. If ESD is to be part of the curriculum
in any meaningful way, these barriers to out-of-classroom activities
will have to be addressed.
5. In response to our last inquiry the DfES
said they recognised that more could be done to embed ESD in the
school curriculum and that they would lead on strengthening ESD
links within geography, design and technology, science and citizenship.
Has there been any discernible improvement in these areas? Is
there evidence that this work has been taken forward by the DfES
and its agencies?
5.1 There has been very little noticeable
improvement in these areas and there is still a lack of awareness
of ESD in schools. The DfES are running useful initiatives such
as "Growing Schools", the web-resource aimed at supporting
teachers in developing out-of-classroom activities. However there
needs to be a greater focus and leadership from DfES in promoting
sustainable development in schools, and more initiatives and resources
to support the work on ESD that is already happening.
6. The role of informal learning, including
youth work, work-based learning and adult and community learning,
in taking the environmental education agenda forward is key. Is
the Government doing enough in these crucial areas?
6.1 Groundwork and other voluntary organisations
are working hard to promote environmental education through informal
learning. Many Government Departments have recognised the role
of informal learning and have made the links between their work
and taking forward the environmental education agenda. In addition
to the ODPM, there are several Departments which would have an
interest in this area. The DWP and its New Deal agenda, the Home
Office with its work on volunteering and civil renewal, and the
DTI in its business support role. There is an opportunity for
the DfES to co-ordinate these efforts across Government to help
push the agenda forward.
6.2 Groundwork has been involved in developing
a Foundation Certificate in Sustainable Development working with
the Environment Agency, the Black Environment Network and the
awarding body NCFE. This is the first ever qualification in sustainable
development to be approved by the Qualifications and Curriculum
Authority and admitted onto the National Qualifications Framework.
This certificate could be used by Government to champion learning
in the sustainable development field. Non-teaching staff in schools
could take the qualification, which would help ensure that there
was one person in schools with awareness and understanding of
sustainability issues. This would contribute to the Action Plan's
objectives on leadership and vision from the DfES.
7. Is there any evidence to suggest that
the Government is getting better at getting the environment message
across to the general public? In particular, is there any evidence
to suggest that sufficient work is being done at regional and
local levels to support environmental education?
7.1 The environmental message is often sold
in a negative way and the perception is that protecting the environment
and sustainability involves restricting people's freedoms. The
way that the environmental message is marketed needs to be positive
so that the benefits to the public are promoted. Although some
"negative" messages have a place, the message should
not be all about what will happen if we don't recycle or save
energy. It should also promote the benefits of doing these things
ie cheaper products, cleaner air, lower energy costs etc.
7.2 The environmental message will not get
through to the public until the Government places it higher up
the political agenda. Debates on environmental issues in Parliament
or policy announcements on the environment still receive little
attention.
7.3 There has been some progress in communicating
the message about the need to respect the local environment, and
it is an issue that is now placed higher up the political agenda
particularly through the Government's Cleaner, Safer, Greener
campaign. However this needs to be accompanied by two important
shifts in the Government's message. The first is to connect the
environmental agenda more positively with economic regeneration
initiatives, for example, by encouraging Regional Development
Agencies to recognise the economic benefits of improved environments.
The second is the need to make the connection between local environment
and global environment issues. ESD is a way of building the link
between the awareness and concern for the local environment and
promoting the broader global environmental message.
8. Are there sufficient resources available
to deliver against the government's commitment to education for
sustainable development in light of the loss of the Landfill Tax
Credit Scheme and the loss of the education criteria from DEFRA's
Environmental Action Plan, for example?
8.1 We were disappointed that rules on the
Landfill Taxfill Credit Scheme were amended to preclude the use
of the tax credit scheme for environmental education projects.
There are many organisations and individuals that are deeply committed
to ESD and they are doing good work in schools, and more widely,
to promote environmental education. However these activities are
reliant on funding from a range of sources and therefore there
is no guarantee that these activities can continue without sustained
and secure sources of funding. Provision of ESD is currently patchy
and therefore not all children have access to environmental education.
There is no dedicated funding stream from Government on ESD and
we are concerned about the lack of resources for ESD and the Government's
ability to deliver on the Sustainable Development Action Plan.
A useful step forward would be to give schools a designated budget
which is allocated to ESD.
CONCLUSION
2005 is the start of the UN decade of Education
for Sustainable Development. With the right attention from Government
and the necessary resources, the UK is well placed to be at the
forefront of a global movement. The Government is involved in
a range of initiatives which relate to ESD, such as the global
networking project, creating links between schools in the UK and
abroad, the Healthy Living Blueprint, and the work on transport
for schools. This work needs to be more coordinated and joined
up and the connections between these initiatives and ESD need
to be made and promoted to schools.
The opportunities exist to carry the work forward
and give many more children and adults the opportunity to benefit
from the wide and varied experience that ESD can bring. This needs
to be driven by DfES but championed at the highest levels of Government
as a clear indication of its commitment to sustainable development
and to developing the decision-makers of tomorrow.
November 2004
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