December 2011

The know zone

  • Take note
    Governance, finance, buildings, liabilities, personnel… increased autonomy lays bare a raft of rights and responsibilities that academies can’t ignore, says Richard Bird. More
  • Coining new terms
    Sam Ellis introduces a series of articles designed to help leaders adapt to a world in which curriculum planning is determined by what you can afford, not what you need. More
  • Lead vocals
    Quotes from Horace, Napoleon Hill, Maya Angelou, Frank A Clark. More
  • Permanent state of bliss?
    Ross Morrison McGill was made voluntarily redundant from his role as assistant head of an academy in London in August. He hopes to run his own school one day and is currently blogging and fundraising for Bliss, a charity that helps families with prematurely-born children, after his son Freddie was born two months early. More
  • Green is good
    Through its Green Schools Revolution (GSR) community education programme, The Co-operative is encouraging students to work towards a more sustainable future. A range of resources, activities and trips have been devised to engage everyone from young, first-time environmentalists to committed ‘greenagers’. More
  • Adding value
    Data is critical to informing decisions on whole school improvement but many schools and academies are failing to make good use of the powerful tools available in their management information systems (MIS). More
  • LA story: The final cut?
    Do local authorities still have a role to play in education? If so, in what areas? Should they be involved in monitoring and raising standards, take on a more limited role, or have no involvement at all with education? Leaders share their views… More
  • Leaders' surgery
    Terminal exams set to stay in England & Pensions come home to roost More
  • Taking care of business
    While pensions and industrial action were at the forefront of everyone’s mind during the last Council meeting on 13-14 October, there was plenty of other business to attend to. Here is a snapshot of the committee discussions More
  • Trading places
    If the school system becomes polarised between confident high-achieving institutions and ones struggling to overcome major challenges, collaboration will become not just important but essential, says Brian Lightman. Otherwise, the dream of a world-class education system has no hope of becoming a reality. More
  • Sense & sensibility?
    Eric Hester reports a startling DfE development: some leadership teams are being encouraged to deploy discernment, logic and good old-fashioned gumption. More
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Through its Green Schools Revolution (GSR) community education programme, The Co-operative is encouraging students to work towards a more sustainable future. A range of resources, activities and trips have been devised to engage everyone from young, first-time environmentalists to committed ‘greenagers’.

Green is good

What was the reason for developing this programme?

The Co-operative says its survey reveals that six out of ten parents say their children are persuading them to adopt greener lifestyles and to think more carefully about arguments surrounding recycling, conserving water and making fewer car journeys. Some 95 per cent of them say they have altered their behaviour as a result. The programme is also a response to pupils who regularly rate green issues a close third – behind maths and English – when it comes to learning priorities.

How do schools take part?

All schools participating in Green Schools Revolution (GSR) across the country have access to a wide range of free cross-curricular classroom resources and activities through the website (www.greenschools.coop) which gives young people and teachers tools to inspire change in their classrooms, homes and local communities.

Can you give an example of a secondary school project?

A lesson plan for Key Stage 3 – Going bananas; Fairtrade farmers in the developing world – looks at what Fairtrade is, the reasons for buying Fairtrade goods and the issues facing Fairtrade farmers. Students learn about sustainable development and global citizenship, how the appliance of science can bring about technological developments and consequent changes in the way people think and behave and how human activity can lead to changes in the environment.

Resources include online video clips and the Co-operative Fairtrade website: http://on.coop/whatisfairtrade

Who’s backing the scheme?

Television farmer Jimmy Doherty is on board. He reckons the future of the planet more or less relies on teaching children about green issues from a very early age. “I was passionate about it when I was a teenager but there was little information around to inspire others to change. This programme offers so much to encourage children to consider their environmental impact as second nature.”

What’s coming up in the future?

In the spring term 2012, all UK schools are being invited to take part in GSR week (March 26-30), an opportunity for students to share their new-found knowledge with their local communities by opening up their gardens and running Fairtrade stalls.

In the summer term, there’s an £18,000 green prize fund up for grabs in a multimedia competition for schools to show how green are their classrooms. Schools are invited to tell their stories through their own choice of media – film, animation, photo-story, magazine, poster or collage.

There’s more information at www.co-operative.coop/green-schools-revolution/whats-going-on/competition-old/

Green is good

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