Memorandum from the Department for Education
and Skills (DfES)
IN RESPONSE TO THE EAC INQUIRY: A FOLLOW UP TO "LEARNING
THE SUSTAINABILITY LESSON"
INTRODUCTION
1. This memorandum from the Department for
Education and Skills provides a response to the Environmental
Audit Committee inquiry: A Follow up to "Learning the
Sustainability Lesson".
2. We have worked closely with officials
from other Government Departments, particularly Defra, on collating
this response, and have highlighted where individual Departments
have contributed, and where collectively, we are responding for
Government.
3. In summary, this memorandum provides
evidence to this inquiry on the Department's progress towards
developing an effective sustainable development strategy in education
which uses both formal and informal learning avenues to aid its
delivery; the impact of the DfES Sustainable Development Action
Plan; and the way forward to the White Paper and beyond in terms
of incorporating environmental and sustainable development objectives
within general educational goals.
4. The Committee has raised several questions
specifically on environmental education (EE). EE has been absorbed
into what we now call Education for Sustainable Development or
ESD. ESD is a broad area covering social and economic aspects,
alongside environmental, and the links between these aspects of
sustainable development are important.
Item 1: Has the term Education for Sustainable
Development lost its currency? Does it have any resonance with
the general public? Has the environmental message within it been
lost?
5. DfES feels that "education for sustainable
development" is a good description for the enterprise of
making people in all sectors of education and skills "aware
of how our actions affect the people we interact with, the local
and global environment, and the legacy we leave for future generations',
to quote the DfES Sustainable Development Action Plan (SDAP),
published in September 2003.[1]
DfES believes that most people today would acknowledge the importance
of this activity.
6. Sustainable development affects the quality
of life not just of current but future generations, and those
now going through the education system will have to live in the
world created by the choices made today. The fact that issues
like climate change are increasingly covered not only in news
media but popular culture shows the resonance they can have and
it is important that people have access to accurate factual information
on them.
7. What matters is what DfES does, in partnership
with others, to ensure that sustainable development is an integral
part of the education and skills system. The Secretary of State,
Charles Clarke said in the foreword to the SDAP:
"We have theorised about sustainable
development in education for long enough. That is why this is
not a strategy but a plan of action. We need to embrace sustainable
development across the education system so that best practice
becomes common practice. Not as a bureaucratic add-on but as an
integral part of the skills development of this country and its
economy."
Item 2: 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?
8. As part of the UK Sustainable Development
Strategy Review, Government has consulted on how it can help and
encourage people to adopt more sustainable behaviour. In the responses
received, education is identified as a key issue by many respondents;
including education at all levels from nursery (instilling behaviours
that support sustainability from a young age and before behaviours
that don't support sustainability are instilled) through to adult
and work based qualifications for professionals. To develop this
work on changing behaviours and ESD, an interdepartmental working
group has been established, involving DfES, DCMS, Defra and the
SDC. The work of this group will feed in to the final strategy
when it is published in the spring.
Item 3: The DfES said in 2003 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?
9. Yes, it can be said that that the process
of change has begun and provides momentum for development of ESD
in the future. Since the publication of the DfES Sustainable Development
Action Plan (SDAP) in September 2003, much has been achieved against
the objectives. The examples given in the following paragraphs
cover the variety of sectors for which DfES is responsible, as
well as covering all aspects of ESD.
Achievements
10. Much has been done to raise the profile
of ESD in schools, to ensure that young learners experience ESD
and engage with this at a local level, whilst appreciating the
more global aspects also, and where they fit in the "bigger
picture".
11. Achievements which affect schools include
the launch of the Global Gateway in February 2004, a website which
enables people involved in education across the world to engage
in creative partnerships. It will help ensure that education crosses
national boundaries and that young people become truly global
citizens. This resource has been well received and had over 5.3
million hits by September 2004, mostly from teachers.[2]
12. Other developments are to do with the
environment in which children learn and play. Schools are benefiting
from SEAM, an environmental assessment method for current school
buildings, and BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental
Assessment Method). SEAM will be incorporated into the new Sustainable
Development Framework for Schools (see paragraph 18 later), and
BREEAM was successfully piloted in 9 schools. The method will
be used to assess the sustainability of Building Schools for the
Future projects for which a baseline rating of very good is proposed.
13. Another example is the Healthy living
Blueprint for schools, launched in September 2004, as a joint
initiative with DfES, DoH, Defra, DCMS and the Food Standards
Agency (FSA), to encourage children to eat sensibly, stay physically
active and maintain good levels of personal health. To implement
the Blueprint, the Department is now taking forward projects to
improve school food and reinforce healthy eating messages taught
in the classroom.
14. The Department is keen to provide healthier,
greener and safer ways to school, and has introduced the School
Transport Bill, after a period of consultation and pre-legislative
scrutiny. The Bill, when passed, will allow 100 LEAs to develop
innovative travel schemes.
15. As was acknowledged in paragraph 12,
the environment in which children learn is very important to facilitate,
inspire and engage young learners. Therefore the leadership, management
of schools operations, and decision making that support sustainable
development, is crucial. The National College of School Leadership
(NCSL) has begun to incorporate ESD into the training it offers,
such as in the study materials for the national professional qualification
for head teachers (NPQH).
16. There is much activity and enthusiasm
on ESD in schools, but the SDAP covers all ages, from foundation
to older learners. The Learning and Skills Development Agency
(LSDA) and LSC have launched the "Learning to Last"
toolkit, which is an online "toolkit" to encourage,
support and promote best practice on sustainability throughout
the FE sector.
17. DfES is working to get its "own
house" in order and, amongst other activities, has achieved
more than 90% success in recycling out of date publications and
passing IT equipment onto schools and charities.
FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS
18. The next few months will see the launch
of a number of sustainable development projects that have been
developed as a result of the action plan. These include the launch
of a "Sustainable Development Framework for Schools",
currently in development. This will be a web-based service to
be hosted within www.teachernet.gov.uk, which will provide a one-stop
shop for teachers, head teachers, governors and support staff
who wish to make their schools more environmentally friendly and
sustainable, seeking to promote "a whole school ethos"
and approach to sustainability—ESD in operations and learning
experience.
19. HEFCE and LSC will both be publishing
their own sustainable development strategies to promote and support
sustainable development in each particular sector—influencing/to
inspire sustainable development activity. LSC plans to publish
their draft strategy for consultation later this month; HEFCE
early next year.
Item 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 must be included
in the White Paper if progress is to be made to fully integrate
ESD into all aspects of learning, formal and informal?
20. DfES will publish a White Paper to respond
to the Final Report of the Working Group in the New Year. If proposals
are accepted implications for sustainable development will be
one aspect to be considered as implementation and development
work is carried out.
Item 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?
21. Schemes of Work for National Curriculum
subjects are a key tool for medium term teaching plans. Schools
can use the QCA Schemes of Work, adapt them, or develop their
own. The Department, working with QCA, the Council for Environmental
Education, the Design & Technology Association, the Association
for Science Education, the Association of Citizenship Teachers,
the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG), the Association for
Citizenship Teaching and the Geographical Association, is developing
primary and secondary units within Design & Technology, Science,
Citizenship and Geography, and these will build on ESD already
within these subjects. The suite of units is almost complete and
will be available on the QCA website.
22. With a range of partners, the Department
is exploring how schools can be further encouraged to weave sustainable
development into all aspects of school life. In the recently published
Five Year Strategy for Children and Learners, The Secretary
of State makes a specific offer within the wider reforms set out
in the strategy:
"Every school should (also) be an environmentally
sustainable school, with a good plan for school transport that
encourages walking and cycling, an active and effective recycling
policy (moving from paper to electronic processes wherever possible)
and a school garden or other opportunities for children to explore
the natural world. Schools must teach our children by example
as well as by instruction."[3]
23. The Building Schools for the Future
programme will ensure that all new schools and Academies should
be models for sustainable development: showing every child in
the classroom and the playground how smart building and energy
use can help tackle global warming. As the Prime Minister said,
in his speech of 14 September 2004,
"The government is now developing a school
specific method of environmental assessment that will apply to
all new school buildings. Sustainable development will not just
be a subject in the classroom: it will be in its bricks and mortar
and the way the school uses and even generates its own power.
"Our students won't just be told about
sustainable development, they will see and work within it: a living,
learning place in which to explore what a sustainable lifestyle
means."[4]
24. As set out in paragraph 19, the Department
is also developing a web based service which aims to make sustainable
development more accessible to schools, and which brings together
the many resources, schemes, awards and organisations Underlying
the service is the World Wildlife Fund Learning for Sustainability
model which helps schools to identify their own priorities and
to identify how they want to move forward on sustainable development.
25. Other tools to help head teachers are
being developed with Head teachers into Industry and the Cambridge
Programme for Industry. The Department has discussed its plans
with a number of NGOs, with Heads and teachers and with subject
associations. The Department is planning for the existing QCA
website, which the Department has funded for the last four years,
to be absorbed into this new service. DfES is also establishing
a teacher and LEA group to help develop the web service to meet
schools' needs. DfES is discussing with a number of companies
how they can contribute to the services available to schools.
Item 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?
26. DfES recognises the importance of using
both formal and informal learning in taking forward the environmental
education agenda and are working with the LSC to take forward
sustainable development learning and skills in the post-16 sector
in England, outside Higher Education.
27. The LSC has a statutory duty to promote
learning in its widest possible sense and has already done a variety
of work, formal and informal, in a variety of contexts. The LSC
is committed to developing a strategy to integrate sustainable
development into its policy and everyday practice. They aim to
produce a Sustainable Development Consultation Strategy by end
November 2004 and following the consultation period, a finally
agreed Strategy early in 2005. The LSC plan to continue to develop
partnerships at local, regional and national level with a range
of partners to include adult education institutions and employers
where much informal learning about sustainable development in
its widest sense already takes place.
28. The Apprenticeship schemes are also
aiding and advancing the environmental education agenda. People
can study for apprenticeships on relevant areas such as Agriculture,
Amenity Horticulture, Cultural Heritage and Business Administration.
In addition, the LSC ensures the rural proofing of all work-based
learning provision including Apprenticeships, to take account
of environmental factors as well as issues around access to and
supply of learning opportunities.
29. In the wider community, whilst there
is no curriculum for post-compulsory learning, including adult
and community learning, a key challenge for post-16 education
and training is to support sustainable communities and to ensure
that there are the skills and knowledge within those communities
to enable them to survive and prosper. It is crucial therefore
that DfES focuses on the sustainability of people, including their
acquisition of basic skills and qualifications. Adult and community
learning by its very nature supports this.
30. One of the DfES priorities for public
funding of adult learning is ensuring there is a coherent range
of learning opportunities for personal fulfilment, community development
and active citizenship. This is why DfES has agreed with the LSC
a budget of £207.4 million in 2004-05—up from £206m
in 2003-4—specifically to support non qualification bearing
programmes. This type of adult learning is a critical part of
post-19 learning. Its wide range of provision helps tackle disadvantage,
exclusion and neighbourhood renewal issues, and contributes to
the aim of creating a learning culture. This in turn improves
quality of life. It has a vital role to play in the drive to widen
participation in learning, build communities' self confidence
and capacity, and promote positive citizenship and personal development.
31. Informal learning also takes place in
ways which are outside the direct remit of the DfES. For example,
DCMS is working to empower the community and voluntary sectors.
It will provide new training which will be delivered through the
LSC, the Community Development Foundation and Connexions.
32. The Department has been working with
a range of partners to identify the contribution that can be made
to sustainable development through youth work. A working group
has been exploring, with stakeholders, how youth work and training
provided to youth workers can support young people's understanding
of sustainable development and assist them to participate. This
working group has produced a report, with priorities for further
action.
OTHER GOVERNMENT
DEPARTMENTS
33. Defra are developing the theme of empowerment
of the community sector and voluntary sector. This will involve
new training which will roll out through the Learning and Skills
Council, the Community Development Foundation, and Connexions,
amongst others. Defra are talking directly to these people and
are proposing to fund initial work on developing the training
and successfully embed this in existing delivery mechanisms.
34. DTI is supporting the Corporate Social
Responsibility (CSR) Academy which aims to integrate CSR into
mainstream business practice by developing and spreading CSR learning
and skills within business. The Academy, working through its programme
partners, is targeting small and medium enterprises, large businesses
and the professional training and development sector.
35. The Academy[5]offers
two products: the competency framework: a tool setting out the
core CSR characteristics which can be used by individuals and
HR professionals in assessing performance; and the training and
development map which provides information on the many CSR-related
education and training opportunities offered by business schools,
universities, further education colleges and other providers.
36. The Academy's programme partners are:
Business in the Community; Chartered Institute of Personnel Development;
British Chambers of Commerce; Association of Business Schools;
and Accountability
37. DTI are working with the Sector Skills
Development Agency (SSDA) on sustainability skills in the workplace.
38. DCMS is supporting the work of Wildlife
for All, an organisation funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund with
help in kind from RSPB and The Royal Parks. DCMS is providing
the venue for a conference—The Great Green classroom—which
is aimed at raising awareness of the educational work that is
being done to encourage those urban dwellers who traditionally
have not used parks (e.g. disabled or elderly people, or those
from minority ethnic groups, those from areas of social deprivation)
with a specific focus on developing opportunities for non park
-users. Conference will hear from The Council for Environmental
Education, Black Environment Network, English Nature, English
Heritage, Countryside Agency, among others.
39. DCMS is also supporting greater outreach
to schools through the work being done by The Royal Parks, and
through the recent initiative between DfES and the Museums, which
aims to give school children a greater chance to see museum collections
connected with the curriculum.
Item 7: Is there any evidence to suggest
that the Government, through its stewardship of education, is
getting better at getting the environmental message across to
the general public? And is there any evidence to suggest that
sufficient work is being done at regional and local levels to
support environmental education?
40. Government acknowledges that communicating
environmental messages to the general public is a challenge and
needs to be addressed in the new strategy. Government is not alone
in this. Futerra's work on climate change communications, has
led to them recommending a fund for supporting local communications
activity, the principle being social learning. Social learning
comes through actually doing something and experimenting with
others (e.g. Global Action activities) which also affects social
norms and peer group attitudes.
41. On the second point, DfES believes that
there is good work being done at local and regional level to support
environmental education and other aspects of education for sustainable
development. However, the Department acknowledges that this aspect
of the Action Plan needs to be pursued more effectively. For that
reason, the Department intends to work more closely in the future
with the network of Government Offices in pursuit of the Action
Plan's objectives. It will also be an important part of the remit
of the newly-recruited Programme Leader (see Item 8 later) to
identify work that is already going on at local and regional level,
to link up existing networks and partnerships and to facilitate
the sharing of best practice.
Item 8: Are there sufficient resources available
to deliver the government's commitment to education for sustainable
development?
42. The Department believes that there are
sufficient resources being devoted to this area of the Department's
work, in terms of both manpower and other funding. As far as manpower
is concerned, a member of the DfES Board, the Director of Strategy
and Communications, has responsibility for the coordination of
the different strands of work across the Department on ESD. He
is supported in this work by a team within his Directorate, and
they in turn by a "Green Net", a network of officials
working on aspects of sustainable development in all the education
and skills sectors.
43. In addition, the Department and the
SDC have recently recruited a Programme Leader to work with both
the Department and the SDC for a period of two years to help us
meet the Action Plan's objectives. As well as funding the Programme
Leader and the activities they will be taking forward, the Department
is also providing funding for key initiatives such as the web-based
Sustainable Development Framework for Schools and work with Forum
for the Future on sustainability literacy and the professions.
44. The Government accepts that it must
lead by example and be an exemplar on all aspects of sustainable
development, from its operations and procurement, to raising awareness
of sustainable development with staff. DfES acknowledge that strong
leadership and commitment on this subject has influenced the amount
of activity achieved through the action plan. Government acknowledges
the need to influence and change behaviour, raise the profile
of, and build competency and capacity on, sustainable development.
It is crucial that sustainable development should not be an afterthought,
but should be considered at the outset of policy and decision
making.
45. Defra, working with Civil Service College
(CMPS), are seeking to integrate sustainable development into
more of the courses delivered by CMPS, and have developed a specific
workshop for SCS on delivering better policy through sustainable
development. These workshops will show how sustainable development
can be applied in their work, with specific focus on how it can
be considered as part of better policy-making.
November 2004
1 See http://www.dfes.gov.uk/aboutus/sd/action.shtml Back
2
Global Gateway at http://www.globalgateway.org.uk/ Back
3
See http://www.dfes.gov.uk/publications/5yearstrategy/ Back
4
See http://www.number10.gov.uk/output/Page6333.asp Back
5
CSR Academy at (www.csracademy.org.uk) Back
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