Sustainability leadership and climate action plans in education:

The sustainability and climate change strategy for education states: “By 2025, all education settings will have nominated a sustainability lead and put in place a climate action plan”. This includes early years settings, schools, multi-academy trusts, colleges, and universities.

Why having a sustainability leadership and a climate action plan is important:

Education settings have the greatest success in driving change where there is a holistic action plan that is supported by a leadership team with the authority, knowledge, and commitment to take it forward.  By creating a climate action plan we will take a structured and strategic route toward ensuring our school is acting toward, and educating about, sustainability. 

Having clear leadership for sustainability in place, and a climate action plan, will help our school to:

• increase the confidence and expertise of our leadership team, staff, pupils and parents/ carers in understanding climate change and how positive change can be achieved
• create a culture that prioritises sustainability
• share effective practice with other education settings and develop a peer-to-peer learning network
• use data to identify and prioritise action
• improve energy and water efficiency
• calculate our carbon emissions and identify ways to reduce them
• reduce operating costs
• increase resilience and start adapting to the impacts of climate change
• enhance biodiversity
• help learners develop skills and knowledge which help them to contribute to sustainability and climate change in their lives and future jobs

Our holistic climate action plan covers the following 4 areas:

1. decarbonisation, for example calculating and taking actions to reduce carbon emissions, such as becoming more energy efficient
2. adaptation and resilience, such as taking actions to reduce the risk of flooding and overheating
3. improving the environment and biodiversity, for example engaging with the National Education Nature Park
4. climate education and green careers, such as ensuring the education you provide gives knowledge-rich and comprehensive teaching about climate change, and that your teaching staff and lecturers feel supported to offer this

Our sustainability leadership team:

Our sustainability leadership team contains a diverse team of passionate individuals who are committed to driving positive change.  It includes both educational and operational expertise:

1. Ben Riggott - Embark Trust Sustainability Lead
2. Richard Mansfield - Embark Trust Estates Lead
3. Karen Scrivens - Field House Headteacher
4. Lorraine Gillott - Field House School Business Manager
5. Richard Morgan - Field House School Caretaker

Our whole-school approach:

At Field House, the whole school setting, is engaged so that planning becomes action.

Learners

Involving children is important in climate action planning.  Doing so can:

• inspire their enthusiasm to help drive positive change
• increase their practical knowledge of sustainability and climate change
• give them a sense of agency where anxiety stems from climate concerns
• create a sense of pride in their education setting
• enable them to share their knowledge and enthusiasm in their local communities
• enable them to engage their parents, carers, and wider community in sustainability and climate change

Senior leadership team (SLT), governors, trustees and executive leaders.

As senior decision makers, SLT and governors support and drive our sustainable activity. They:

• provide the authority and support to drive and embed culture change
• ensure climate change and sustainability feature on the agenda at key meetings
• are responsible for succession planning, so that commitment to sustainability endures in the setting

Estates management

The sustainability of your estate section of the good estate management for schools guidance explains the role of estates management in encouraging sustainability and managing energy and water use.

Resources

• National Education Nature Park

• Dr Diane Boyd’s sustainability matters in early childhood resource, developed and written in partnership with NCFE
• London Early Years Foundation sustainability strategy

• National Governance Association’s greener governance campaign

• United Learning Trust’s sustainability journey (PDF, 165 KB, 3 pages)
• Home - Count Your Carbon
• Impact - Lets Go Zero - Zero Carbon Schools
• WOW - the walk to school challenge
• Sustrans Big Walk and Wheel 2025
• Cycle Training for Everyone - Deliver Safer Training | Bikeability
• Energy Sparks
• The Pod | Switch Off Fortnight 2025
• Modeshift STARS Education - Delivery of Effective Travel Plans
• Collecteco - Helping UK Companies Donate Furniture, Equipment & Materials to Good Causes
• Teacher Resources | Wastebuster
• Take action to achieve your food waste prevention goals • Guardians of Grub
• Big Schools' Birdwatch
• Plantlife's No Mow May Movement