Global Citizenship

May 14th, 2012

Be a part of a sustainable schools documentary

imenzies

Comments: none Tags: Tags: events, film, school improvement
 : Categories ICT, biodiversity, community, creativity, curriculum areas, expressive arts, outdoor learning, renewables and climate change, sustainable development

With a month to go there is still time to take part in the inaugural documentary entitled “The UK’s Best Sustainable Schools”.

This film is being produced by Cycling4SEEd who will be visiting (by bicycle and other sustainable means of travel) schools from Lands End to John O’Groats and capturing on film the freshest ideas, the best practice, the most exciting plans and hopefully even the most exciting results of sustainability in schools.

Cycling4SEEd cannot visit every school in the country but there are still ways for you and your schools to be part of this very important film to encourage all schools to take up sustainability:

1. Develop a student-led 6-minute video about sustainability in your school which may be included in the final documentary and premiered in London on July 11th at SEEd’s Sustainable Schools Conference – details at www.se-ed.co.uk/cycling4seed.
2. Enter the student competition to make a 60 second commercial to promote the documentary and encourage other schools and students to become more sustainable. The awards ceremony for the commercial will also be held in London on July 11th and the winning commercial will be shown at the premier of the documentary.

For details of how to get involved in any of these activities, please visit the SEED website at www.se-ed.org-uk. You can also follow the story of Cycling4SEEd’s journey along the backbone of the UK as they visit schools, hear stories, see sustainable projects and share ideas.

For all your enquiries, please email admin@se-ed.org.uk.

April 26th, 2012

Place-based learning – CPD opportunity

imenzies

Comments: none Tags: Tags: CPD, events, nature
 : Categories CPD, biodiversity, community, curriculum areas, outdoor learning, sustainable development

Venue: Glen Strae (near Dalmally), Argyll, Scotland

Cost: £100

Places: 15

Dates: 25^th – 27^th May 2012

Times: arrival from 7pm on the Friday, finish before 5pm Sunday

Spend a weekend in a beautiful glen honing your outdoor learning skills.  Find out how to get the most from the places you use, and learn practices which can bring out the unique features of your locality and context.  Share a stimulating workshop with other educators and journey in a rich landscape full of stories.  

Ground – Develop a sense of how to work with the places you take your school/group as more than just venues.  Insights from ‘place-based education’ will help you answer the question ‘why here?’ and get the most from the locality in which you work.

Experience – Walk and discuss the ethics of working ‘in, about and for’ places. Look at ways of introducing, working with and reviewing learning in the landscape. 

Develop – Model and discuss techniques and exercises for all age ranges which bring out the varied elements of place: history, land-use, ecology and personal connections. 

Understand – Discuss the ideas behind this approach, asking what is a ‘sense of place?’ and investigating the curriculum and educational links to topics such as sustainability, and personal well-being.

We will be camping so please bring your own food, outdoor clothing and camping equipment.  Transport is possible by train (Glasgow – Oban line), transfers between Dalmally Station and Glen Strae can be arranged.

A deposit of £50 will reserve your place please contact sam@openground.eu for details

Deposits are non-returnable and full balances will be due 4 weeks before the course – we recommend you take out insurance for cancellation

 Any queries please contact sam@openground.eu

April 26th, 2012

Outdoor Learning Placement – John Muir Award

imenzies

Comments: none Tags: Tags: CPD, nature
 : Categories CPD, biodiversity, outdoor learning, sustainable development

The John Muir Award (an educational initiative of the John Muir Trust) is offering an exciting opportunity for an educator who would like to develop their knowledge and experience of outdoor learning.

The John Muir Award is an environmental award scheme focused on wild places. It aims to encourage people of all backgrounds to connect with, enjoy and care for wild places.  It is a nationally recognised scheme that is already demonstrating strong links with Curriculum for Excellence.

This placement will help interpret and build on Education Scotland’s on-going investment in Outdoor Learning to meet key areas such as Health and Well-being, Global Citizenship, Sustainable Development Education, Literacy, Numeracy, Creativity and Skills for Learning, Life and Work.  The placement opportunity will extend and strengthen outdoor learning approaches through the John Muir Award both nationally and in a specific Local Authority area (depending on successful candidate source).

This is a flexible opportunity that we would like to offer in partnership with a Local Authority or other relevant employer.   Please note that this is not a fully funded opportunity, and would need to be supported by your current employer.  The John Muir Trust can provide substantial support in kind such as office space, management, development and training. 

Time commitment: Ideally the placement would be over a full academic year.  Part and full time placements will be considered.  Location of placement can also be flexible. 

Deadline for applications: 18 May, 2012
Prospective applicants should submit a CV and covering letter.

Applications can either be emailed to: education@johnmuiraward.org or posted to:
Rebecca Logsdon, John Muir Award Scotland Education Manager
John Muir Trust, Tower House, Station Road, Pitlochry, PH16 5AN t: 01796 484972

March 27th, 2012

Review and catch-up: Learner Voice and Pupil Participation event, 23 March, Edinburgh

kmayer

Comments: none Tags: Tags: climate and energy, CPD, learner voice
 : Categories CPD, Uncategorized, citizenship, community, learner voice, outdoor learning, renewables and climate change, sharing practice, social studies, sustainable development

Delegates enjoyed a diverse and inspiring programme covering a wide range of approaches, themes, and initiatives across the educational spectrum.  With the opening provided by Professor Kay Livingston (Director of International, Research and Innovation at Education Scotland) pupils set the tone for the day by sharing their vision on the theme with the delegates.   

The key note address delivered by Tam Baillie highlighted the enthusiasm at all levels to provide learners with the opportunities to express making their voices heard and count, most of all by children and young people themselves.

Tree spotlight addresses provide exemplification and inspiration on ‘learner voice and pupil participation’ across a variety of sectors.  A diverse workshop programme allowed practitioners to engage with key themes such as rights education, pupil profiling and sustainability education in more detail, followed by a discussion and networking session in the afternoon.

If you wish to catch up on the key themes of the day you will find a selection of presentations and support materials form in one of Developing Global Citizens Glow sections under ‘Learner Voice’.

March 14th, 2012

Sustainability event – Echt Primary School share through Glow TV

imenzies

Comments: none Tags: Tags: events, nature, school improvement
 : Categories biodiversity, community, curriculum areas, outdoor learning, primary schools, sharing practice, sustainable development

Echt School, Aberdeenshire, is holding a Sustainability Event on March 16th 2012 to share and showcase the learning the children have been engaged in this term around Sustainability and Global Citizenship.

From Nursery to P7, they have been involved in setting up a wormery, looking after chickens and hatching eggs, looking at our school’s Food and Waste Footprint, finding out about making paper to make their own compostable paper bags, Fairtrade and finding out about solar energy.

Go to Glow TV to find out more – click here (Glow log in required)

February 24th, 2012

Open Day Study Visit – St Paul’s High, Glasgow

imenzies

Comments: none Tags: Tags: CPD, democracy, events, Fairtrade, holocaust education, learner voice, nature, school improvement
 : Categories CPD, citizenship, community, curriculum areas, leadership, outdoor learning, secondary schools, sharing practice, social studies, sustainable development

9:30am – 3.00pm, Thurs 10^th May 2012

Theme:  Sustainable Development Education and Education for Citizenship 

St Paul’s High School is an inspiring example of a school that has adopted a whole school approach to global citizenship. The school’s achievements in this regard have earned it national recognition as a finalist in the 2011 Scottish Education Awards (Sustainable School Category) and as a winner of the 2009 Scottish Education Awards (Active Citizenship Category).

The school’s approach and vision for global citizenship has made an identifiable impact on learners, helping them grow in confidence and providing them with real-life opportunities to develop their skills and transform their local community. The school has supported a wide range of activities to achieve this, most notably:

• Dedicated time within the social studies curriculum for learners to choose and engage with local community projects and tackle anti-social behaviour in the wider community
• A strong school ethos which puts respect for others and service to others at the heart of school life and the curriculum
• A sustained commitment to learner voice and a well-established school parliament that provides learners with decision-making powers and a budget to make things happen
• A diverse range of activities and initiatives which support a whole school approach including a Fairtrade group, Eco-Schools group and pupil campaign group
• Planned opportunities for personal achievement through S1 electives, S2 citizenship and S3 skills academy.

This CPD event offers practitioners and school leaders from across Scotland the chance to visit St Paul’s High School to meet with the Head Teacher, staff and learners and also tour the classrooms, buildings and grounds.

Those participating in the open day will also have time to reflect and share their own experiences.

Download Programme for St Paul’s Open Day>>

How to book

To book, please email: globalcitizens@educationscotland.gov.uk or Tel. 0141 282 5172.

Places are limited so please book early to avoid disappointment. This is a free event!

February 3rd, 2012

Environment Online – a global schools network for sustainable development education

imenzies

Comments: none Tags: Tags: action, climate and energy, europe
 : Categories ICT, biodiversity, citizenship, community, europe, international, outdoor learning, renewables and climate change, sustainable development

Environment Online – ENO is a global virtual school network for sustainable development.

Learning is student and problem-centred with both online and offline activities. At the end of each theme there is a campaign week during which the results of learning are raised in local communities and on the web. Students eventually become ambassadors for the environment of their respective local communities and regions. Regular themes and have been forests, climate change, ecological footprint and different cultural themes.

The success of the ENO Programme  lies in the fact that it is run by teachers.  Over 7000 schools from 105 countries are part of the ENO network. The ages of learners involved range from 12 – 18 years.

Objectives 

• to deepen environmental themes at schools
• to add global awareness and internationality
• to educate for active citizenship
• to get schools from developing countries as active participants
• to learn basic skills in ICT
• to make a change together

Visit http://www.enoprogramme.org/ to find out more.

January 27th, 2012

Whitelees Primary School – Open Day

imenzies

Comments: none Tags: Tags: climate and energy, CPD, enterprise, events, Fairtrade, learner voice, nature, school improvement
 : Categories CPD, biodiversity, citizenship, community, curriculum areas, learner voice, outdoor learning, primary schools, renewables and climate change, sharing practice, sustainable development

School open day

Whitelees Primary School, North Lanarkshire Council

9:30am – 3.00pm, Monday 20^th February 2012

Theme:  Sustainable Development Education

This event was originally due to take place on 8^th December 2011 but had to be cancelled due to the severe storms. It has now been rescheduled for Monday 20^th February 2012.

Whitelees Primary School hit the headlines in 2011 when it became the first primary school to be awarded five ‘excellent’ grades by the school inspectors.  This isn’t the first time their achievements have made news. The school’s accolades and awards include:

• Finalist, Scottish Education Awards – Sustainable School category (2011)
• Best Green School Award (2009)
• Winner,  Scottish Education Awards – Best Enterprise category (2008)
• Four Green Flags, Eco-Schools Scotland.

A key factor in the school’s success has been the way it has placed global citizenship and sustainable development education at the heart of the curriculum to provide exciting, relevant and engaging contexts for learning. This has helped to create, ‘Highly motivated, confident and ambitious children who are keen to learn and to make a difference in school and the wider community.’

This CPD event offers practitioners and school leaders from across Scotland the chance to visit Whitelees Primary School to meet with the Head Teacher, staff and learners and also tour the classrooms, buildings and grounds. A focus of the event will be to identify and share the practical lessons and ideas that have helped the school develop a successful whole school approach to sustainability and global citizenship including: 

• A sustained commitment to pupil voice with learners being given real opportunities to shape the curriculum and school decision making
• Effective use of the school grounds, nature and vegetable gardens to support outdoor learning and deliver the curriculum
• The inspiring pupil rock band which has achieved notable success through their songs about fair trade and climate change.

Those participating in the open day will also have time to reflect and share their own experiences. 

Click here to download programme for open day

How to book

To book, please email: globalcitizens@educationscotland.gov.uk or Tel. 0141 282 5172.

Places are limited so please book early to avoid disappointment. This is a free event!

December 9th, 2011

SEweb – Scotland’s Environment Website

imenzies

Comments: none Tags: Tags: climate and energy, community, events, nature, research, resources, water, waterways
 : Categories ICT, biodiversity, community, outdoor learning, sciences, scottish culture, social studies, sustainable development, technologies

For the first time, everything you want to know about Scotland’s environment will now be available at the touch of a button on a new website provided by Scotland’s key environment and health agencies.

Scotland’s Environment Web – named SEweb – aims to be the gateway to everything you want to know about Scotland’s environment. This three year project, supported by funding from the European Union, will put Scotland at the global forefront of sharing environmental information, prioritising problems and involving citizens in assessing and improving their own environment.

Features of SEweb will include:

Visit the website at: http://www.environment.scotland.gov.uk/default.aspx

December 9th, 2011

Teaching and Learning for a Sustainable World

imenzies

Comments: none Tags: Tags: CPD, resources
 : Categories CPD, biodiversity, citizenship, community, outdoor learning, sustainable development

Teaching and Learning for a Sustainable Future is a multimedia teacher education programme published by UNESCO. It contains 100 hours (divided into 27 modules) of professional development for use in pre-service teacher courses as well as the in-service education of teachers, curriculum developers, education policy makers, and authors of educational materials.

There are over 60 million teachers in the world. Each one is a key agent for bringing about the changes in values and lifestyles we need. Teaching and Learning for a Sustainable Future will enable teachers to plan learning experiences that empower their students to work creatively with others to help bring their visions of a better world into effect.

Find out more about the programme.

Download resources and modules.