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Sustainable schools

10-point programme for getting started

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Although you may feel rather daunted by the subject of sustainability, there are various first steps you can take to help build your confidence and get it off the ground. Some of these are discussed in the video clip.

Working with schools leading sustainability, the College has developed a 10-point programme for getting started.

Involve students

The importance of pupil voice and participation in developing school sustainability cannot be over emphasised. Sustainability is something many young people feel passionate about and are ready to take the lead on. Harnessing their energy and enthusiasm and involving them in the decision-making process is vital for success.

You could start by:

  • forming a sustainable futures action team of pupils to rally support among peers and other interested parties
  • organising an evaluation day where pupils can audit current usage of energy, water, food and transport, for example, and put together suggestions for improvement
  • encouraging students to create their own video diaries, as part of their work in school, documenting what’s been done so far and work going forward
  • getting pupils involved in applying for sponsorship and writing funding bids – a learning process in itself

Envisage what you want

Schools starting out on their sustainability journey need to develop a clear vision of where they intend to go. It’s important that this vision is developed by the whole school community so that everyone has ownership of it and responsibility for making it happen. More information about setting your vision.

You could start by:

  • sitting down with your senior leadership team to identify different strands of sustainability work already underway in school and reflect on the key benefits that sustainability work will bring
  • asking pupils to come up with their own vision statements about what being a sustainable school means to them
  • talking to other schools about the work they have done on sustainability and how they went about developing their vision
  • being prepared to redefine the vision over time as goals change

Network - share with partners and visit others

Becoming a sustainable school requires partnership working at every level. Welcoming individuals, groups and organisations into school is paramount, but it’s not enough in itself. Schools need to reach out to the community to forge two-way partnership if they are to become true catalysts for change.

You could start by:

  • visiting other primary and secondary schools to share knowledge and good practice and ensure it isn’t lost as pupils move schools
  • setting up a community of practice or other kind of support network to enable interested parties to work together towards sustainability
  • involving local businesses and community groups in projects that will benefit them, such as the creation of a community garden or allotment
  • inviting the wider community into school for a sustainability open day to garner local support and expertise

Put it in your school development plan

Sustainability is developed most effectively when clear targets are set so that everyone knows where  the school is heading, why it’s going there and, importantly, when it has arrived. Having a set plan and goals enables you to celebrate milestones of success along the way.

You could start by:

  • making sustainable development a school improvement target and including it in your school prospectus, school improvement plan and website
  • including the work in your development planning and leadership framework
  • distributing leadership by asking heads of department to present their own plan for developing sustainability in their specific area of responsibility
  • looking at where you want to be and then working backwards to where you are now

Be patient, flexible and creative with change - take risks

Education is all about change. Through learning, people gain new knowledge and understanding that enables them to build skills and behaviours and use their creativity. Our research shows that effective leaders of sustainable schools have a lot in common with leaders of change in that they are prepared to try out new things to find a better way forward, and that means being innovative, taking risks and being patient when it doesn’t happen as quickly as you would like.

You could start by:

  • making staff feel safe to take risks in the knowledge that they will not be ‘blamed’ if things don’t turn out as planned –  give yourself permission to take risks too
  • being patient in understanding that things don’t happen overnight and there is nearly always an implementation ‘dip’ in the first few months before things start to happen
  • modelling the principles of continual development and innovation by taking time for your own personal development
  • remembering to start small and be flexible – it’s okay to change tack if the current one isn’t working

Evaluate, prepare and reflect

Evaluate, evaluate, evaluate! Sustainable schools never rest on the laurels and think the job is done - because it never is. They are constantly reviewing their position, mapping their progress to date and setting new targets to work towards. They can only do this by making time to reflect individually and as a community.

You could start by:

  • using leadership tools such as the sustainable schools self-evaluation form, to facilitate development, monitoring and review
  • sharing your findings with the school community, at staff meetings, on training days and via a newsletter
  • setting ‘small step’ targets on your sustainability action plan, so that you can recognise, and celebrate, incremental improvement
  • conducting an in-school poll to check everyone’s perceptions of the changes being made

Make what resources you can available

A surprisingly large amount of sustainability work can be achieved with little additional funding, though resources in terms of time and efforts will need to be deployed. Providing a budget, however small, demonstrates commitment, but giving time to move the work forward is absolutely crucial. Many schools have attracted funding from businesses and charities to support their sustainability work.

You could start by:

  • providing a budget and giving staff and pupils time to develop sustainability work, remembering that much of this work actually saves money that can be ploughed back into new projects
  • taking the initiative to look for sponsorship from supportive businesses and charitable organisations locally, regionally and nationally
  • collaborating with other schools in a cluster to increase your buying power and make what resources you have go further
  • holding a sustainability meeting to enlist the help of parents and other community volunteers

Encourage and distribute leadership and involve the senior leadership team

Distributed leadership is fundamental in developing a sustainable school. Empowering others to take a lead is key to embedding the work and in some schools individual members of staff are given leading roles to develop sustainability, supported by the senior management team.

You could start by:

  • identifying key leaders in school that others will be inspired by and want to follow
  • giving less experienced staff responsibility for specific projects or for developing work under one of the eight national framework doorways – it will increase their confidence and give them a chance to shine
  • establishing pupil leaders to work with staff and make sustainability work their own
  • casting a wider net to harness the leadership skills of parents

Make connections

Sustainable schools make the connection between all aspects of work in school and life beyond its gates. They understand the ‘bigger picture’ and they use sustainability as a vehicle for delivering on other important agendas. This is what moves education for sustainable development from being an add-on to being embedded in the core ethos of the school.

You could start by:

  • investigating the connections between sustainability, raised attainment and child well-being in sustainable schools by visiting other schools and sharing the learning with the whole school community to get buy-in
  • producing a DVD to communicate success stories, such as increased pupil engagement, that show impact and inspire future work
  • talking about sustainability in all the school’s planning, development and assessment documents to make it part of the fabric of the school
  • practising connectivity by being involved in extended schools, healthy schools, global citizenship, SEAL and any other initiatives that prepare children and young people to be active local and global citizens

Extend learning

Sustainability, by its very definition, implies the need for continued development and learning in order to maintain the status quo. Sustainable schools are hungry to extend and share opportunities for learning to the benefit of staff, pupils and the wider community.

You could start by:

  • looking and listening to identify potential ‘teachers’ in the community who come into school to enhance the learning experience of pupils
  • extending school facilities to provide learning opportunities for parents and other adults and celebrating success, however small
  • seizing opportunities for staff to share and develop their practice with other schools - possibly through informal learning visits -  and via professional development networks
  • modelling the principle of lifelong learning by investing time in your own continuous professional development (CPD)