Sustainable Education (From Hereford Times)

Sustainable Education

4:56pm Thursday 22nd February 2007

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For a sustainable future there will need to be as many young people with an understanding of ecological principles as possible.
The ‘Eco-schools’ programme, to which 80 schools in Herefordshire are registered, is a step on the road to this future - part of ‘an international group of schools working towards education for sustainable development’... The Government’s recently announced ‘Sustainable Schools’ initiative proposes that all schools become the equivalent of eco-schools by 2020. The definition they use of a sustainable school is one which ‘prepares young people for a lifetime of sustainable living… guided by a commitment to care - care for ourselves, for others, and for the planet’.
In Herefordshire there is a school that has always had this philosophy at its heart. The Hereford Waldorf School in Much Dewchurch follows a ‘child-centred’ curriculum developed by the Austrian scientist and philosopher Rudolf Steiner. Steiner education is inherently ecological and inspires students to respect the earth and their fellow human beings.
The Hereford school is on the verge of becoming the first state funded Steiner Academy in the UK. In a County that suffers from the outward migration of young people the school already attracts young families to the area, and this trend is likely to continue with the added benefit of state funding. The £2.5 million already committed by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) and the Steiner Schools fellowship would not come to Hereford otherwise, and a Bristol University study in 2005 clearly cited the advantages, not least to mainstream schools, of incorporating a Steiner school into the national portfolio.
There are some planning issues yet to be resolved, but looking ahead there are two possible scenarios; without the planning and approval of the local Council the school will carry on as it is – on a shoestring, on the goodwill of volunteers and parents, and with an infrastructure that really does need updating; alternatively, given this support, the school and therefore the County, would gain an exemplary high eco-specification building, modern facilities which will be open to the wider community, and about 100 more pupils.
There appears to be an opportunity here for Herefordshire to be a ‘First in the UK’. It fits with a wider movement towards the principles of caring for each other and our environment mentioned earlier. Let’s not allow the opportunity to slip through our fingers – let’s take the lead, for our children’s sake.