Sustainability for Schools

Working with industry experts the SchooliP sustainability portal is free to use for all schools - you can register with the portal here.

The SchooliP sustainability audit builds on NGA's (National Governance Association) guidance for governing boards and the NAEE (National Association of Environmental Education's) six Cs of Culture, Campus, Curriculum, Community, Careers and CPD. This will help schools and trusts develop a truly whole organisation approach. It is great to be working with so many people and organisations supporting schools to do the very best they can to achieve Net Zero and help protect the planet.

NGA, NAEE and Derventio Education have come together to provide schools and trusts with a free online tool distributed within SchooliP to help governing boards adopt and develop environmental sustainability as a strategic priority.

Benefits for Schools

Our School Sustainability Portal contains many features for schools such as:

Sustainable Development Goals

The tool consists of a series of questions and guidance to help schools and trusts interested in developing sustainability to ask themselves relevant questions and focus their efforts on pertinent actions. Having the tool online means it is easily accessible to all stakeholders, who can be viewers and/or contributors. Those having an input can answer the questions and add supporting comments and documents.

Accessibility

Environmental, governance and technical experts have come together to provide schools and trusts with a free online tool to help governing boards adopt and develop environmental sustainability as a strategic priority. The tool is based on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, it’s designed to cover all aspects of school life and is organised into the 6Cs of Culture, Campus, Curriculum, Community, Careers and CPD.

Dashboard

All stakeholders have a single view of the state of play in the form of overview dashboards, along with the ability to drill down into the detail of each question. When sufficient data is available, it will be possible to make comparisons such as previous submissions and averages across all schools. Another advantage of the tool is that the Sharing feature allows experts to share useful information with schools.

Collaboration

In time, users may decide that the Sharing feature should be opened up to also allow extensive collaboration between schools, trusts and wider communities This would mean like-minded schools can share ideas and experiences directly.

The Six C's

A whole school approach to environmental sustainability should encompass all aspects of school life, learning and management.

Culture

The way things are done at all levels of a school/trust is reflective of your vision and values. If environmental sustainability sits within this, your everyday practices and larger decisions will demonstrate care and respect for the environment.

Curriculum

Treating environmental sustainability as a core value should lead to governing boards taking a keen interest in how this is covered in the curriculum. As climate change affects many aspects of daily life, climate education should extend beyond science and geography.

Community

Community refers to how the school fosters a united approach to environmental sustainability, both within the local community and the school community itself.

Campus

This encompasses all aspects of school buildings and grounds. Energy usage will likely already have been considered, but there are other aspects which can positively benefit your school/trust.

Careers

Supporting young people to make informed choices about their future is an important responsibility for schools and their governing boards. With future green careers on the horizon, this is an area both primary and secondary schools should prioritise.

CPD

Governing boards, senior leaders and teachers need to be equipped with the skills to deliver on improving environmental sustainability. This includes providing the capacity and budget to do so.

SchooliP Sustainability Portal