The research on the effectiveness of sustainable schools that colleagues and I carried out at the University of Bath some while back has been reinstated on the DfE website. You can find it here. This was originally removed when all that DCSF, New Labour-type stuff was hurridly flushed down Mr Gove's toilet – together with all the rainbows and munchkin cartoons – and it has taken persistence from within the DfE to have it reinstated on the Department's SD pages. Much gratitude for that.
The summary text on the web page says:
Evidence of the impact of sustainable schools is supported by growing research, policy, and practitioner literature, in the main from the UK but also internationally. Multiple sources of evidence now show that being a sustainable school raises standards and enhances well-being.
This publication sets out the educational and social benefits to young people of learning in a sustainable school. It is written for leadership teams in primary and secondary schools and other educational settings across England. Under five themes, it sets out 15 top tips based on the impact of sustainable schools and education for sustainable development on school improvement and young people’s well-being as defined by Every Child Matters outcomes. It is hoped these will be useful in the context of schools striving to enable learners to become successful, confident individuals, and responsible, caring citizens.
Each theme sets out the tips together with a short summary of the evidence. The sources of evidence are listed at the end of the booklet.
There is also a significant caveat, however:
"This publication has been archived. The summary text below was correct when the item was first published. It has been made available for reference use but should not be considered to reflect current policy or guidance."
Just so. But isn't this odd? Given that "multiple sources of evidence now show that being a sustainable school raises standards and enhances well-being", why doesn't Mr Gove want to promote it, given that his policies also aim to do this?
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