The challenge and the opportunity

Children and young people are worried about climate change and want to know more about:

• the impact it is having now
• how it will impact their future lives

We all have a responsibility for preparing children and young people for the challenges and opportunities they will face – with the appropriate knowledge, skills and pastoral care.

Education

Through education we have the privilege to be able to engage directly with children and young people who:

• are passionate about the natural world
• want to do their best to protect it
• can influence their wider communities

Through their learned and lived experiences from early years to Year 6, we will provide opportunities to develop a broad knowledge and understanding of the importance of nature, sustainability and the causes and impact of climate change and to translate this knowledge into positive action and solutions.

Green skills and jobs

Green jobs will not be niche. We anticipate that sustainability and climate change will touch every career.

The UK government’s Net Zero Strategy will support the transition to net zero and 190,000 jobs by the middle of the 2020s and up to 440,000 jobs in 2030. The increased investment and legislation for nature’s recovery driven by the Environment Act will also create many green jobs in the nature sector. Our programmes will provide the opportunity for people of all ages to train, retrain or upskill to go into green careers.

Learning from and connecting with nature

The Economics of Biodiversity: The Dasgupta Review states that ‘connection with nature declines in childhood to an overall low in the mid-teens. Creating an environment from an early age where we are able to connect to nature is essential for self-enforcement in protecting and valuing nature’.

We will increase opportunities for all children and young people to:

• spend time in nature and learn more about it
• become actively involved in the improvement of their local environment

We know that regular contact with green spaces can have a beneficial impact on children’s physical and mental health. However, access to green space is not equal and we must do more to ensure that all children have opportunities to benefit from access to green space and build connections with nature.

Buildings

Climate adaptation and decarbonisation activity in schools can provide powerful learning opportunities. Young people can:

• participate in the implementation of climate adaptation measures
• learn in buildings designed for net zero
• find out more about the impact of energy and water use

Seeing sustainability brought to life in the buildings around them will allow children and young people to gain experiences which will enhance and contextualise their learning.

 

Vision and aims

Vision: the United Kingdom is the world-leading education sector in sustainability and climate change by 2030.

At Hucknall National C of E Primary School, we will achieve this through the following strategic aims:

1. Excellence in education and skills for a changing world: preparing all young people for a world impacted by climate change through learning and practical experience.
2. Net zero: reducing direct and indirect emissions from our school and providing opportunities for children and young people to engage practically in the transition to net zero.
3. Resilience to climate change: adapting our building and systems to prepare for the effects of climate change.
4. A better environment for future generations: enhancing biodiversity, improving air quality and increasing access to, and connection with, nature in and around education and care settings.

 

The areas that we are working closely on are:

1. Decarbonisation and energy efficiency

• Energy
• Purchasing and uniform
• Food
• Transport
• Waste

2. Climate adaptation and resilience
3. Biodiversity and green infrastructure
4. Climate education, green skills and green careers