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LfS Implementation Group – Conversation Day Dates

Mon 7th April 2014 - Courses & Events Summaries

A LfS Implementation Group, tasked with driving forward the 31 recommendations of the Learning for Sustainability Report (2012) on embedding LfS in school education, has been established and began work on 25th Feb 2014. The group is convened by the Scottish Government, with secretariat support from LfSS, and will report progress to Scottish Ministers.

The Implementation Group recognises the significant expertise, commitment and contribution of Scotland’s Learning for Sustainability community and is committed to working in partnership with them and with other national groups with an interest in and a responsibility for aspects of Learning for Sustainability.

One of the key mechanisms to facilitate this partnership working will be a series of Conversation Days which will provide an open forum for individuals, partner organisations and networks to contribute to and collaboratively develop the work of the Implementation Group.

The Group has identified two initial themes that it would like to hold conversation days on, in May 2014. These are described below. The Group hopes that all those with an interest will be able to attend and participate in discussions on the day to help shape their work under these themes. These days are open to anyone with an interest to attend although there will be a limit on numbers due to venues. We expect they will be of most interest to: teachers, young people, education authorities, national education agencies, parent organisations and third sector organisations within the LfS community.

Conversation Day 1
LfS Career Long Professional Learning & LfS Briefing for schools
9:30am to 3:30pm, Thursday 15th May 2014
Menzies Hotel, Glasgow

The need for more Career-Long Professional Learning (CLPL) in LfS is a theme that runs throughout the Learning for Sustainability Report with Recommendation 2.1 specifically stating the need for a coordinated national strategy for Learning for Sustainability CLPL. The purpose of this Conversation Day is to initiate the development of this strategy and the development of a Learning for Sustainability briefing for schools. The briefing will clearly communicate key messages about Learning for Sustainability and its relevance to the new GTCS Professional Standards, to schools, education authorities and the wider education community. The Implementation Group recognise that there are already many stakeholders providing CLPL on different aspects of LfS and there are also many organisations with an interest in and expertise about how schools can take LfS forward and aims to bring all those interests together in this Conversation Day. The Group hopes that the Conversation Day will develop support for LfS and a momentum for its implementation in schools.

Conversation Day 2
School buildings and grounds
9:30am to 3:30pm, Tuesday 20th May 2014
Moray House School of Education, Edinburgh

The development of sustainable school estates as part of a whole school approach was identified as a key theme in the Learning for Sustainability report which called for all school buildings, grounds and policies to support Learning for Sustainability. The aim of this Conversation Day is to bring together those responsible for and with an interest in school buildings and grounds to discuss how best to implement the recommendations made in the Learning for Sustainability Report and to identify the elements of a supporting action plan. This day will be of particular interest to those involved in and responsible for managing existing school estates, including managing energy efficiency, building new schools and creating green spaces for outdoor learning and play within schools. The day will be chaired by Gordon McKinlay of Renfrewshire Council, on behalf of ADES.

To register

You can register your interest by emailing Jennifer Moore for the 15th May event, and Jeff Quinn for the 20th May event.

Each Conversation day will include a discussion on specific next steps within each theme, including whether longer-term working groups need to be established to take work forward. We expect that there will be themes and issues that are common to both days and the Group is interested in the common themes that emerge across both days as well as the specific issues that are discussed. A record will be created for each day and made available through the Learning for Sustainability Implementation Group web pages.