PARENT SUSTAINABILITY GROUPS 

The Scottish Government states that every learner in Scotland is entitled to Learning for Sustainability within the Curriculum for Excellence, and that this should take a whole-school approach to include the entire school community. According to campaign group Teach the Future this is not widely implemented partly because it is not widely known about and partly due to a lack of confidence in how to achieve this, even where schools may be keen to deliver on the Government’s commitments. This is where us parents and carers come in and we have the Government’s support to do so. This is about building effective partnerships between schools and parents to better serve our children. And there is plenty of evidence that shows the positive correlation between parental engagement in schools and improved learning outcomes overall.

recruitment and Structure 

If it’s currently just you, speak to other parents and see if they are interested in being part of a Parent Sustainability Group at your school. You could share the two following resources to get a conversation going.

1) This is a really inspiring short read by ecological economist Julia Steinberger. Please read this and know that everything you are trying to achieve in your school matters A LOT. For our children and other children in the school, seeing us parents working with our schools to take action is directly linked with their wellbeing right now, as well as being an investment in their future. Young people want to see solutions and we are working to be part of that solution.

2) This inspiring video is about the power of parental engagement to improve learning outcomes in schools.

Even just 2 or 3 of you is more than enough to make a start. Establish how to communicate, e.g. a WhatsApp group, and who will be the point of contact for the school, then ask the Parent Council if that person can be the Sustainability Rep on the Council. Your first key ally is the Head or Deputy Headteacher, who can then introduce you to teacher(s) involved with the pupil eco committee and/or outdoor learning.  

Objective 

To help schools progress their commitment to delivering a whole-school approach to Learning for Sustainability, mindful of the fact that without supporting the wider parent community only so much can be achieved in the classroom. 

Goals (some ideas - not an exhaustive list)

PHASE 1: raising the Parent SUSTAINABILITY Group’s profile and Relationship-building with key allies

1. Build your capacity (and credentials): there are five Development Education Centres (DECs) in Scotland, which offer free, Government-funded training and classroom resources on global citizenship (part of Learning for Sustainability). You can find your nearest one here and sign up to their mailing list to hear about training opportunities as they arise. While they are primarily for educators, introduce yourself as a Parent Sustainability Group member and ask if you may join their sessions (for example I know that the DEC in Dundee welcomes parents in Perth/Angus/Fife/Dundee to their sessions). If your Council has declared a Climate Emergency (you can check here) it may be worth writing to their climate change team to ask if they are offering funded online Carbon Literacy-accredited Climate Emergency training for parents – explain that you are your school’s Parent Sustainability Rep/a member of your school’s Parent Sustainability Group. (Fife Council are offering it for £10 - contact me if you’d like to sign up: info@bigdreamslittlefootprints.org). This short, useful guide on how to talk about the climate crisis to children is also a really helpful introduction for parents (and teachers) to make sure this all-important subject is approached in the right way.

2. Help with existing initiatives: identify existing or pre-pandemic initiatives that you can help grow or re-start e.g. promoting and distributing second-hand uniform, Eco Schools Green Flag Awards (working with the Pupil Eco Committee - ask the teachers who lead the pupil eco committee if you can help them develop and action their Eco Action Guide), gardening clubs etc. 

3. Fundraise for the school or Parent Council/PTA: via a Facebook Group/ school event, helping complete grant applications (e.g. for outdoor learning), coordinating donations of items the school needs to encourage reuse (e.g. waterproof clothing/wellies and loose parts etc for outdoor learning, second-hand books for the school library). Make sure to have a conversation with the fundraising social secretary(ies) of the PC/PTA to better understand how money is raised and what it is spent on, so you’re all on the same page. 

4. Harness community support: identify relevant local organisations, charities, businesses or activists, local councillors, and community council members (in Education/Pedagogy, Energy, and/or Climate Change departments) who may be able to help you on e.g. active travel and clean air campaigns, community-based renewable energy projects, conservation organisations with Education Officers, organic or regenerative farmers who might host school visits, etc and let them know you are forming a Parent Sustainability Group. 

PHASE 2: Awareness-raising among wider parent community and putting sustainability on the school agenda 

1. Speak with the Chair of the PTA/Parent Council and the Headteacher and draft an Eco Action Policy that you all agree on. It should state how you intend to reduce the environmental impacts of PTA/Parent Council-led activities as well as school events and annual celebrations, and classroom and extracurricular activities. It can also be used in your communication with external organisations like the local council.

2. Ask the Headteacher if you can set up a private Facebook Group for the parents at your school. This is very simple to do if you haven’t done it before - if anyone needs help with this, do get in touch. You can share news about the Parent Eco Group’s activities on here and swap uniforms/costumes for themed events and school plays, fundraise, post nature-related competitions run by campaign groups and other organisations etc. You might also want to run a virtual ‘environmental/green parenting’ library and lend relevant books to other parents.

3. Consider how to identify parents who either work in relevant professions (e.g. marine science, renewable energy sector, organic farming, environmental campaigning) or have an understanding about how their line of work can promote sustainability, to see if they might be willing to come into the school to talk to class groups or at a school assembly. This could be done via a School Newsletter ‘call out’ or via the parent Facebook.   

4. Ask the Headteacher if they can promote and celebrate the activities of the Pupil Eco Committee as well as the Parent Sustainability Group (e.g. how many items of second-hand clothing has been rehomed (and associated carbon savings)) in the school newsletter.

PHASE 3: Influencing the curriculum 

Set up a meeting, or a phone call with the Headteacher, explaining your ambition to create a collaborative partnership for learning between the Parent Sustainability Group and the school.

What you need to know: 

• As of 2021, the General Teaching Council for Scotland requires that teachers embed sustainability in their teaching - https://www.gtcs.org.uk/professional-standards/key-cross-cutting-themes/learning-for-sustainability/ 

• The Scottish Schools (Parental Involvement) Act 2006 places a duty on schools to help parents be active participants in schools and express their views on school education - https://education.gov.scot/education-scotland/scottish-education-system/policy-for-scottish-education/developing-the-education-profession/parental-engagement-and-family-learning/ 

• The Scottish Government’s Education Scotland has created a self-evaluation tool for schools to monitor their performance, which has a very useful section on 'Partnerships' (pp. 44-45), focusing on parents/carers and other stakeholders. Well worth looking over so you are speaking the 'same language' as schools.  More info about the How good is our school? (HGIOS) self-evaluation tool here.

• You can ask as a starting point whether your school has Learning for Sustainability or the Sustainable Development Goals in the School Improvement Plan as one of its four Development Action Plans for that academic year. 

• The Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 places a statutory obligation on local authorities and their estates (which includes schools) to reduce their carbon emissions.

What you can offer the school:

• Share teaching resources and training opportunities (the Network will keep you updated on these). The General Teaching Council for Scotland has teamed up with Learning for Sustainability Scotland, the body that leads on supporting educators to embed sustainability in their teaching, and has developed a new teacher training module, which is a great place to start.

• Share best practice as it emerges (the Network will provide you with this). Try and find local (your local authority area or Scotland) examples so their experiences can more easily be shared with your school. For example, an independent report was published in February 2022 on outdoor learning in schools across Scotland and has plenty of examples of good practice.

• Suggest trialling termly Homework Grids, guided by the Sustainable Development Goals, to test the water for developing more sustainability-focused Home Learning. Establish weekly Sway newsletters that communicate impact/progress of Family Learning - teachers could manage the newsletter on a rota basis [example below]. 

• Investigate whether your local authority has extra funding to pay a teacher to become a ‘sustainability lead’ (the same salary as a principal teacher) whose role is to support all teachers to embed sustainability in their teaching or if they have a designated person in Education (Pedagogy) who can offer capacity-building in the form of training or teaching resources. If your local authority has declared a Climate Emergency (find out here) ask them if they have a budget for climate education.