Your school is invited to join Schools vs. Climate Change

Following COP26 in November, we’re inviting schools to take part in an exciting nationwide tournament, Schools vs. Climate Change, that uses the fun of football to encourage children and families to take direct action on climate, where going One Step Greener is the only way to win. Schools will climb a national league table based on how many green goals their school community can score, to see who will come out on top.

The tournament kicks off on 10th January and will run until 20th February. Schools can download a pack of curriculum resources including 90 lesson plans covering a range of subjects across KS1, KS2 and KS3, promotional materials and opportunities to connect home-based activities with in-school learning.

KS1 Pack

KS2 Pack

KS3 Pack

Sign Up

Green School Assembly

Build green momentum among pupils and teachers with an engaging assembly that informs about the issues and empowers with positive climate actions.​

You could extend the assembly with an interactive break-out session where students can brainstorm climate-friendly behaviours.​

If you’re feeling inspired, why not run a Climate Week and invite local Climate Leaders and interested parents to come in and run guest assemblies?

Download the Green School Assembly presentation and speaker’s notes.

Walk to school week

Show your community how united your young Climate Leaders are in the fight against climate change by inviting all your students to walk to school for a whole week.

Make it a fun five days by crafting a ‘walking bus’ for your students to carry.

You could also give parents the opportunity to polish up their Climate Leader credentials and ‘drive’ the walking buses.​

If you’d like to do this, don’t forget you’ll need to create an email to send to parents with consent forms.

The school play

Use your Climate Leader creativity to put on a brilliant environmental spectacle.

Your school play could look at themes of caring for the environment and how climate leaders through the ages have contributed to better ways to protect the environment.

If you know a budding writer, why not create an original script. For example, you could take your students on a journey to meet great Climate Leaders through the ages like Einstein, Leonardo and Boyan Slat.

Pupils can be encouraged to reuse materials and clothing for costumes and props. If you’d like to put on a play, you’ll also need to think about costume ideas, staging and recruiting a cast.

How to use Climate Leaders tools

Download the ‘How to use Climate Leader tools’ guide for simple, step-by-step instructions on how to use our Climate Leaders tools and explain COP26 to others.

Social media carousels

Share these graphics on social media using the ‘carousel’ format (posts with multiple images) and help tell the story of COP26. Need help using them? You’ll find simple, step-by-step instructions as well as caption inspirations in the ‘How to use Climate Leaders tools’ document above.

Carousel 1: What is COP26?
This carousel is a brief COP26 explainer.  

Carousel 2: Celebrating climate action
This carousel is a call to action ahead of COP26. Help celebrate the people everywhere doing their part to tackle climate change.  

Zoom Backgrounds

Use these COP26-branded backgrounds to show your institution’s support for COP26 during your online events.

Instagram stickers

Search for our fun COP26 stickers in your Instagram stories when sharing your positive environmental actions. Read the ‘How to use Climate Leaders tools’ guide above to find out how.

“Our Climate Our Future” created by WWF and partners

This pack will focus on COP26 and raise awareness and applied understanding of the Summit and climate change amongst young people across the UK. This pack will also include resources for schools to hold mini climate summits, and workshops to identify and plan individual and school actions. The former will include a fun interactive role-play-based lesson that introduces COP26 and will result in a ‘vision of the future’ created by the students. The latter will result in a ‘School Promise To The Planet’ for each school, setting out plans for the school to contribute positively to the transition to net zero. Schools across the UK are invited to take part in a ‘virtual forest’ of promises on 9^th November, by decorating a real or constructed tree in their community with leaves created by students bearing their own promises to the planet, and the promises they would like to see made by World Leaders at COP. 

Visit WWF for more information

Blue Peter Green Badge

Become a Blue Peter Climate Hero by helping the environment and earning a Green badge. Upload your photos and artwork to show how much you care about nature, the environment and your planet. Find out how to apply for your Green Badge!

BBC Bitesize: The Regenerators

The Regenerators from BBC Bitesize is an environmental initiative that aims to educate and inspire children, young people and families to take simple steps to build a greener future. There are online lessons (for KS1 and KS2 to begin with) as well as articles and tips on how we can all have a more positive impact on the environment. For more info please go to the BBC Bitesize website

LEGO

The LEGO Group are gathering children’s ideas to create a set of LEGO building instructions for a better planet to give to decision makers. The Building Instructions for a Better World workshop pack provides a lesson pack for schools, communities and summer camps to enable children to generate their three instructions for world leaders to better protect the planet from climate change.

NatWest MoneySense Competition

NatWest’s MoneySense programme includes various resources to help kids learn about the link between saving money and saving the planet.  In partnership with Top Trumps, the Climate Savers competition challenges primary school pupils to design Top Trumps cards showing actions we can take to help save the planet, with winning designs to be chosen for an exclusive deck of cards plus the chance for teachers to win money for environmental projects at their school. Also part of MoneySense, “Island Saver” is a fun, free, full-size video game that teaches children about money whilst helping to clean up the environment.

Met Office for Schools

Weather and climate affect everything, from the way we live, to what we eat, to our personal safety. Met Office for Schools will help young people understand the wide-reaching impacts of weather and climate change locally and globally, for people, places and businesses.

Climate Negotiations in the Classroom – the Royal Meteorological Society has developed award winning resources to allow you to run a simulated climate negotiations event in 2 standard lessons. They are aimed at students aged 13+ with a basic understanding of greenhouse gas emissions.

The Great Big Lesson on Climate & Nature Live from COP26

Whether you’re a student ( 11+ ), teacher, governor, parent or part of a school’s support staff, the 1 hour Great Big Lesson on Climate and Nature will build understanding of the climate and nature crisis and how together we can begin to restore and regenerate our planet. 

Climate Change Teachers Toolkit by Edsential

The Climate Change Teachers Toolkit by Edsential is an easy to navigate library of resources that link directly to the curriculum. It will support classroom learning about climate change and the four targets being discussed at the COP26 conference.  Select resources by learning stage, subject or COP26 goal.

Talking to young people about the climate

Find thoughtful guidance on how to talk to young people about climate change on National Geographic, World’s Largest Lesson, or Thought Box.

Environment Agency

• The Environment Agency’s interactive river catchment map is full of short videos and activities to demonstrate how plastic pollution travels through our toilets and drains to rivers and oceans having started life as a balloon, plastic-food wrap, litter, clothing and agricultural materials. By clicking on a point on the map you will hear about climate change, household waste, how plastic can end up in rock pools, and learn about ways we can prevent and reduce avoidable plastic waste. There is an activity for everyone, and these maps can be used by parents, teachers, children and young people!
  The Environment Agency’s interactive river catchment map for 11yrs and under
  The Environment Agency’s interactive river catchment map for 12yrs and over
• Why not play Plastic Free Bingo! The Environment Agency have created an interactive plastic free bingo card as part of Plastic Free July but this can be used by anyone +11yrs at any time of the year! What actions will you take? Or why not challenge your class or your family to complete the bingo card together?
• Plastics and climate change factsheet. A one page fact sheet created by the Environment Agency on how plastic is linked to the climate emergency and how you can convert plastic production, use and disposal to greenhouse gas emissions 
• Environment Agency’s litter pick toolkit. Whether you are a scout group completing an activity for the Scout’s Promise to the Planet, a classroom, or a few friends from your local community planning a litter pick, this toolkit provides you with all you need to conduct a litter pick including the benefits to our planet and our own well-being.
• Source to sea, follow the path of plastic pollution from its land-based source. There are a series of lessons and activities created by the Environment Agency looking at the different sources of plastic waste coming from the land-based sector including agriculture and farming, aimed at young people aged 14 and over.
• The Environment Agency has created 4 curriculum linked lessons aimed at upper and lower KS1&2 to start the conversation around plastic pollution and introduce children to some of the issues as well as actions they can take to reduce or avoid plastic waste and plastic pollution.

Make your whole school climate ready 

• Find out more on how to become an Eco-School or Climate-Ready
• Learn more about how your school can generate its own energy with the Schools Energy Co-operative or Solar For Schools
• Why not build a living wall? Check out the ANS GLOBAL website

Institution-wide programmes for students and educators

• Become a beekeeping school with The British Beekeepers Association
• Encourage children to be close to nature with Nature Friendly Schools
• Get in touch with the Green Schools Project to engage young people in environmental project

Resources and short projects for Early Years and Lower Primary Schools

• Inspire younger children to learn about the world through games, videos and teaching resources with Earthcubs
• Younger children can take part in an art project to represent their love of nature with We Love Our Planet
• Teach younger pupils to explore nature and wildlife with Wildlife Watch resources

Resources and short projects for Upper Primary and Secondary Schools

• Use World’s Largest Lesson resources to introduce climate change to students
• Bring environmental action into the classroom with Transform our World
• Access climate guides and classroom resources on Our Planet
• Provide inspiring activities for your classroom with the Do your bit digital challenge
• Use Royal Parks, Kew Garden, or Backyard Nature online learning resources to teach students all about nature
• Looking for outdoor lesson ideas? Check out the Outdoor Classroom Day resources
• Use WWF UK free curriculum-linked resources designed to help pupils explore environmental issues in an engaging and motivating way
• Check out the Earth School 30 online ‘quests’ for students around the world to celebrate, explore and connect with nature.

Climate animations featuring Kristen Bell (written by Myles Allen, David Biello and George Zaidan)

• Why is the world warming up? 
• What is net zero? 
• Why is 1.5 degrees such a big deal? 
• Where does all the carbon we release go?
• Why act now?

Content by TEDEd

• Can we create the “perfect” farm? – Animation with Brent Loken (Exponential Roadmap Chapter Author on Food)
• The state of the climate crisis – Animation with Climate Action Tracker
• Plan for zero series – 7-part video series based on Bill Gates’ new book; animations released so far include:
  • The myth of the boiling frog (on the challenges of net-zero)
  • The world’s biggest battery looks nothing like a battery
• Earth School series – launched in partnership with UNEP, which features some of TEDEd’s original climate and environment content

Other

• Together, 57 million Scouts will take hands-on action to reduce climate change and urge world leaders to commit to ambitious targets and policies, and you can join too. #PromiseToThePlanet is a global, environmental, social action campaign open to all young people and adults, whether they’re currently involved with Scouts or not. 
• Together for a Fair Climate Future – Sustainability First, in partnership with National Grid, has developed a series of workshop materials and activities on sustainability and climate action to inspire, educate and engage pupils.
• Learning for Sustainability (LfS) – Approach to life and learning which enables learners, educators, schools and their wider communities in Scotland to build a socially just, sustainable and equitable society. 
• Our World Our Impact – COP26 venue host, Glasgow Science Centre, shares interactive online events, discussions, videos, challenges and more.