In 2022, the SCQF Partnership was asked by the Scottish Government to administer a small amount of funding for learning programme providers to bid into to support the work they are doing in the area of Learning for Sustainability. The aim was to increase the understanding and participation of young people in this area and build skills for future green jobs. This follows on from a report we developed for Scottish Government in 2021 which identified some of the barriers faced by providers to having programmes in this area credit rated on to the SCQF.

Eight of the bids submitted received a share of the funding and we are delighted to report that four of the successful organisations have now completed the creation and development of materials to support their Learning for Sustainability aims.

The organisations involved are:

Daydream Believers – creation of materials for the Forestopia challenge, linked to the Creative Thinking programmes at SCQF levels 5 & 6.
The Forestopia challenge invites learners to reimagine a theme park connected to the ecosystem of the forest. In doing so they learn about circular economy, sustainable development, and the need to learn from and protect all our ecosystems. The funding has helped support the development and delivery of the Forestopia experience in schools, ensuring that students have access to high-quality, engaging, and impactful learning opportunities that empower them to take action towards a more sustainable future.

Royal Highland Education Trust (RHET) – development of a suite of learning for sustainability and food resources for use in their learning programmes to engage learner voice and choice and for sharing with the wider teacher and community audience to build connections to, and understanding of, food.
The aim is to build skills and an interest in young people (S1-4) and to encourage them to look towards careers in these areas. The resource provides information and the chance to explore and engage with food sustainability through quizzes, games and interactive platforms.

The Social Enterprise Academy – creation of two brand new resources (LfS No Big Deal and SDG Audit) which form part of the larger resource library available to all teachers and pupils engaged with Social Enterprise Schools.
The Social Enterprise Schools programme provides young people in Scotland with the opportunity to establish their own social enterprise which will operate like a regular business, but will have an environmental or social cause at its core. When young people and schools take part they are introduced to a tool they can use to create change. Change within themselves, their schools, their communities, and even change across the world. However, the intention to change behaviour and mentality can be challenging. This project aims to make things clearer, to enable young people to maintain this behavioural and mental shift while embedding LfS in their school lives which will ultimately help build a socially just, sustainable, and equitable society.

Youth Scotland – development, design and print of a Learning for Sustainability Toolkit linked to the achievement of Hi5 and Dynamic Youth Awards at SCQF levels 2 and 3.
Offered as a free online resource, the Toolkit, themed around sustainability and the circular economy, is being used to provide programme ideas and activities to complement new Climate Action challenge sheets. Experience has shown that the practicalities of delivering activities within youth group and classroom settings with young people means that there would be significant demand for it to be available as a hard copy resource too.

Teacher quotes:

RHET:
“I really like the resources… and think it will be a great place for educators and students to find out more about sustainability, looking at it in different contexts. The information is succinct and easy to understand. It will be easy for an educator to pick up these resources with little background knowledge and be able to use them to make an impact.”

The Social Enterprise Academy:
“Social Enterprise as a concept and way of working is a good example of LfS in action. The new materials developed are good at making that explicit especially with the People, Place & Economy wheel tool as too often when LfS is mentioned I think people automatically think about nature, but not the social aspect of LfS. These resources help make that element more explicit. The practical element of running a social enterprise will be very engaging for young people and being on that journey from start to finish and working with issues that are important to them is great.”

For more information on the Learning for Sustainability projects, contact Nicola Smith.