Meet the UK's First Climate Change Headteacher, accredited by the UN
Mrs Rebecca Stacey, Headteacher of Castle Carrock School, Cumbria, explains why her school is one of the first in the United Kingdom to take part in this innovative teacher training trial, “The Climate Change Teacher Course is particularly geared for the needs of teachers in primary, middle and secondary schools. It is anticipated that the Climate Change Teacher will engage and support other teachers within our school, eventually developing a wider cross section of Climate Change Teachers across year groups and all subjects throughout the curriculum. Castle Carrock School leads by example to all schools throughout Cumbria and this was an opportunity my team and I jumped at, as soon as it was made available.”
UN CC TEACHER ACADEMY
The UN Climate Change Teacher Academy is being delivered by Harwood Education, in partnership with the One United Nations Climate Change Learning Partnership (UN CC:Learn) and sponsored by YPO. Not only will teachers be able to teach their pupils vital lessons about climate change but they will also earn CPD and certification from the United Nations.
The innovative programme was launched on April 22 is free for primary and secondary school teachers worldwide. All they need to do is log onto the Climate Change Teacher Academy to access the free lessons. Once teachers have completed the five units of the Climate Change Teacher Course, they will be accredited by UN CC:Learn to deliver climate change facts and mitigation best practices. They will be able to encourage and generate social innovation, and prepare today’s youth to protect the planet.
The online training for teachers in primary and secondary schools has been designed to equip educators with the knowledge and confidence to deliver lessons on the topic of climate change to their class and across the school curriculum.
A target of 80 UK schools are being urged to sign up to take part in an initial trial of the course, lasting around two months, which covers topics including climate change science, gender and environment, children and climate change, cities and climate change, the International Legal Regime of climate change, as well as human health and climate change. The programme will then be made available to all schools across the UK with first lessons expected to be delivered in the classroom, fully funded by corporate sponsorship, in September 2019.
Credentials
Education specialist Melanie Harwood, whose company Harwood Education have created the easy to assimilate audio/visual courses for the Climate Change Teacher Course, has also created the eduCCate Global Programme, which will be delivered as part of the second phase of the project, which hopes to achieve a broad vision of delivering hundreds of climate literacy lessons to every school throughout the UK. Melanie Harwood explains the context of the project further: “Young children are far more vulnerable to climate-related disasters and associated health risks than any other social group. We need to give them the tools to understand the effects of a changing climate so that they can take well informed and effective action in the future. In these days of a Climate Emergency, now more than ever, teachers all need the knowledge in these five courses that make up the Climate Change Teacher Course to ensure they deliver clear Climate Literacy to all their pupils.”
YPO, the official sponsor, of the launch of the Climate Change Teacher Course and the UN CC:Learn Educate Programme for schools, “We are honoured to be sponsoring a programme that is addressing one of the most pressing issues of our time.”
YPO’s managing director Simon Hill, “Education is an essential element of the global response to climate change, helping young people understand the impact of global warming and how they can play a part in future trends. Recent strikes by schoolchildren as part of a growing global campaign for action on climate change makes the programme even more relevant to educators. As a sponsor of Climate Change Education Programme, YPO will help support delivery of climate change lessons in the classroom, and the need to better train teachers to improve the climate change curriculum and provide quality resources.”
Angus Mackay, Director of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research,
“We are delighted to be able to support this important educational initiative in the United Kingdom. Anyone below the age of 20 is part of the ‘climate generation’ living all or most of their lives having to deal with climate change. The Climate Change Teacher Training Academy is an excellent idea because it will give children an intuitive understanding of the issues and it is solutions based”.
For more information or to arrange an interview with Mrs Rebecca Stacey or Harwood Education:
Contact Melanie on - 07595 099 144
Download press images and videos here:
https://www.unccteacheracademy.com/press
Video of Mrs Emma Pavey (Sussex's First Climate Change Teacher, accredited by the UN) delivering Climate Literacy to the pupils at St Katherine's College, Eastbourne, SKY News Interview:
Video of Ms Bec Wakefield (Essex's First Climate Change Teacher, accredited by the UN) delivering Climate Literacy to the pupils at Down Hall Primary School::
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDydEo6D0giWo3m4QN1Z_AQ
Ends
To register for the Climate Change Teacher Course go here:
https://unccteachacademy.kartra.com/portals/ClimateChangeTeacherAcademyPortal
Notes to Editors:
UN:CCLearn
UN CC:Learn is a partnership of more than 30 multilateral organizations. At the global level, the partnership supports knowledge-sharing and the dissemination of common climate change learning materials. It coordinates training interventions through collaboration of UN agencies and other partners, contributing to a growing critical mass of professionals and individuals with the necessary understanding of the basics of climate change to inform their decisions and take effective action.
At the national level, UN CC:Learn supports countries in addressing learning priorities relevant to their national climate change action plans by developing tailored learning strategies, in collaboration with national education and training institutions. UN CC:Learn is operating in over 20 countries and is hosted by the UN Institute for Training and Research.
Harwood Education (www.harwoodeducation.com)
Harwood Education delivers innovative outstanding education resources, programmes, training and learning schemes to the entirety of the education sector as well as direct to the home learning sector, both in the UK and International markets. Harwood Education follows a stringent joint venture and licensing process, both of which assure schools of a high standard of quality in both product and customer service.
YPO
YPO, which specialises in providing products and services to help run schools, including training for teachers, is the sponsor of the initial course trials and the official education resource provider for the UN Climate Change: Learn education programme. Delivered by Harwood Education, this ambitious project will seek to develop a comprehensive package of interactive classroom materials on climate change for school teachers and children.
Registration for the course trials follows Earth Day www.earthday.org (April 22nd), to underpin YPO’s efforts to align with the UN’s sustainability goals including climate action.
YPO is the largest public sector buying organisation in the UK. Fully owned by 13 local government member authorities, YPO has also established formal relationships with a further 65 organisations - known as associate member authorities - across local government and the wider public sector.