Press Release

Ofsted Report – Schools & Sustainability: A Climate For Change

21 May 2008

Commenting on the latest Ofsted report, Christine Blower, Acting General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, Europe’s largest teaching union said;

“Ofsted’s report on sustainability makes worrying reading. Far too few schools are teaching about the biggest issue facing the planet. Schools are over-burdened with a range of excessive and unreasonable external demands, including an overloaded curriculum and a high stakes testing regime. This makes it harder to focus on teaching about climate change and sustainability, vital though it is.

“Schools need to be trusted and given the space to teach about sustainability. As we know from the Primary Review when youngsters are shown the practical actions they can take to tackle the destruction of the world’s resources, their sense of optimism about their future increases. That must be a massive plus for our society.”