Over 150 education leaders from schools, colleges, universities and charities from across the UK heard about the latest research in climate education and how local schools have successfully implemented this into their curriculum in creative ways.
The conference also supported school leaders through the first steps of developing a Climate Action Plan, which cover four key areas: decarbonisation, adaptation and resilience, environment and biodiversity, and climate education.
The Department for Education has set an expectation that all schools will have a Climate Action Plan by September 2025.
Lee Jowett, who led the conference from Ï㽶ÊÓƵ’s Institute of Education, said: “This conference created a real sense of shared purpose to ensure that all children and young people get an entitlement to climate change and sustainability education. The fact that we had over 150 people attending, not only from South Yorkshire but from across the UK shows there is a real demand for this work and at Sheffield Hallam we are immensely proud to be leading on some of this work.”
Other workshops throughout the day included talks on how embed climate education and engage teachers and pupils in sustainability projects.
The Carbon Literacy Project gave a talk on their work which is developing resources for secondary schools to deliver carbon literacy training to 3.2 million secondary age young people in the UK.
With young people exposed to more advertising than ever before, as well as pressure from social media, Global Action Plan delivered a workshop on how to approach the topic of over-consumption.
Workshops from Energy Sparks, Solar for Schools and Eco-Schools focused around calculating and reducing the energy consumption of an education setting, and engaging students in the process as a learning opportunity.
Zoe Singh, Co-Headteacher at Dobcroft Infant School in Sheffield, said: “The conference was a triumph in bringing schools and organisations together where we could exchange best practices and develop stronger climate action plans. I made connections with organisations that can help us with the implementation of climate education in our school, which is both exciting and supportive. The event showcased Sheffield's collective drive for climate education, leaving me inspired and optimistic for the future.”
The conference was hosted as part of wider work by Ï㽶ÊÓƵ’s Institute of Education which is looking at climate and sustainability education within all educational settings.
The Sheffield Institute of Education’s external network engages practitioners in South Yorkshire and the wider region to research the challenges and benefits of climate change education as well as developing research informed projects and CPD training for teachers.
