ESDGC at Stanwell School

Education for Sustainable Development and Global Citizenship (ESDGC)

What is Sustainable Development?

ESDGC is about:

• the links between society, economy and environment

and between our own lives and those of people throughout

the world.

• the needs and rights of both present and future generations.
• the relationships between power, resources and human rights.
• the local and global implications of everything we do and the

actions that individuals and organisations can take in response

to local and global issues.

(Education for Sustainable Development and Global Citizenship:

Why? What? How?, ACCAC 2002)

ESDGC can be defined as:

• Sustainable: means that something is viable and can be continued in the long term in ways that do not harm people but benefit them equally. This can apply to anything from decisions about our courtyard to issues relating to the national economy and global environment.
• Development: happens everywhere and involves everyone. It refers to the way in which the environment, the economy and society interact, progresses and changes.
• Sustainable Development: is about ensuring a better quality of life for everyone now and for generations to come.
• Global Citizenship: is about the status and rights of citizens around the world and our awareness of others. This will enable pupils to acquire the knowledge, skills and values that will equip them to participate in decision making throughout their lives.

This policy has been drawn up in accordance with WAG Document 066/2008 and Education for Sustainable Development and Global Citizenship: A Common Understanding for Schools (DCELLS, 2008).

Education for Sustainable Development and Global Citizenship (ESDGC) is about the things that we do every day. It is about the big issues in the world - such as climate change, trade, resource and environmental depletion, human rights, conflict and democracy - and about how they relate to each other and to us. It is about how far apart we live. It is about how we prepare for the future. Every one of us has a part to play.

The school aims to:

i) Enable pupils to learn how to care for and protect their environment. In small, yet significant ways, we will strive to reduce pollution, and use our natural resources with thought and care. Understanding that collectively, schools in Wales, the UK and globally, can make a huge difference.

ii) Help pupils to understand their own rights and responsibilities, as citizens locally and globally, and have respect for the rights and responsibilities of others. Give pupils the knowledge and understanding about our world and the people who live in it and everyone's relationship with the environment.

iii) Help pupils to develop the skills to be critical thinkers by giving them the facts and a variety of resources in order that they can have balanced information and come to their own judgements.

iv) Celebrate cultural, religious and linguistic diversity and foster positive attitudes.

Any work will be differentiated and respond to individual need, using the following strategies to assist this process:

• Peer support
• Use of child friendly vocabulary
• Present the subject in different ways to suit all abilities e.g. dance, drama, videos, educational visits, ‘hands on experiences' etc
• Promote self evaluation. Use teaching aids such as IT, games etc
• Set clear tasks and enable children to work and respond at their own speed etc

The key concepts of ESDGC are:

• Interdependence
• Citizenship and stewardship
• Needs and rights
• Diversity
• Sustainable change
• Quality of life
• Uncertainty and precaution
• Values and perceptions; and
• Conflict resolution

Teachers will be offered training as an ongoing process for their own professional development.

Eco Code

ESDGC will be developed in terms of:

Curriculum links

Schemes and awards

Global connections

Pupil participation

Equal opportunities and racial awareness

Human rights

Outdoor learning

Welsh dimension

After school clubs

Transition

Vocational education

Data literacy

Self esteem

Qualifications - the school has achieved the following awards Basic Skills 1 & 2 and Quality Standard, ICT Quality mark, Healthy Schools Award 1, 2 & 3, Eco Flag, Eco Schools awards and the curriculum examinations/awards that are linked to ESDGC include the Welsh Baccalaureate and the Duke of Edinburgh Award

Resources will be allocated to support this work as part of department capitation

The work undertaken in ESDGC at Stanwell School is detailed in the School Development Plan and as part of our School Based Review process we address ESDGC under each of the Key Questions.

‘Children and young adults deserve to know that their fate is inextricably linked to, and affected by, the lives and decision of others across the world. They have a right to understand the crucial issues facing the planet and know how they can personally play a part in helping shape the future. No school should feel it is unable to help its pupils gain these perspectives on the world'. Jane Davidson, Minister for Education and Lifelong Learning.

The Delivery of ESDGC at Stanwell

At Stanwell School the formal curriculum in ESDGC will be addressed within National Curriculum Programmes of Study (Schemes of Work). However, ESDGC should permeate throughout the whole school curriculum and is not confined to the classroom or to one teacher.

The wider features of the life of the school will contribute to ESDGC:

• Healthy Schools
• Eco-Schools
• 5x60
• Duke of Edinburgh
• Snag Group
• The Business Challenge
• Young Enterprise
• Eisteddfod
• Award Schemes
• Charity Work
• Out of hours learning activities
• Visiting Speakers
• Enterprise Week
• Proto Toy Day
• Career Days (last yr NHS etc)
• Operation Christmas Child (JO)
• R.E sponsor a child in India
• Earthquake appeal
• Sports Relief
• Children in Need.

ESDGC Days for the Diary