Faith Schools are top in the Sustainability League – WWF-UK says.

	The challenge for the next decade is to ensure environmental sustainability becomes embedded in schools.

It is no surprise to us at ARC, but a new report by WWF-UK for NCSL (National College for School Leadership) confirms that faith schools and colleges tend to be the first, and most active, in the development of sustainable activities and practices.

Liz Jackson, the Head of Education at WWF-UK wrote a report last year on “Leading Sustainable Schools”. Contributors included representatives from the Institute of Education London, Education Direct and Reading University.

It found that: “it is evident that leaders who develop sustainability within their school do so with passion and conviction, underpinned by personal values. There is a philosophical and for many, a spiritual dimension to why these leaders engage sustainably”.

The report notes that schools’ strategy for sustainability tended to be focussed on eight access points or “doorways”:

	Children from St Teresa's School in Bristol start planting in their new Octopus garden.

- food and drink

- energy and water

- travel and traffic

- purchasing and waste

- building and grounds

- inclusion and participation

- local wellbeing

- and the global dimension.

The report concluded that over the next 10 years, the challenge will be to ensure environmental sustainability becomes embedded in schools, rather than presently having only partial status, and that there should be a whole curriculum dedicated to this. There is considerable grassroots support for sustainability in schools - but it needs to be capitalised upon.

If you would like to read the WWF-UK/NCSL report, please link here .