#CLPL – Learning for Sustainability

The Lost Words: helping unearth nature for new audiences

Ways in which this publishing phenomenon is being used to connect with diverse groups and learning settings are highlighted by Rob Bushby.

Read how educators, youth workers, countryside rangers and others are using The Lost Words to help inspire and engage people from all backgrounds to re-discover words – and find and interpret their own learning and meaning through creative connections with nature.

Free resources including 5 spell-poem downloads and an Explorer’s Guide are hosted by the John Muir Trust.

The Lost Words Examples April 19

Apply for Global Learning Partnerships 2017

GTC Scotland registered practitioners from Aberdeen City Council, Aberdeenshire Council, Highland Council and Stirling Council are invited to apply for Global Learning Partnerships 2017.

WHAT IS IT?

35 days of CLPL delivered over an 18 month period. Global Learning Partnerships (GLP) provides participants with the opportunity to spend four weeks, over the Scottish summer holidays, living in host communities in rural Rwanda and Western Uganda. During this time, participants will work alongside local educationalists and teachers, developing their teaching methodologies and improving the provision of education within host schools.
In addition to the four weeks in-country, participants will attend two pre-departure training weekends (March / June 2017) and a post placement debrief (October 2017)
GLP is accredited by GTC Scotland in Global Education within Learning for Sustainability.

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?

The programme costs on average £3,600 per person. Participants are asked to fundraise £1,250 towards this cost. The remainder of programme funding is met by The Wood Foundation and local authority partners.
Costs include: all pre-departure training (accommodation and sustenance), placement costs (flights, living allowance, accommodation overseas, in-country orientation, mid-phase review and in-country support costs), and debrief (training provision, accommodation and sustenance).

WHO DELIVERS THE PROGRAMME?

Developed by The Wood Foundation, GLP is currently delivered in Scotland in partnership with Aberdeen City Council, Aberdeenshire Council, Highland Council, and Stirling Council.
In Rwanda, the programme is developed and delivered alongside Inspire Empower Educate Rwanda and The Lotic Group. In Uganda, The Wood Foundation will work in partnership with Redearth Uganda.

HOW DO I APPLY?

Applications are open to permanent, GTC Scotland registered practitioners who work for one of our partner local authorities.
Application forms are available by contacting Kelly Work (Kelly.work@thewoodfoundation.org.uk), or by contacting your local authority champion (Fiona Saunders – Aberdeen City; Christine McLennan – Aberdeenshire; Christine Gordon – Highland; and Helen Winton – Stirling).
Applications will be accepted from now until 5pm on Friday 6th January 2017.

See flyer below:

download-the-global-learning-partnership-flyer

British Council: LfS Connecting Classrooms Course

Glasgow: 14 January – 18 March (Venue TBC)

Edinburgh: 21 January – 25 March 2017 Moray House School of Education, University of Edinburgh
Oban: 22 April – 25 June 2017 (bookings not yet open, please register interest)

This professional learning initiative by the University of Edinburgh in partnership with the British Council and Learning for Sustainability Scotland, is a timely opportunity for teachers to grapple with what Learning for Sustainability means, what existing and new skills and knowledge are required, and how this might all look in the your school context. Connecting directly with Curriculum for Excellence, involvement will enable you to effectively plan for and implement Learning for Sustainability approaches in your school.

This programme offers teachers the opportunity to engage and collaborate over a ten week period which includes two full day face to face sessions at the beginning and at the end of the period, supported by fortnightly inputs from online materials.

Teachers who successfully complete the programme will be eligible to apply for overseas study visits to partner schools in other countries. Learning can be used to strengthen international links at your school, enriching teaching and learning through partnerships and joint projects.

The professional learning is fully funded.

For more information on the Glasgow course, including what is involved and how to book please click HERE.

For more information on the Edinburgh course, including what is involved and how to book please click HERE.

If you would like to be included on the mailing list for future courses in other Scottish locations, please email Abi Cornwall.

Gardening and Woodland Courses

Outdoor & Woodland Learning Scotland (OWL) Gardening and Woodland Courses OWL will be running a series of courses on Gardening for Biodiversity , which will include a practical introduction to the Wee Green Fingers resource. Dates and Venues:

– Saturday 15th October (morning) – Hidden Gardens, Glasgow.

– Saturday 12th November – The Bield, Perthshire.

– Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh, date tbc.

The courses will be free and open to all OWL members, teachers and educators. Please email to provisionally book a place: Bonnie.Maggio@forestry.gsi.gov.uk

Coming soon: 2 workshops on Scotland’s Native Woodlands. For more information subscribe to the OWL Scotland bulletin.

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 and the Shieling Project

Before outdoor learning there was the shieling. For hundreds of years, each summer young people all over Scotland would take the livestock up to hill or moorland pastures, camping there in small bothies, learning about the world beyond the village. The Shieling Project brings the shieling back to life for young people and teachers, through outdoor learning, resources and professional learning for teachers.

Sam Harrison, who runs the Shieling Project explains “Through this tradition we can look at so many subjects across the curriculum, and work skills from archaeology to forestry, as well as exploring global sustainability themes through hands on local learning experiences.”

The Shieling Project professional learning programme in learning for sustainability will run again from this May. The year long course leads to professional recognition from the GTCS in Learning for Sustainability.

Based in Glen Strathfarrar, near Beauly, four weekend workshops, two days of outdoor learning with your class and an online forum provide an opportunity to build a critical, supportive and collaborative community. The course costs £900.

For more information, including a video of the first cohort of teachers presenting their learning journeys, click here.

For a full list of courses that can lead to professional recognition, visit the GTCS website .

GLOW Meet: Get ready for winter

Don’t get caught out with bad weather this winter! Doing small things now can save a lot of trouble later. Take part in our Glow TV event to hear important information from the Met Office, a flood officer and Sustrans on why you need to get ready and what you can do. This will include getting your home and bike ready for winter. Our experts are keen to answer your questions too. This is a great opportunity to get ready for winter!

This glow meet is suitable for upper primary and lower secondary and will be on Tuesday 24^th November at 10.45 – 11.45. Sign up to register here.

In the meantime, visit bit.ly/RfEScot Ready for Winter page to get ideas to use with your class. You’ll find a power point, short video and learning journeys packed full of ideas to get you started. Keep safe this winter!

Refugees facing winter freeze

A common refrain over the weekend of the clocks going back is that we can have “an extra hour in our bed.” As we prepare for the transition from autumn to winter, pictures emerging from Associated Press’ twitter feed show drone photography of a continuing stream of refugees heading through the Balkan countryside. For them, just one hour in their own bed in the face of dropping temperatures and increasingly complex arrangements for finding sanctuary, is a forlorn hope.

Meanwhile, the UNHCRC are warning of an increasing polarisation in the views of Europeans in their response to the refugee crisis. The head of the EU, Jean-Claude Juncker, has spoken out on the distinct possibility of refugees “freezing to death”.

Many educators will already have found ways of engaging pupils with the refugee crisis (See previous post on IDEAS network resources). For others, however there may not yet have been the time or opportunity.

This Thursday, SCOTDEC is offering a practical session aiming to provide ideas, methodologies and resources for teachers to explore the refugee crisis . This session will be co-delivered with the British Red Cross. You can sign up here.

Christian Aid have also produced an assembly resource with speaker notes and accompanying PowerPoint that may provide a helpful way in to discussing the issue as a whole class/ school. You can access the resources here.

Apply for extra places on LfS practitioner network

Additional places available for practitioners and leaders with a passion for LfS

Are you passionate about learning for sustainability (LfS)? Do you have experience of leading on one or more aspects of LfS in your educational setting? Are you willing to share what has worked for you and be inspired by other committed practitioners across Scotland?

Additional places have become available on the LfS national practitioner network. Offers of places have already been made through the LfS local authority network. However, if you have not registered an interest through your local authority and would like to be considered for one of the additional places, please email Anthony.Hutcheson@educationscotland.gsi.gov.uk .

The network will be convened by Education Scotland in partnership with the Forestry Commission Scotland. The first meeting took place on Friday 30^th October 2015. The second meeting will take place on Friday 11th December 2015. The third meeting has been arranged for Thursday 4th February 2016. Venues tbc.

Aims

The purpose of the network is to create time and space for a cross-authority group to:

share practice and successes
work in a coordinated way to identify gaps in the system and co-create new resources and approaches
disseminate these resources immediately to all practitioners through Glow
work in partnership with national LfS providers to build capacity in the system
share successes and impact through a range of digital platforms.

Person specification

To contribute effectively to the national network we are looking for individuals with skills and expertise across the following areas:

passionate about learning for sustainability
excellent knowledge of CfE and a range of LfS themes and approaches. These may include some or all of the following areas: global citizenship, sustainable development education, international education, outdoor learning and children’s rights
experience of leading and/or contributing to effective change, development and improvement in LfS at school/local and/or national level
proven track record of planning and delivering high quality learning experiences
ability to take a flexible, creative and collaborative approach to working with a range of other practitioners and partners
excellent written communication and IT skills to explain the values of sustainability to a range of audiences, while consistently reflecting upon and modelling those same values
awareness of emerging research and policy developments and how they relate to LfS
ability to disseminate resources, approaches and understanding to peers across their authority.

Global Learning Programme Scotland Events

Did you know the Global Learning Programme Scotland (GLPS) has a dedicated events page? This online hub provides information and booking details for all upcoming professional learning programmes offered by the six regional Development Education Centres (DECs).

Forthcoming events include Learning for sustainability: developing global citizens 1st to 3rd level (WOSDEC, East Ayrshire) , Rights and Global Citizenship: a cross curriculum approach (SCOTDEC,West Lothian) and One Day Conference on National Qualifications and Learning for Sustainability (Conforti Institute, Coatbridge).

The IDEAS network has also provided information in response to the refugee crisis. Information on events, resources and support for teachers is available here.