Useful resources
Schools and colleges have access to a number of useful resources to act on climate change – and we have collated some ideas to help you along the way!
The West Midlands Combined Authority provides free carbon literacy training, which is an ideal course for teachers and staff to understand more about climate change. There are also courses for colleges available through the Carbon Literacy Project.
The Department for Education’s Climate Ambassadors scheme matches climate experts with education settings to help nurseries, schools and colleges develop their Climate Action Plan.
Climate Ed is a charity offering free climate education to primary schools through five one-hour workshop sessions, helping schools to teach children about climate science, carbon literacy and how to take action on climate change.
Count Your Carbon is a free online tool to help educational settings to calculate, understand, reduce and track your carbon emissions, and ultimately help you save money.
The Department for Education sets out the Government's Sustainability and Climate Change Strategy to improve the learning and understanding of environmental sustainability and climate change.
Eco Schools is a pupil-led education programme for all types of schools, nurseries and colleges, helping to deliver eco projects to make your educational setting more sustainable and increase environmental learning.
Global Goals helps education settings learn about the United Nation’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals to end poverty, fight inequality and tackle climate change, and join the World’s Largest Lesson to promote learning to children and young people.
Let's Go Zero is a national campaign to help make schools more sustainable and tackle climate change, and to develop their Climate Action Plans, which are required by the Department for Education by 2025.
Gain access to free resources through the Ministry of Eco Education, including a curated curriculum and detailed lesson plans to help schools embed sustainability through a 5-step approach.
The National Association for Environmental Education (NAEE) provides support for teaching and learning in relation to environmental and sustainability issues, including Curriculum Guides for primary and secondary schools.
The National Education Nature Park is open to nurseries, schools and colleges and offers children and young people the opportunity to take hands-on action to improve their outdoor spaces, and benefit from free curriculum-linked learning resources.
Plastic Free Schools is a free pupil-led education programme to empower young people to help stop the use of single-use plastics in UK schools, whilst providing a platform for schools to achieve Plastic Free Schools Accreditation.
Through Sustainability Support for Education, find recommended actions for your education setting to become more sustainable, or to shape your Climate Action Plan.
The Birmingham Institute of Forestry Research (BIFoR) at the University of Birmingham is dedicated to advancing the understanding of how forests respond to environmental changes, providing free KS3, GCSE and A level resources.
Transform Our World is a community of 7,000 educators empowering students to take climate action, offering an online hub of free, practical teacher-tested and reviewed resources.
UK Sustainable Schools Operations Group is a network bringing together school business, finance and operations leaders to discuss and collaborate on promoting and strengthening climate action and sustainability in schools.