APPENDIX 50
Memorandum from Yorkshire & Humber
Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) Forum
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
ON YORKSHIRE
& HUMBER ESD FORUM
1. Yorkshire and Humber Region ESD Forum
was established in 1997. Membership of the Forum encompasses organizations
working across the education community in Yorkshire and Humber—schools,
colleges and universities, NGOs, local authorities, statutory
organizations and businesses. The Forum is involved in a range
of regional ESD partnership projects and publishes a website,
www.yorkshireandhumber.net/esd. It is represented on the Yorkshire
and Humber Assembly's Sustainability Commission and is closely
involved with the development and implementation of the Yorkshire
and Humber Region ESD Strategy 2000-10. The Forum aims to raise
the profile of ESD throughout the lifelong learning process and
influence decision-makers to increase support for ESD. Organisations
represented on the Forum Management Group are: the Regional Development
Agency—Yorkshire Forward; Government Office for Yorkshire
and Humber; Learning and Skills Development Agency; Learning and
Skills Council; Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority; Environment
Agency; Yorkshire and Humber Global Schools Association; Barnsley
MBC; University of Bradford.
Below are brief comments from Yorkshire &
Humber ESD Forum relating to some of the Environmental Audit Committee's
focus questions for this inquiry.
THE NEED
TO ENSURE
HIGH PROFILE
OF THE
ENVIRONMENTAL MESSAGE
IN ESD PROGRAMMES
2. Yorkshire & Humber ESD Forum agrees
with the Committee's premise that the environmental message tends
to be lost in many ESD programmes. Constant vigilance is required
to ensure that ESD programmes from government, NGOs and others
highlight the importance of sustainable development models which
assume that the carrying capacity of the ecosystem defines and
envelops the extent of human action—in order to ensure that
we see stable, equitable and productive democratic communities.
In such models of sustainable development it is assumed the natural
world is of central importance.
3. John Huckle's recent ESD briefing paper
for the Teacher Training Agency provides valuable guidance for
initial teacher training institutions on how to ensure that the
environmental message can be placed at the heart of their ESD
programmes (Huckle, 2004).
BUSINESS SD PERSPECTIVES
IN 14-19 CURRICULA
AND FUTURE
WHITE PAPER
4. Business has a crucial role in delivering
environmental, social and economic goals. Y&H ESD Forum believes
there is major potential to connect Education audiences to the
emerging sustainable development agenda in business. Many companies,
nationally and regionally, are now innovating with natural resource
efficiency ideas—"doing more with less" etc. There
is an urgent challenge to introduce these new business ideas into
the future 14 -19 curriculum especially in areas such as science,
business studies and land-based industries (see Appendix 2 for
information on recent work in this area by Learning and Skills
Development Agency (LSDA) and Y&H ESD Forum).
LINKAGES BETWEEN
DFES ESD ACTION
PLAN AND
THE NEW
UK SD STRATEGY
5. Yorkshire & Humber ESD Forum believes
that the new UK Sustainable Development Strategy should clearly
state the key role of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD)
in the delivery of the country's sustainable development agenda.
The recent Sustainable Development Action Plan for Education and
Skills (DfES, 2003) states the SD priorities at the Department
for Education and Skills. In this region, Yorkshire Forward, Government
Office, Learning and Skills Development Agency and other key stakeholders
have developed a Regional ESD Strategy that aims to deliver an
innovative regional response to this DfES ESD Action Plan (see
Appendix 1 for Yorkshire & Humber Region ESD Strategy).
6. In our view, the new UK SD Strategy should
explicitly identify the need for synergy and linkage between the
DfES ESD Action Plan and the priorities in the new UK SD Strategy.
The Y&H ESD Forum welcomes the appointment of the new DfES-contracted
ESD Adviser at the Sustainable Development Commission. This person
could play an important leadership role promoting the relationship
between learning and sustainable development and linking it with
the wider SD agenda across government at both national and regional
levels.
MEASURING PROGRESS—THE
UK SD INDICATORS
7. In our view the UK Education indicator
in the current UK SD Strategy is almost completely irrelevant-it
gives no indication of the extent to which schools and colleges
are contributing to the national SD agenda. Y&H ESD Forum
believes that, in future, it will be important for the Government
to revise the Education indicator to include a whole school/college
indicator for sustainable development (covering the curriculum,
procurement, buildings etc). Recent work by Ofsted (2003) forms
a good basis for the identification of indicators relating to
the development of "whole institution" ESD strategies
in schools and colleges.
DEVELOPING A
DFES SUSTAINABLE
SCHOOLS FRAMEWORK
8. We understand that the development of
a Sustainable Schools Framework is under consideration at DfES.
A framework could provide a valuable overarching national government
context around which to develop more in-depth local/regional ESD
strategies and programmes. These local/regional ESD strategies,
developed by a wide range of stakeholders including RDAs, Government
Offices, NGOs and others, should orientate around the National
Sustainable School Framework and be appropriate to environmental,
economic and cultural conditions at local/regional levels.
9. What could the scope of a DfES Sustainable
Schools Framework be? In our view much of the work necessary for
such a framework is already underway at DfES and within other
organisations. A future DfES Sustainable Schools Framework could:
— relate to OFSTED whole school ESD
guidance (OFSTED, 2003), the National Curriculum aims and purpose
statement about sustainable development (DfEE, 1999), the UK Government's
ESD Panel document detailing ESD outcomes for key stage 1-4 (ESD
Panel, 1998);
— be derived from DfES critiques of
the academic ESD literature and the wealth of innovative ESD programmes
developed by NGOs and others, eg Groundwork, Eco schools, WWF
UK, Oxfam, RSPB, Forum for the Future;
— relate to the DfES ESD Action Plan
(DfES, 2003) and the recent DfES/CEE ESD Evaluation guidance (CEE/DfES,
2004);
— relate to recent DfES guidance (DfES,
2003a) on adoption of good practice (applying these research findings
to future ESD programmes).
The ESD areas of the DfES main website and DfES
Teachernet website could provide good opportunities for regional,
national and international dissemination of the DfES Sustainable
School Framework.
THE IMPORTANCE
OF ITT AND
CPD ESD PROGRAMMES
10. There is an urgent need to ensure ESD
is embedded within ongoing developments in initial teacher training
(ITT) and continuing professional development (CPD) programmes.
The Teacher Training Agency's (TTA) current work on ESD and the
new DfES-funded National Science Education Centre at University
of York provide major opportunities for progress in these areas.
Also the Standards Unit works with trainers and lecturers who
work on FE or work-based learning provision and a part of this
mandate of development should be to include ESD. See Appendix
2 for information on a recent Y&H ESD Forum seminar with TTA
concerning development of ESD programmes in Yorkshire and Humber
ITT institutions.
COMMUNITY LEARNING
AND ESD
11. The Inquiry question relating to the
role of community learning is important. Further research is required
to measure the extent that local communities are engaging with
the sustainable development agenda. It could be useful to explore
the relationship between this aspiration and New Deal programmes,
especially New Deal for Communities.
FUNDING OF
NATIONAL AND
REGIONAL ESD PROGRAMMES
12. In our view, it is essential that DfES
develops a funding plan for national and regional ESD programmes.
How would national and regional ESD-orientated education programmes
be funded? Ideally, it should be a shared responsibility between
national and regional stakeholders including DfES,other centre
government departments, Government Offices, regional development
agencies, education institutions, NGOs, business, charitable foundations
etc. Yet, unless a long term DfES ESD funding plan and Framework
is in place, such stakeholders, understandably, will tend to hesitate
before commiting their funds to far reaching and strategic ESD
programmes.
13. In future, we believe one of the important
priorities for funding will be for individuals with remits to
work with budget holders to develop ESD dimensions within the
appropriate mainstream education programmes of DfES, LSC etc.
NEED FOR
NATIONAL CO
-ORDINATION OF
REGIONAL ESD GOOD
PRACTICE
14. The current DfES ESD Action Plan (page
17) stresses the importance of developing effective ESD networks
at local and regional level. As ESD good practice begins to emerge
within regional and sub-regional networks, it will be important
for DfES to show leadership on national co-ordination of regional
ESD networks, eg dissemination of regional ESD approaches/case
studies at the ESD areas of DfES websites.
November 2004
References
ESD Panel, 1998. Education for Sustainable Development
in the schools sector. A report to Dfee/QCA from the Panel for
Education for Sustainable Development, September, 1998.
DfES, 2003. Sustainable Development action plan
for Education and Skills. 2003.
DfES, 2003a. Adopting good practice. Strategy
and Innovation Unit, DfES, April 2003.
CEE/DfES/DEFRA, 2004. Measuring effectiveness:
evaluation in ESD. October 2004.
DfEE, 1999. The National Curriculum. Handbook
for secondary teachers in England, key stages 3 and 4. 1999.
OFSTED, 2003. Ofsted guidance for whole school
approaches to ESD. Published at DfES Teachernet website, 2003.
Huckle, J 2004. ESD. A briefing paper for the
Teacher Training Agency. August, 2004.
Annex 1
See[14]
Annex 2
Recent examples of Y&H ESD Forum partnership
work
DCARB
Yorkshire & Humber is the chosen regional
partner working with the UK Sustainable Development Commission
on dCarb—a high profile scheme that will work with communities
across the region to dramatically cut carbon use and improve resource
and energy efficiency. dCarb will promote the government's 60%
carbon dioxide reduction target as a national and regional priority.
In Yorkshire & Humber region, new and existing schemes, including
the Urban Renaissance Programme, will explore how to make low
carbon living a reality.
A dCarb Education for Sustainable Development
(ESD) programme, funded by Yorkshire Forward, is also under development
in Yorkshire & Humber schools, colleges and universities.
This dcarb ESD work will link up with the main dcarb programme
as well as key ESD developments at national and regional levels;
eg DfES ESD Action Plan and Yorkshire & Humber ESD Strategy.
Exemplar ESD workshop developed by Y&H ESD
Forum and Learning & Skills Development Agency
Connecting 16-19 curricula with leading edge sustainable
development practice in industry, Leeds, December 2004
AIM OF
WORKSHOP
A twilight session to examine emerging sustainable
development ideas in industry and to begin to explore ways of
embedding such ideas in 16-19 education programmes.
WORKSHOP AUDIENCE
*16-19 practitioners working in curriculum areas
such as science, business studies, geography, citizenship, construction,
food and agriculture.
*decision-makers involved with design and delivery
of 16-19 programmes.
WORKSHOP PROGRAMME
The main focus for this workshop will be a simulation
activity illustrating the scale of an unsustainable world; the
principle of extended producer responsibility; the idea that prices
should tell the ecological and social truth. The premise of this
workshop simulation is that the flow of materials and waste through
the economy is overwhelming us. The proportion of useful stuff
to waste is very small—in short, we are very, very inefficient.
Simple-minded recycling won't work—it's the wrong end of
the pipe. To improve efficiency might involve new mind sets, new
technologies and methods . . .
A seminar with Yorkshire and Humber ITT institutions
to discuss DfES and TTA initiatives on education for sustainable
development.
Hosted by Yorkshire Universities and Yorkshire
& Humber ESD Forum at University of Leeds, 8 November 2004
AIM OF
SEMINAR
The TTA initiative on induction materials for
new tutors that incorporate ESD was the focus for this seminar.
Participants had the opportunity to review some of these materials
with particular reference to ESD related content. They were also
updated on ESD related initiatives taken by the DfES and the Yorkshire
& Humber ESD Forum.
Following the launch last year of the DfES's
action plan for education for sustainable development (ESD), this
seminar focuses on a related TTA initiative. Writing teams from
subject associations are currently preparing web based induction
materials for tutors new to ITT. All these materials make reference
to ESD and are likely to be of interest to ITT staff wishing to
incorporate ESD into their courses.
When embarking on this initiative, the TTA commissioned
a briefing paper on ESD to provide information and advice, both
for itself and the writing teams. Written by John Huckle and subjected
to a process of peer review, the briefing paper will be published
on the TTA website later this year. While it does not represent
TTA policy, it provides an overview of theory and practice that
ITT providers may wish to draw on in the context of national and
regional plans for sustainable development.
Copies of the John Huckle briefing paper were
emailed to participants prior to the seminar. Web links in the
paper allow readers to explore related theory and practice, policy
documents, curriculum materials, research and staff development.
SEMINAR AUDIENCE
Yorkshire & Humber ITT institutions including
subject specialists, heads of education, and those responsible
for CPD.
Global Sustainable Development Issues Workshop
for Science and Geography Teachers held 21 October, 2004, Leeds
Developed in partnership with Y&H Global
Schools Association, this inset course takes the reflective Key
stage 3/4 science and geography practitioner along the route to
planning and delivering confident lessons exploring complex global
sustainable development issues. It was facilitated by Ken Webster
who has over a decade of experience in student learning in the
context of sustainable development. This techniques-based workshop
illustrated models for better understanding global SD/citizenship
issues and some of the finer points of the professional skills
of clarification, challenge and debriefing. The workshop provided
two structured activities to take away and use and a complimentary
copy of Ken Webster's new book Rethink, Refuse, Reduce . .
. education for sustainability in the real world.
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