College publications about sustainable schools

The journey of sustainable schools - new Read the final findings from the College's sustainable schools project
Sustainability and renewal characteristics of sustainable schools and the key leadership qualities required to develop them.
Every Child's Future: leading the way Jonothan Porritt and David Hopkins stimulate debate around the responsbilities of leaders working with children.
Leading sustainable schools: what the research tells us 2008 report looking at why and how school leaders develop sustainability.
Against the tide: challenges of leading a sustainable school. What are the challenges and how can you overcome them?

Resources

What is a sustainable school?

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The video provides some key messages about what a sustainable school is and how being one benefits the school, its pupils and the wider community. Headteachers speak openly about what it means to them and why it is so important to embed sustainability within the culture of a school. David Hopkins and Jonathan Porrit present their views at a College event about sustainable schools.

A sustainable school is one that "is guided by the principle of care: care for oneself, care for each other and care for the environment".(The Department for Children, Schools and Families). This principle of care is not new to schools but it is the additional reference to care for the environment and its global citizens that moves a school from being a good school to a sustainable school.

Schools are already caring places, but a sustainable school extends this commitment into new areas including care for the environment. It cares about the energy and water it consumes, the waste it produces, the food it serves, the traffic it attracts and the challenges and opportunities for people living in the local community and also in other parts of the world.

The question for school leaders therefore is - if we are not leading for a sustainable future, what are we leading for?

What does a sustainable school look like?

A sustainable school has:

Sustainable practice at its heart - an integral part of its vision, school improvement plan and curriculum
A continual focus on reducing its carbon emissions to zero
A policy of reducing, reusing and recycling waste
Staff and students who take individual responsibility for measuring and reducing energy and water consumption
A healthy food policy - using locally-sourced, seasonal produce; a commitment to reducing food miles; healthy eating
Travel to school initiatives such as car sharing, ‘walking buses’ and cycle schemes to conserve energy, reduce traffic and pollution and promote health
A tight rein on procurement, seeking out local and ethical producers wherever possible
A commitment to sharing its resources with the community to build social capital and community cohesion
An ethos of lifelong learning - ‘the learning school’
A strong pupil voice and pupils who are empowered through responsibility
A commitment to safeguarding the social and emotional wellbeing of staff, students and families
A respect for individual difference and cultural diversity, within school and beyond
A commitment to inclusion and participation for everyone with special needs
An enthusiasm for outdoor learning that connects pupils with the natural environment and promotes physical and mental health, using school grounds to cultivate fruit and vegetables
A commitment to collaboration and partnership working with other schools, groups and organisations - locally, nationally and internationally
An understanding of global issues such as poverty and climate change and our interdependence with other societies, economies and the environment

Further information

Sustainable schools for pupils, communities and the environment