Memorandum from the Office for Standards
in Education (OFSTED)
ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION: A FOLLOW-UP TO LEARNING
THE SUSTAINABILITY LESSON
The role of Ofsted is to report on standards
and raise relevant issues based on the evidence provided by inspection
and survey work. It would be inappropriate, therefore, for Ofsted
to comment on some of the aspects raised by the Environmental
Audit Committee and on which it is seeking views. In the areas
in which Ofsted is able to comment, we would like to draw to attention
of the Committee the following points.
Despite the raising of the profile of education
for sustainable development (ESD) through the revision of the
National Curriculum in 2000 and the launch of the Sustainable
Development Action Plan by Charles Clarke a year ago, ESD is not
easily identifiable in the majority of schools in England. It
is more evident and better organised in primary schools, where
teachers are more used to working across a range of subjects.
In secondary schools work on ESD is limited because individual
departments have not fully explored the wide range of opportunities
open to them.The Ofsted report Taking the first step
forward . . . towards an education for sustainable development
concluded a year ago that "while good practice exists there
is much still to do, even in these successful schools, before
they can claim to have met their own aspirations for ESD or, indeed,
implemented their policies in full". That situation remains
unaltered today and in the majority of schools there is a genuine
lack of understanding about what this concept actually means and
how it can be used to promote a positive ethos to support learning
and personal development. Few schools, too, are aware of the ways
in which ESD can support teaching and learning in geography, science,
design and technology, citizenship, personal, social and health
education and the wider school curriculum. Although the overall
picture appears very patchy, where there is good practice it often
embraces the whole of the school community and is frequently outstanding
and compares very favourably with the best practice overseas.
It terms of conceptual thinking these schools are often well in
advance of comparable schools in the European Union.Generally,
ESD is not seen as a priority in the drive towards school improvement.
Much of the guidance and information being provided to schools
has no, or at best, very little reference to ESD. This includes
the 14-19 Working Group's report, 14-19 Curriculum and Qualifications
reform. However, there will be opportunities to include ESD
into the examination criteria when these are subsequently reviewed,
if clear direction is provided.
The proposed new inspection process (currently
going through Parliament in the new Education Bill) has an increased
emphasis on using a school's self-evaluation to shape the inspection
process. In addition, the process will place greater stress on
the agenda and proposals outlined in the government green paper
Every Child Matters. Inspectors will have to consider how
a school is promoting healthy living, contribution to society
and economic well-being. This process also allows schools to build
into their self-evaluation any aspects they feel reflect the particular
characteristics of the school. In this respect, schools are able
to include an evaluation of how effectively they are promoting
education for sustainable development. Where a school includes
material on ESD, it will help shape the inspection for that school,
although schools are not obliged to include this area in their
self-evaluation.
Current investment in promoting education for
sustainable development is small when compared to overall funding
for education. Much resourcing and development is dependent on
non-government organisations (NGOs) rather than direct funding.
Much good work is being promoted by these organisations informally,
especially through youth work and adult and community learning.
This is more noticeable in those LEAs where there is an active
Agenda 21 programme. Equally, their role is often pivotal in improving
awareness and promoting ESD in schools and they are especially
active in the primary sector. However, this has resulted in "patchy"
and unstructured development across schools.
Ofsted has responded to the recommendations
in the "Sustainable Development Action Plan for Education
and Skills" by working more closely with DfES to share information
and influence developments in this area. Ofsted's own investigation
into good practice in primary and secondary schools "Taking
the first step forward . . ." is being widely used by both
DfES and NGOs as a guide to further development and support in
schools. In particular, Annex C: a checklist for school self-evaluation
is being used to develop self evaluation processes.
In addition, Ofsted is currently working closely
with DfES to build on the initial report Taking the first step
forward . . . by initiating a survey to measure the impact
of ESD on whole school improvement in a sample of schools. The
purpose of this survey will be to determine whether schools that
practice a whole school, inclusive and participatory approach
to Learning for Sustainability:
— improve the overall effectiveness
of the school;
— improve performance on standardized
measures of academic achievement;
— reduce discipline and classroom management
problems;
— increase engagement and enthusiasm
for learning;
— develop greater pride and ownership
in accomplishments; and
— enable and empower pupils' and the
school community to make positive contributions to sustainable
development.
This survey will use the checklist for school
self-evaluation from the Ofsted report on ESD and existing
self-evaluation criteria and will run alongside scientific research
into individual pupil's development. Selected schools will be
contacted several times as part of a longitudinal survey to monitor
improvements in terms of:
— school culture and ethos—including
attitudes and values;
— monitoring and evaluation;
— teaching and learning—including
raised achievement;
— the learning environment;
— sustainability indicators—including
those for waste management; and
The intention will be to disseminate good practice
to support school improvement in the area of ESD. The final published
report will identify progress, effective practice, tangible improvements,
and provide clearer evidence of impact.
December 2004
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