January 2022

Our Schools' Conference, for all primary and secondary schools in South Yorkshire, is now only six weeks away! 

Click the buttons below for links to our packed Conference Timetable and Conference Programme to see the hugely exciting range of events, including teacher CPD, that will be going live on 1st - 3rd March. Please note that we are still firming up times with some contributors (marked TBC). 

We know that school staff continue to face huge pressures due to Omicron and continued uncertainty over assessments. Our goal is to support you to educate pupils about the climate crisis in a way that is as relevant and as straightforward as possible. The conference will be suitable for students who are isolating due to it being entirely online. Teachers will be able to send links to pupils to enable them to access sessions, or can simply get their classes to watch and participate in sessions with them. For secondary schools, workshops can help provide excellent lesson content for KS3 classes, helping with planning and preparation, when facing pressures with exam classes. We strive to ensure that every session involves pupils in an interactive or practical activity.

We will send you more information shortly about how to participate in conference sessions, but if you have any questions or concerns, email schools@scesy.org.uk

See below to meet some more of our contributors, and get your pupils learning a climate song!

Also in this newsletter we include links to the DfE Sustainability and Climate Change Strategy, an article on how a Barnsley School has acted to tackle climate change, and an idea on how to make school food climate-friendly.

Lawrence Dodd, who is the Community Development Officer within BMBC’s North East Area Council team, worked with Sarah Riley, Teacher of Geography and Lead for Personal Development and Life at Outwood Academy Shafton, to develop a competition at the school aimed at students from Year 7-9, to come up with innovative and novel responses to the Climate Crisis.

The competition, which coincided with Cop26, aimed to instigate a conversation within the school & the wider community about both the personal changes that can be made to improve the environment, as well larger scale changes that could take place, starting from within the school itself, that could help address the Climate Crisis.

Nine students reached the final round, at which point they were asked to pitch their proposals to our panel of judges, which included local Councillor Joe Hayward, Hannah Cornish (BMBC Climate Change Strategy Manager) & Richard Souter (Schools Climate Education South Yorkshire). Students proposals were judged on the extent to which they engaged with the issues and causes of climate change, the originality & creativity of their proposals, and their communication and presentation skills.

Panellists were impressed by the students understanding of the issues related to climate change, particularly the winning student’s proposal, of a fashion swap-shop within the school as a way to reduce the 'throw away culture' of high street fashion. This is now a project that Lawrence Dodd will work with the students and the wider school to develop into reality!

All parties involved in the project felt that creating an exciting and engaging way for students to grapple with the challenges of Climate Change, made speaking and thinking about the issues less daunting and more empowering. The project has also improved the relationships between the local council, school and young people, and has aided a conversation within the school about improvements that can be made regarding it’s ecological footprint, which young people have and can continue to take an active role in.

A huge thanks goes to Cllr Joe Hayward, BMBC Climate Change Strategy Manager Hannah Cornish, & Richard Souter from Schools Climate Education South Yorkshire for serving as our panel of judges, Sarah Riley for working on this despite having classes to teach and a pandemic to negotiate, and to Cudworth Ward Alliance for funding the project.

By Lawrence Dodd

If you have not yet signed up with Schools' Climate Education South Yorkshire, click the button below.