1. Eco Schools Journey – a new Eco School Support channel has been created in our Falkirk Learning for Sustainability Team (join code h7cr6l2). The Eco school process has been simplified to make it less bureaucratic and more pupil-led. Keep Scotland Beautiful will facilitate 2 online Eco-schools training sessions for children and young people between 1.30 – 2 pm on Wednesdays 11^th and 18^th September (your group need to attend both). Contact Yvonne McBlain by Monday 9th September to sign your class or Eco-group up and receive the links for these meetings.
2. Our first Falkirk Carbon Ready Classroom training for teachers took place last week (a new collaboration with Keep Scotland Beautiful).  This training was provided to support class teachers of upper primary children who want to build a Carbon Ready Classroom(CRC) and become climate-informed together. The CRC experience can contribute to your school’s Eco Schools journey and supports upper primary teachers and their classes with this vital aspect of Learning for Sustainability.  The teacher support materials are in a CRC folder within the Eco Schools channel of our Falkirk LfS Team. Our CRC children’s training day is Thursday 28th November between 9.15 and 2.45 pm. Please email Yvonne McBlain by Monday 18th November to register your class for participation or to request another training session for staff.
3. We are glad that our very own Falkirk LfS Peer mentor (and RMPS Teacher) Samantha Wilson-McCaw from Braes HS will continue in her role this term. Samantha is happy to engage with schools and staff who have LfS as an improvement priority this year.
4. Our Falkirk Learning for Sustainability blog has been refreshed over the summer here. This is our space for sharing and celebrating good practice and valuable ideas relating to LfS so please email Yvonne to add a post about your work.
5. News from Education Scotland LfS Team – The DECS have updated their Climate Justice through Human Rights education resource. It can be accessed through the resources section of our website, and directly: ttps://wosdec.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/ECJ-T5.pdf
6. Education Scotland’s new webpage on Children’s Rights is available Children’s rights in Scotland | Resource Themes | Education Scotland
7. Social Enterprise Academy support opportunities – 26.9.24 teacher information session on Preparing for an SEA Dragon’s Den PLUS Understanding Social Enterprise – 18.9.24, 4- 5 pm – both online. Practitioners should register by emailing SarahRogerson@socialenteprise.academy
8. Secondary School Global Social Leaders membership – more information here about this interactive, project-based learning programme where students, aged 11-18, work in teams to design and deliver a social action project. Students will connect with others across the world to learn from each other’s social action journeys through live virtual sessions and student-led, self-paced activities that encourage autonomy and agency. The programme is designed to support problem-solving, communication, creativity, critical thinking, and collaboration, enabling students to adapt and thrive in life and the future world of work
9. Falkirk Secondary Schools Climate Summit takes place in Braes HS on 18^th This event was organised by young people in Braes and Falkirk High Schools and delegates from each secondary school have been invited to attend. Yvonne contacted cluster chairpeople to invite primary pupil representation, but this does not appear feasible this year. We look forward to their involvement next time.
10. John Muir Award – Information about changes to the running of the award: The John Muir Trust is redesigning and improving the John Muir Award – aiming to launch in 2025. Updates on progress through the autumn and winter via website and Award e-Bulletin. Due to the current challenging financial environment the Trust is making the following changes to how they run the John Muir Award:
    • No new Proposal Forms for the Award are being accepted at this time.
    • Any Proposal Forms that have already been received by the Trust will be reviewed and registered, providing Award Criteria can be met and the Awards are intended to be completed by 1st September 2024.
    • Upon Award completion, where registered participants have achieved the Award Criteria, electronic certificates in PDF format will replace hard copy certificate

11. The Scottish Government  have released this information and this toolkit to support Scotland’s Climate Week and climate action across the country:

Scotland’s Climate Week, held annually since 2016, brings together communities and organisations across the country to support climate action. This year, Climate Week will take place from 23 – 29 September. The focus of the week is on sharing “Stories for Change”, and we’ve created a toolkit for early learners, schools and caregivers, to get involved in this fantastic opportunity.

And finally, we hope to have your support with our first Falkirk LfS audit between October and December of this year. The audit is designed to establish what LfS looks like in our schools and centres and how we can support you better. We’ll keep it short and snappy but thought you’d like to know it was on its way.