Leadership

Going green affordably

Embracing new green technologies is a great way to cut expenditure while promoting to pupils and the wider community the importance of protecting the planet. But when implementing these technologies costs so much to start with, schools may wonder: is there a more economical alternative? Yes, says Darren Riva, and schools won’t have to compromise on quality.

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      string(290) "As budgets tighten, it’s important schools make savings where they can. Ann Noon reports on three UK schools whose simple carbon-cutting measures have transformed their buildings from energy-guzzling monsters to an environment that’s efficient, sustainable and even earning them money! "
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      string(410) "... its can-doapproach to transforming the school environment forpupils and staff alike.Becoming self-sufficient in energyThe Ashden Sustainable School Awards are the UK’sleading green energy prize for schools and colleges, andrecognise educational institutions for their achievementsin ‘going green’ and galvanising young people toembrace the energy-saving challenge.67Vol ..."
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      string(5632) "66Vol 7.3School Leadership Todaywww.teachingtimes.comSchool BusinessEnergysavingAs budgets tighten, it’simportant schools makesavings where they can.Ann Noon reports on threeUK schools whose simplecarbon-cutting measures havetransformed their buildingsfrom energy-guzzling monstersto an environment that’sefficient, sustainable and evenearning them money!How to halveyour fuel billsWhen headteacher, Richard Potter, took overat Home Farm Primary School in Colchester,he was faced with an inefficient buildingand large energy bills. He had previouslybeen employed at a newly constructed school, whichhad been designed with many sustainable and energysaving features. He had experienced both the financialand environmental benefits of a heating system whichcould be controlled and managed properly.His challenge was to create a sustainable learningenvironment for the students and reduce the school’senergy spend – a challenge he met and exceeded! Infact, last November, Home Farm Primary won an AshdenSustainable School Award for being an exemplarin energy efficiency and, in particular, for its can-doapproach to transforming the school environment forpupils and staff alike.Becoming self-sufficient in energyThe Ashden Sustainable School Awards are the UK’sleading green energy prize for schools and colleges, andrecognise educational institutions for their achievementsin ‘going green’ and galvanising young people toembrace the energy-saving challenge.67Vol 7.3School Leadership Todaywww.teachingtimes.comSchool BusinessEnergysavingThe Awards reward schools that have developed both an ethos and practice ofsustainability, in which the responsible use of energy is a key component. Ashden looksfor winners that integrate the sustainable use of energy into the curriculum, pupilbehaviour and the school building and grounds.Last November, Home Farm Primary School, Marton Primary School in Lincolnshire,Hinckley College in Nuneaton and Thornhill Primary School in Cardiff each received aprize of £3,000 at the ceremony held at LSO St Luke’s in London.As the first primary school in Essex to be awarded a Grade B rating in its EnergyPerformance Certificate, Home Farm is a model of good behaviour and well-deservedof its award. The school has 210 students aged between four and 11 years old, and wasbuilt in 1966, in a single-storey, prefabricated modular design. Between the dream teamof headteacher Richard and school business manager Ceri Stammers, they managedto turn around a poorly managed heating system and a heat-leaking building to makeHome Farm virtually self-sufficient in energy.How did they do it?The first change was to enclose a central internal courtyardto create a well-insulated central hub for the school.Previously the courtyard area, which was open to theelements, formed a walkway from which the classroomscould be accessed. This area also acted as an energy dump,pulling heat from the classrooms every time a door wasopened. The enclosure of this area to form a central libraryand multi-purpose learning area provided not only anattractive teaching space but immediately reduced the68Vol 7.3School Leadership Todaywww.teachingtimes.comSchool BusinessEnergysavingschool’s gas consumption to 60 per cent of what youwould expect from a building of this type. This simpledesign change has provided a permanent solution to aproblem which had existed for nearly 50 years.The school has also seen a 61 per cent reductionin its electricity use. Home Farm is clearly proud of itsenvironmental credentials, and staff, both teaching andnon-teaching, are aware of the importance of energymanagement. Teaching staff are responsible for themanagement of their classrooms, including shuttingdown equipment and turning off lights.In 2012, the school introduced a basic BuildingManagement System (BMS), which enabled, for the firsttime, management of the gas heating system to takeplace. In the four years since, Richard and Ceri have69Vol 7.3School Leadership Todaywww.teachingtimes.comSchool BusinessEnergysavinginstalled 200 photovoltaic solar panels (50kW), producing a Feed-In Tariff paymentfrom the government within the first ten months of operation and, more importantly,making the school virtually self-sufficient in electricity. The model for the PV installationhas already resulted in the replication of the system at five other schools in the countyby the same contractor. The funding of the PV panels is on a lease arrangement and istherefore self-funding.The school plans to spend the savings it has made through energy efficiency oncontinued improvements in lighting and equipment. It is also investigating solar waterheating and considering replacing their boiler with a biomass system. Additionally, theschool plans to continue to share its best practice with others.Says Richard: ‘If I had to give one piece of advice, it would be to be focused, set yourgoals in sustainable measures rather than big, short term outcomes, and build mindsetsinstead of going after quick change.’An excellent role model for small schoolsThere are 2,500 primary schools in England with fewer than 100 pupils; collectively, theyhave a significant carbon impact. Many small schools consider their energy use to betoo low to worry about, but these are the schools that can make changes quickly anddeliver a greater collective saving.Another of Ashden’s 2015 winners, Marton Primary School in Lincolnshire, wantedto stand out from the crowd and show that, even though they’re a small school, theycan make a big difference.Headteacher Ben Stephenson and senior teacher"
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Leadership

How to halve your fuel bills

29 Mar 2016

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      string(5627) "Volume6.2nCreativeTeaching&Learning79e-learningThe future is justa click awayAs populations grow and the effects of climate change worsen, it’s vital citiestake action and evolve into cleaner, greener environments. We provide acompilation of websites to support you and your pupils in an explorationof the future of urban life in relation to renewable energy, sustainability andcitizenship.Fifty per cent of the world’s population crams itself into cities,and that number looks set to increase, with a predictedthree out of four of us living in urban areas by 2050. Citiescan be wonderful places, but metropolitan planning doesthrow up a number of important problems that challenge eventhe most accomplished thinkers. Many of these are environmentalissues, but the key concern is, of course, energy and the potentiallydevastating impact of our production of it. Air pollution is alreadyhazardous in many cities, sea levels are rising dangerously, as aretemperatures, and there’s no longer any denying that our ongoing,unrestricted burning of fossil fuels is the cause. The search is on,then, for a sustainable energy source that is relatively economical,won’t harm the environment and will successfully meet the risingdemands of the world’s expanding cities.Investigating possible solutions to this with children and youngpeople – as well as exploring wider issues related to our future –gives them a useful opportunity to develop important learninghabits, namely creative thinking, logical reasoning and problem-solving. The curriculum links are endless, and hopefully, seeingthe real-world applications of what they’re learning in science,engineering, geography and more will spark enthusiasm for thesubjects and encourage pupils to pursue careers in these areas.But having children dream up creative solutions to suchchallenges isn’t just a theoretical exercise. They are, after all, thenext generation of scientists, engineers and politicians. Who knowswhere their ideas may go?With this in mind, we have put together a compilation of usefulwebsites to explore the future of our world – and how pupils canchange it. If you are taking part in the Shell Bright Ideas Challenge(see page 72), these websites will support you in your journey. If not,you will nevertheless find a great many tools and resources to bolsteryour teaching of such topics as energy, waste, water, sustainability,climate change, urban development and more.e-learning80Volume6.2nCreativeTeaching&LearningIt’s hard to know where to begin with the Pod by EDFEnergy – it’s a huge site, with seemingly endless resourcesand exciting things to get involved with! New users, however,should begin by registering. The Pod will need to verify thatyou are eligible to join, which can take a day or two, but onceyou are registered, you will be able to access the site’s manyresources. These fall into a range of curriculum areas – mainlyscience, geography and maths – and cover a number of topics,including energy, water, waste and transport. There are lessonplans, videos, assembly presentations, posters, games andmuch more. It’s a bit overwhelming at first, but the searchfunction is very effective, and it’s well worth a browse.A unique aspect of this site is its community spirit, which canhelp you and your pupils feel part of something bigger. Makea pledge as a class to reduce waste, save energy or protectdiversity, or use the map to find potential Pod partners in theUK and abroad. Registered teachers can also blog about theirclassroom activities, as can their pupils – a great feature, as weknow blogging improves children’s literacy, and the possibilityof a global audience can help elevate their work to greaterlevels. The teacher blogs vary in quality, but these, along with aselection of school case studies, are a great place to get ideasand inspiration for your own sustainability projects.You may also like to get involved in some of the Pod’scampaigns – perhaps their annual Energy Month inNovember, or the upcoming Waste Week in March. A numberof campaigns run all year too. Of particular interest to me was‘What’s under your feet?’, a real-life science experiment thatgets pupils examining soil samples, counting invertebratesand surveying birds to help the British Trust for Ornithologyinvestigate the impact of climate change on British birds. Theexperiment has already begun, but schools can still take part.A visual and attractive site, Earth Day Network’s Green CitiesCampaign explores the need for cities to become moreactively environmentally friendly as populations grow andclimate change worsens. The aim of the campaign is for allcities to go 100 per cent renewable by 2050, and the siteexplores what the everyday person (or child) can do to achievethat. The focus is more on signing petitions and lobbying thelocal government than small everyday acts to reduce energyconsumption – a useful tool to show pupils the power ofpublic pressure and spark their inner activist perhaps?Pupils can see where such activism has had effect in thesite’s ‘Success stories’ archive. Here you’ll find short, newsyinterest pieces on exciting green initiatives going on all overthe world. Highlights include: an urban agriculture campaignin Somerville, Massachusetts, where locals are allowed to growand sell their own produce and keep hens and bee hives forfarming; the world’s first completely electric solar-poweredbus in Adelaide, Australia; a mandate in Los Angeles to buildall new buildings with white roofs in an effort to cool the cityand fight"
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Creative Teaching & Learning

The future is just a click away

11 Feb 2016

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      string(307) "... Hood Legend become so loved and well known across the world and through the generations?Does anyone really know the story behind the ‘man in green’? You are going to search for the man behind the legend in an attempt to understand the character or Robin Hood, assemble his band ..."
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      string(5605) "Activity 3: InstructionsMysteries of the Middle AgesActivity 3: Robin Hood, fact or fiction?DescriptionStudents research Robin Hood and create a visual representation of one aspect of his life. They will need to consult a variety of sources to establish whether they believe Robin Hood was real or just a legend. Curriculum FocusCommunication – Reading, writing, speaking and listening discuss where ideas came from.ICT – Analyse, evaluate and present ideas.History – Place people and events in chronological order, examine sources, looking for evidence of whether ideas are fact or fiction, examine and evaluate interpretations of people in the past, examine historical sources, looking for evidence of similarities and differences, and begin to suggest reasons for them.Thinking Skills – Pool ideas, identify the problem and set the questions to resolve it, build on existing skills, knowledge and understanding required for the task, suggest a range of options as to where and how to find relevant information and ideas, consider others’ views to inform opinions and decisions, develop and combine a variety of imaginative ideas, possibilities and alternatives. MaterialsIncluded in this pack:Activity sheet 3a: Student introductionActivity sheet 3b: Research prompt cardsActivity sheet 3c: Robin Hood in history and literatureActivity sheet 3c(i): Teacher’s crib sheetActivity sheet 3d: Brainstorm templateActivity sheet 3e: Research gridActivity sheet 3f: What makes an effective enquiry?Activity sheet 3g: Image bankActivity sheet 3h: Sherwood or Barnsdale?Activity sheet 3i: Robin Hood’s characterActivity sheet 3j: Teacher’s crib sheetYou will also need:Internet, PowerPoint software GroupingsFour or five ProcedureTell the pupils that in their groups they are going to investigate the legend of Robin Hood, and represent their findings in a PowerPoint which they will present to the whole class.Introduce the activity through sheet 3a. Discuss the legend of Robin Hood and ask pupils to complete a brainstorm of anything they may already know of Robin Hood (Activity sheet 3d). Use think, pair, share to complete the activity in order for pupils to add to their own information. They can add to this as their research progresses.The rest of the activities can be completed in any order of choice except for the final presentation to the class. Activity sheet 3b provides some research prompts, although other activity sheets will provide sources and prompts for research.On completion, each group presents their findings back to the whole class. Pupils then incorporate the facts and traditions they have learned from their peers into their own PowerPoint presentation.If the pupils are to discuss how an effective enquiry takes place (Activity sheet 3f), it should take place directly after the brainstorm activity. Teacher’s NoteThis activity will cover a number of sessions.· 3a introduces the activity and informs pupils what is expected of them.· Activity sheet 3b has research prompt cards for the pupils to use and help them.· Activity sheet 3c is a timeline to be filled in with Robin’s appearances throughout literature and records for pupils. Activity sheet 3c(i) is the teacher’s version of this with all information present for you to help prompt pupils if they have difficulty in locating the information.· Activity Sheet 3e is a research grid to help the pupils collect the information they need and guide them through the research process.· Activity Sheet 3f shows what makes an effective enquiry. You may wish to brainstorm the effective enquiry process before giving pupils the prompt sheet.· Activity sheet 3g provides a number of images to use as sources.· Activity sheet 3h asks pupils to sift through the information as to the claims of both Sherwood and Barnsdale as the home of Robin Hood.· Activity Sheets 3j is the teacher’s version of Activity Sheet 3i, which pupils may use to help them find out about the character of Robin Hood.Who was Robin Hood? Was he historical fact or simply a medieval fiction? Why has the Robin Hood Legend become so loved and well known across the world and through the generations?Does anyone really know the story behind the ‘man in green’? You are going to search for the man behind the legend in an attempt to understand the character or Robin Hood, assemble his band of Merry Men and discover more about his enemies.Robin Hood has become a hero for any age. His influence has led to books being written and films being made. He was first mentioned in “The Lytell Gest of Robyn Hode” written in the late 15th century.Lythe and listen GentlemenWho be of Free born bloodI will tell you of a bold yeomanHis name was Robin Hood.The legend of Robin Hood is over 700 years old. Despite Robin’s “legend” status, there are many reasons to believe that Robin Hood could well have been a real historical figure. There are a number of references to Robin Hood in historical documents underlying the reality of our favourite outlaw.So was Robin Hood a real person? For centuries, people have asked that. Robin of Loxley, and the Earl of Huntingdon are just two examples of real people and outlaws that may have inspired or been inspired by Robin Hood and the Merry Men. Some Historians believe he came from Barnsley or Nottingham or Barnsdale. Some believe his hideout was in Sherwood Forest. He robbed from the rich to give to the poor. The legend of Robin Hood is a mixture of fact and fiction. Some of the story is based on real events, but most of"
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Creative Teaching & Learning

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15 Jan 2014

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      string(306) "... and that their learning will benefit from the greater challenge. Lane Clark (http://www.laneclark.ca/) has a lovely phrase as she talks about children going from “strength to struggle!” If we want deep learning we have to develop the resilience in our children, to fight for it and for ..."
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      string(5605) "As we returned to school and undertook the latest exciting chapter on our journey into pupil focused independent learning, I was left wondering why more schools aren’t engaging with this agenda. At a time when Government and Ofsted are telling schools that there isn’t one formula that they are looking for, surely we should be breaking away from the “delivery of a knowledge based curriculum” to an approach where teachers engineer opportunities for deeper learning and where children lead their own learning and have an investment in their learning. This is an approach, which we have gone for as a leadership team and the transformation for us as a school and for the children has been staggering.If I were to ask whether you would prefer to be involved in something that affects you or have it done to you, then I know how 100% of people would answer. Yet we used to deliver a curriculum to children rather than see them as integral to leading their own learning.At St Nicholas we have given every one of our learners the right to be involved in their own learning and it has seen us go from a Requires Improvement judgement in December 2013 to Outstanding in March 2016. The pupils at St Nicholas arrive in school with the same range of skills, attributes, challenges and backgrounds as most other schools with nearly 10% of the school population coming from the Gypsy, Roma, Traveller community, which enriches our school still further.We made a decision as a staff some time ago, that regardless of the learning challenges that children face, all children can learn and we set ourselves a target of 100% 2 levels progress in all three subjects. In 2015 we achieved this and went on to achieve at least 50% in each of reading, writing and maths for more than expected progress. Our children’s baseline in Reception has traditionally been low and therefore progress is the currency which we work in. If we can make enough progress, attainment will look after itself!In the depths of despair as most RI schools will know, we looked for someone to help us to build on the progress that we knew we were making and decided to work with Bill Thompson. Bill has a wealth of experience and set up the highly successful Tipton Learning Trust in the West Midlands. He’s keen to reference the work of Dylan Wiliam, Paul Black, Carol Dweck and Shirley Clark as people who have strongly influenced his philosophy for effective learning. Having worked as a School Improvement Adviser in Birmingham and Sandwell, as well as regularly conducting training for senior leaders and Ofsted Inspectors regarding school improvement, he’s keen to stress in all his training that leaders should run schools according to what they believe in, doing what they think is important and not just for Ofsted. He is also very different in that he goes into class and team-teaches, showing teachers and school leaders what he talks about, in practice, in the classroom, with the children. He has real credibility.Our first task was to set about developing a growth mind-set in our pupils and move away from the fear of failure and the fear of making mistakes, which the children often imposed on themselves. We developed a language of incremental growth in learning and the use of the word YET. “I don’t know how to do this YET!” In fact the children often chime this to each other if they say, “I can’t do this.” But it is also about building a growth mindset within the staff and giving the staff the ability to be open an honest about their mistakes and what they can do to improve. We decided that those who failed to be open about their errors, who saw them as private barriers, who lived in a culture preoccupied with blame – will NOT see mistakes as learning opportunities. It was clear that their effectiveness, both with pupils and staff, will slowly, imperceptively, become severely impaired. The children now proudly display “My best mistakes – and what I’ve learnt from it!” on the classroom wall. There is no failure only learning opportunities.This approach, combined with an understanding of James Nottingham’s Learning Pit (http://www.jamesnottingham.co.uk/learning-pit/) means that children know that learning is a process and takes time and for deep learning, there will be struggle.  However they also know that the struggle is worth the effort and that their learning will benefit from the greater challenge. Lane Clark (http://www.laneclark.ca/) has a lovely phrase as she talks about children going from “strength to struggle!” If we want deep learning we have to develop the resilience in our children, to fight for it and for many children, particularly in challenging contexts, the development of resilience is a platform, which has to be in place before learning can be built. Bill Thompson also refers to the work of Daniel Willingham, Professor of Psychology, University of Virginia, by saying that pupils remember what they have been thinking about, so if you make the learning too easy, pupils don’t have to work too hard to make sense of what they are learning and, as a result, forget it quickly. Unless pupils are put in positions where they are struggling to make sense of what they are learning, little knowledge is likely to be retained in the long term.  With an understanding of a growth mind-set in place, we asked the children to become more active in lessons. We found that children had become recipients of superficial knowledge acquisition, because curriculum coverage had driven lesson planning, rather than children"
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Family

Giving pupils the green light! Improving outcomes for all pupils through independent learning

16 Oct 2017

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