Uncategorized – Page 4 – Learning for Sustainability

Vision 2030+ Report launched by Ministers

Vision 2030+, the Concluding Report of the Learning for Sustainability National Implementation Group, has been formally accepted and launched by Ministers. The Report celebrates the progress that has been made by Scottish Schools since the original Learning for Sustainability Report was launched in 2012 and reaffirms the five strategic recommendations:

All learners should have an entitlement to learning for sustainability.
In line with the GTCS Professional Standards, every practitioner, school and education leader should demonstrate learning for sustainability in their practice.
Every school should have a whole school approach to learning for sustainability that is robust, demonstrable. evaluated and supported by leadership at all levels.
All school buildings, grounds and policies should support learning for sustainability.
A strategic national approach to supporting learning for sustainability should be established.

The report also sets out the vision for LfS through to 2030 – the target date for realising the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

In launching the Vision 2030+ Report, Shirley-Anne Somerville MSP, Minister for Further Education, Higher Education and Sciences said, “I am delighted to mark the formal launch of the Vision 2030+ Report. The report, which should be considered within the context of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, contains a range of very important recommendations. It is now essential that we maintain the momentum and ensure that Learning for Sustainability is fully embedded across our approach to curriculum and our three over-arching strategic priorities for education: the National Improvement Framework, Scottish Attainment Challenge and Developing the Young Workforce. Learning for Sustainability has a crucial role in supporting and enhancing these priorities.”

Read the Vision 2030+ Report

Watch the video of the launch with the Minister (starting at 9:55). Also includes an introduction by Professor Pete Higgins and a presentation by Ms Irmeli Halinen, former Head of the Curriculum in Finland.

Ministerial Statement for Launch of the Vision 2030 Report

Important – Our Websites are Changing

Preparations are underway for a major update to the Education Scotland websites to ensure we continue to meet the needs of practitioners as Scotland’s education system evolves.

By November, four sites will be available, which will be search-driven to help users quickly access the information they seek.

Corporate website – with information about Education Scotland, policy and legislation, news, Scotland’s education system and our role in it
The National Improvement Hub – the dedicated source of education improvement materials and resources for education practitioners
Parentzone Scotland – the dedicated information site developed for, and with, parents
National Qualifications site – providing practitioners with support materials for qualifications.

In preparation, we have been reviewing the content on our current sites. Education improvement materials and resources that remain relevant are being moved to the National Improvement Hub. Some topic-specific content is being moved to partner organisations and will appear on their websites. Other content is being archived for future consideration, and may be deleted or re-worked and used again. Where content has already been moved, site visitors will find a relevant link or message.

The websites with sciences and learning for sustainability content will be affected as follows:

STEM Central – core content is being migrated to the National Improvement Hub. The site in its current format will no longer be available beyond end of October 2016.

Weather and Climate Change – core content is being migrated to the National Improvement Hub. The site in its current format will no longer be available beyond end of October 2016.

Exploring Climate Change – core content is being migrated to the National Improvement Hub. The site in its current format will no longer be available beyond end of October 2016.

NQ Higher Sciences – content is being migrated to the new National Qualifications site. The site in its current format will no longer be available beyond end of October 2016.

Giant Pandas – the site in its current format will no longer be available beyond end of October 2016. In time, some of the content will appear on the Beyond the Panda website developed by the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland.

Schools Global Footprint – this website is being deleted and will no longer be available beyond the end of October 2016.

Ready for Emergencies – the site in its current format will no longer be available beyond the end of October 2016. The content is currently being migrated to Scottish Government’s Ready Scotland website.

NQ Course Material Glow site – materials that have been developed for NQ Sciences by Education Scotland will appear on the new National Qualifications site. Most of the other material developed and shared by local authorities will not be available beyond the end of October 2016.

Sciences and Learning for Sustainability pages on Education Scotland’s Corporate site – core content will remain but there will be a significant reduction in content in the resources and sharing practice sections. Some content will be migrated to the National Improvement Hub.

National Assessment Resource – sciences content will no longer be available beyond the end of October 2016.

Due to the volume of content being migrated there may be a period of time at the end of October where some content being retained may not yet be available on the National Improvement Hub or partner websites.

If you have any further questions then please email: nih@educationscotland.gsi.gov.uk

New! LfS tile now available in Glow app library

It is now easier than ever to navigate to the Learning for Sustainability (LfS) community on Glow. Join the professional discussions or download and share resources easily just by adding the LfS tile to your RM Unify Launch Pad. That means every time you want to visit the community it is just one click away.

To find out how to add a tile to your Launch Pad then watch this simple video: https://glowhelp.wikis.glowscotland.org.uk/Adding+TigTag+Tiles+To+Glow

The video demonstrates how the TigTag app can be added to your Launch Pad but it is the same process for adding the LfS tile. Just look for the tile with the LfS logo in the app library instead – see image below.

LfS Practitioner’s Network – Programme of events for 2016/17

Are you looking to develop learning for sustainability (LfS) in your school, centre or authority?

Would you like to have a valuable opportunity work with like-minded practitioners to share practical ideas, approaches and resources?

The purpose of the LfS Practitioner’s Network is to create time and space for a cross-authority group to share practice and successes in relation to global citizenship, outdoor learning, children’s rights, sustainable development education. Through high-quality professional collaboration and dialogue, attendees work in a coordinated way to address common needs and co-create new resources and approaches. The events are open to practitioners from early learning and childcare, primary secondary and ASN sectors.

The LfS Practitioner’s Network events will be held on the following dates:

Thursday 3rd November – Glasgow City Hotel
Wed 18th January – Edinburgh Doubletree Hilton
Friday 17th March – Stirling Court Hotel

The events are free and will start at 9:30 and finish at 15:30 . To book please register via this link: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/YQDCPN3

See the LfS professional learning community to access the resources produced by the network to date.

Here’s what attendees said about last year’s events:

“Loved hearing about all the excellent LfS projects going on across Scotland…inspiring stuff! Looking forward to collaborating with like-minded people to spread the good work more widely.”

“Great to share practice and successes across different sectors. Need to identify gaps and future opportunities for Learning for Sustainability (LfS) to ensure we keep the momentum going.”

What do the SDGs mean for Scotland?

The Sustainable Development Goals and Scotland: responding to a universal agenda

The Open University in Scotland, the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) and the Network for International Development Organisations in Scotland (NIDOS) invite you to a free half-day seminar (and reception) to review the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and consider what it means for Scotland.

The event will provide an opportunity to learn more about the global framework and accompanying Sustainable Development Goals, how they relate to sustainable development efforts in Scotland and implications for organisations supporting delivery.

The event is aimed at individuals working on sustainable development issues, either domestically or internationally, but is open to anyone to attend.

Speakers include:

– Dr Samantha Ross, International Programme Director, Link Community Development International

– Lucy McTernan, Deputy Chief Executive, SCVO

– Professor Giles Mohan, Chair of International Development, The Open University

When

Wednesday, 5 October 2016 from 14:30 to 18:00 (BST)

Where

Apex Waterloo Place Hotel – Edinburgh, EH1 3BH

Find out more and register: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/what-do-the-sustainable-development-goals-mean-for-scotland-tickets-26485922106?utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=SocialSignIn&utm_source=Twitter

LfS national practitioner network launched

The first meeting of the Learning for Sustainability national practitioner network took place on Friday 30th October. Practitioners representing nineteen different local authorities worked alongside partner organisations (including Keep Scotland Beautiful, WOSDEC, LfS Scotland and Architecture and Design Scotland) during a very productive day of conversation, sharing and planning. Class teachers, faculty and department heads, principal teachers, head teachers, depute heads, curriculum support officers and child development officers got together to share some of the fantastic work already taking place.

The wealth of experience and commitment to LfS was wholly evident, as was the enthusiasm and determination of delegates to ensure that their efforts have an impact in their local authorities and beyond. Comments on the LfS Newsfeed included:

“Loved hearing about all the excellent LfS projects going on across Scotland…inspiring stuff! Looking forward to collaborating with like minded people to spread the good work more widely.”

“Great to share practice and successes across different sectors. Need to identify gaps and future opportunities for Learning for Sustainability (LfS) to ensure we keep the momentum going.”

“Great morning so far at the LfS practitioners network. Lots of really inspiring work going on all across Scotland!”

The full range of discussions, approaches and resources shared can be found in the LfS professional learning community . However, the list below picks out some of the tasks that network members are planning to take forward through a process of collaboration and co-creation:

Getting started : LfS whole school strategic approaches in the secondary school
Professional review and development resource: getting the most out of LfS in the standards
Progression and transitions: programmes of support to build on LfS successes
LfS in National Qualifications
Progression in secondary using the John Muir Award
Planning and progression in ASL sector
Using new GLOW functionality (Delve) to organise curricular resources
LfS-specific Resource Calendar
Outdoor learning skills progression

Please join in the discussions if you are keen to be part of this process. If your local authority is not already represented on this network, please contact Anthony.Hutcheson@educationscotland.gsi.gov.uk for further information.

LfS at the SLF

There is still time to register for seminars at the Scottish Learning Festival 2015.

The Scottish Learning Festival (SLF) is the key education event in Scotland welcoming thousands of education professionals.

SLF 2015 takes place on Wednesday 23 and Thursday 24 September in the SECC, Glasgow.

Below are some of the key seminars relating to learning for sustainability. Remember that even if the seminars are showing up as full when you register, it can be worth trying to attend on the day, as spaces often become available.

Staff will also be on hand at the Education Scotland stand to discuss learning for sustainability between 3:00 and 3:30pm on Wed 23rd and 12:30 and 1:00pm on Thu 24th.

Wednesday 23rd September

Learning for Sustainability: National Progress, Local Success

Ian Menzies, Education Scotland, SEMINAR CODE B1E

Participation – collaborating with children and young people to raise attainment and achievement

Paul McWatt, Education Scotland, SEMINAR CODE A1B

Scotland Lights Up Malawi

Alastair Davidson, Keep Scotland Beautiful, SEMINAR CODE K3A

If You Go Down to the Woods – Developing Forest Kindergartens

Marian Cairns, Forestry Commission Scotland, SEMINAR CODE B2C

‘Joined up Thinking’. Using the John Muir Award

Phil Thompson, Ardroy Outdoor Education Centre, SEMINAR CODE A2E

Social Studies Resource Launch

Lynne Robertson, Education Scotland, SEMINAR CODE C2E

The Unexpected Outcomes of Youth Achievement Awards

Aileen McGovern, West Lothian Council, SEMINAR CODE C1E

Establishing and developing a successful link with France

Thomas Chaurin, Institut Français d’Écosse, SEMINAR CODE K3C

How do the Scottish Teacher Education Standards and the GTCS Code of Professionalism & Conduct set parameters for teacher professionalism in Scotland?

Tom Hamilton and Lindsay Thomson, GTCS, SEMINAR CODE L2D

Better Eating, Better Learning – practical ideas to put the guidance into practice

Lorna Aitken, Education Scotland, SEMINAR CODE C1B

Thursday 24th September

Working in tandem – using bicycles in the curriculum

Sustrans Scotland and Harestanes Primary School

SEMINAR CODE A1F

Think about it! Philosophy with children and young people

Joe Walker, Education Scotland, SEMINAR CODE M1F

Making it into Higher Education

Martin Davidson, The Outward Bound Trust, SEMINAR CODE A1G

PAS promoting education for all in the planning process

Julia Frost, PAS, SEMINAR CODE D2H

World War One Whole School Context – a collaborative approach

Jenny Watson, Middleton Park School, SEMINAR CODE N1H

Collaboration, shared self-evaluation and partnership with the third sector

Alona Murray, Education Scotland, SEMINAR CODE D1I

Making Rights Real: A Framework for Rights Based Learning

South Lanarkshire Council, Curriculum Quality Improvement Service, SEM CODE L2I

Embedding international education in school: A whole school approach to raising attainment

Lucy Young, British Council Scotland, SEMINAR CODE D2I

Air Quality Learning and Teaching Package

Ben Jackson, Scottish Environment Protection Agency, SEMINAR CODE M1I

Primary pupils get animated about sustainability

Pupils from Kinnaird Primary School, Larbert, are sharing their learning for sustainability work with the wider world. Gemma Douglas, principal teacher, and Brenda Bennie, class teacher, have been using WOSDEC global storyline resource, Our Crop, Our Land with their Primary 5 and 6 classes to explore the issues of food security and land grabbing. Their animation on the use and production of Palm Oil explores the far reaching consequences of our everyday choices. It has already had hundreds of hits on YouTube much to the excitement of the illustrators, animators and voiceover artists from Kinnaird. Great work team!

For more on this story and a chance to see the children’s animation, click here.

Character, Culture and Values Conference

Developing a whole school approach to learning for sustainability requires teachers to practise what they teach. A shared culture and values-based approach can enable practitioners and children to work together meaningfully. Pupils learn much from how these values are modelled and implemented by their teachers. However, supporting the development of character and values is a responsibility shared by all: parents, young people, teachers, youth workers, employers and communities. On 15^th & 16^th June, a dedicated conference on character, culture and values will bring a diverse group of people together to learn from each other, connect on these issues and be inspired to take action.

For further information or to register please visit www.character.scot/conference. Registration is available until 22nd May 2015.