The London Borough of Waltham Forest is committed to supporting schools to reduce the climate and environmental impact of their operations in order to meet the ambition of Net Zero by 2030, and to provide quality climate and environmental learning.
The Climate Action Toolkit underpins the Waltham Forest Schools and Colleges Climate Charter to enable commitments to be developed into plans and meaningful action across the curriculum, campus and wider school community.
The resources are organised into three groups: senior leadership team and governors, school business managers and estates teams and Teachers and learners. These templates, case studies and resources support climate action planning, decarbonisation and delivery of initiatives and lessons.
If you have followed the toolkit symbol from the climate charter, use this table of toolkit links by theme to find the relevant resource.
This is a rapidly emerging area with new resources being created by a wide range of charitable organisations and public sector bodies so this toolkit will develop over time, please send any recommendations or questions to poppy.flint@walthamforest.gov.uk
Sign up: discuss the charter with senior leadership and get agreement to sign up. There will be a short survey to help you get started and you will receive a digital logo, poster and info pack.
Announce: Now share the great news that you are committing to the Schools and Colleges Climate Charter!
There are three key steps once you join the charter
Establish eco-lead roles. For the Climate Action Plan to have impact it requires input and oversight from Senior Leadership and the Governing Board. A climate curriculum lead is invaluable for ensuring everyone learns about this subject.
Create an enthusiastic team who will lead on climate action. This could include teachers, senior management and young people or a separate student eco-team could be given opportunities to exchange ideas with SLT and the Governing Board. Decide your process for organising and making decisions.
Decide which themes to work on this year and start evolving a long-term Climate Action Plan. Look for actions which will have benefits across multiple themes as well as reduce the carbon footprint of the site and operations
"Climate change isn’t something that is happening somewhere else. It’s happening here. We see it with the heat waves of Summer 2022 and the recent local flooding, we see it in our energy bills and our air quality. For our children and young people, the long-term impact of the changes and the need to make educated decisions about their actions will directly influence their future. As a Council, we look forward to working with all our schools and young people to make a meaningful difference to the climate emergency we jointly face"
A message from Lauren Ovenden, Director of Education and Luke Ravenscroft , Director of Climate Emergency