Brent to stand in solidarity with youth climate activists on September 20th - please join in

“This is not a single-generation job. It’s humanity’s job... Let’s all join together, with your neighbours, co-workers, friends, family and go out on to the streets to make your voices heard and make this a turning point in our history.” Greta Thunberg and 46 youth activists from the international school strike movement

Local environmental activists, including Friends of the Earth and Divest Brent; trade unionists, politicians and parents are planning to answer the call from Greta Thunberg and other youth activists  adults to support the global climate youth movement by assembling at Brent Civic Centre at 9.30am on Friday September 20th in a display of support and solidarity. There will be a wide range of speakers united in recognising the urgent need to address the climate emergency.

Brent Council has given permission for staff to join the rally for 30 minutes as long as they seek their manager's permission and there is minimal impact on service provision.
Brent recently adopted a motion declaring a Climate Emergency and is planning to set up a a Citizens' Panel on Climate in October,

Brent National Education Union is urging its members to take creative action on the day:

After the rally many activists and supporters will move on the Central London to join the youth strikers at Mill Bank:

Further information:

UK Student Climate Network

Campaign Against Climate Change

Friends of the Earth

Greta Thunberg responds to the critics: '...Please stop asking your children for the answers to your own mess.'

Following Friday's world-wide schoolchildren's strike Greta Thunberg has responded to her critics on Facebook. This is what she says:

On Friday March 15th 2019 well over 1,5 million students school striked for the climate in 2083 places in 125 countries on all continents.

The favorite argument here in Sweden (and everywhere else…) is that it doesn’t matter what we do because we are all too small to make a difference. Friday’s manifestation was the biggest day of global climate action ever, according to 350.org. It happened because a few schoolchildren from small countries like Sweden, Belgium and Switzerland decided not to go to school because nothing was being done about the climate crisis. We proved that it does matter what you do and that no one is too small to make a difference.

People keep asking me ”what is the solution to the climate crisis.” And how do we ”fix this problem”. They expect me to know the answer.

That is beyond absurd as there are no ”solutions” within our current systems. No one ”knows” exactly what to do. That’s the whole point. We can’t just lower or heighten some taxes or invest in some ”green” funds and go on like before.

Yes there are many many things that are very good and necessary, and improves the situation. Such as solar- and wind power, circular economy, veganism, sustainable farming and so on. But even those are just parts of a greater picture.

We can no longer only focus on individual and separate issues like electrical cars, nuclear power, meat, aviation, bio fuels etc etc. We urgently need a holistic view to adress the full sustainability crisis and the ongoing ecological disaster. And this is why I keep saying that we need to start treating the crisis as the crisis it is. Because only then - and only guided by the best available science (as is clearly stated throughout the Paris Agreement) can we together start creating the global way forward.

But that can never happen as long as we allow the ”yeah-but-what-about-nuclear-power-then-debate” to go on and on and on. This is wasting our time. This is climate delayer-ism. We need to keep a great number of thoughts in our head at same time and yet move forward with the changes at unprecedented speed.

Nuclear power, according to the IPCC, can be a small part of a very big new carbon free energy solution, especially in countries and areas that lack the possibility of a full scale renewable energy supply - even though its extremely dangerous, expensive and time consuming. But let’s leave that debate until we start looking at the full picture.

Some people seem so desperate to go on with the comforts and luxuries of their every day life that they tell others to not have any children. As children, speaking for our little sisters and brothers, we don’t find that very encouraging. It is not us or future generations who have created this. And yet - once again - you blame us.

If not even the scientists, politicians, media and the UN currently can speak up on what exactly needs to be done to ”solve” the climate crisis (in other words, dramatically lowering our emissions starting today) , then how could we, some schoolchildren, know? How can you leave that burden to us?

Once you have done your homework, you realize that we need new politics. We need a new economics, where everything is based on our rapidly declining and extremely limited carbon budget.

But that is not enough. We need a whole new way of thinking. The political system that you have created is all about competition. You cheat when you can because all that matters is to win. To get power. That must come to an end. We must stop competing with each other. We need to start cooperating and sharing the remaining resources of this planet in a fair way. We need to start living within the planetary boundaries, focus on equity and take a few steps back for the sake of all living species.

We are just passing on the words of the science. Our only demand is that you start listening to it. And then start acting.

So please stop asking your children for the answers to your own mess.

This Friday in London: Teachers to bring Climate Truth to the Department for Education

Greta Thunberg's speech made earlier today on Video (In English) LINK

From Extinction Rebellion

Teachers, supported by Extinction Rebellion, will be protesting at the Department for Education on Friday 22 February 2019 to demand that the climate and ecological emergency is made an educational priority. As it stands a student could easily go through state education and hear climate change mentioned in fewer than 10 lessons out of approximately 10,000. This will be a peaceful nonviolent protest that may involve non-violent direct action.

Gathering from 12, midday at Old Palace Yard, Westminster, protesters will march to the Department for Education for 1pm (20 Great Smith Street, SW1P 3BT). Facebook event is here.

Speakers at the event will include Professor David Humphreys (Open University), Dr Anne Andrews (Cambridge University) and Dr Alison Green, who recently stepped down from her Pro Vice-Chancellor role to focus on full-time climate activism and who authored a letter published last week which was signed by over 200 academics in support of the Youth 4 Climate Strike.

The Department for Education is not enacting the Paris agreement

A central plank of the protest is the fact that the Department for Education is not enacting the landmark Paris climate agreement – which the British Government signed up to – which states: “Parties shall cooperate in taking measures, as appropriate, to enhance climate change education.” (Article 12 Paris Climate Agreement) 

There is currently no requirement nor any guidance on how to teach children about the climate crisis. Academies may not cover these topics at all, as they can be more selective about what they teach. One of the very few mentions of climate change in the National Curriculum for Science refers to the “evidence, and uncertainties in evidence, for anthropogenic climate change.”

Safi Yule, a 16 year old student from North London said:

 “I was lucky my parents told me about climate change but I should have got more information from my school, which didn’t teach this at all. I wish schools would pay as much attention to issues like this, which will change my world as much as me getting my grades at exams.”

Tim Jones, a secondary school teacher and an organiser from Lewisham in London, said: “Climate and ecological breakdown will define the life of every child and student alive today. They and we are facing an unimaginable catastrophe. But when I tell my students, it’s hard for them to take me seriously when it plays almost no part in the content of their education.”

Ex-teacher and head of department, Oliver Hayes, said: “It is clear from scenes last Friday – with thousands of children taking to the streets in more than 60 towns and cities across the UK for the Youth Strike 4 Climate – that children are standing up and saying enough is enough. Worryingly, this emergency has been almost ignored in teaching, especially in state secondary schools. It is taught as a difficult, peripheral and distant issue. Students need to know not only the truth about what is happening to their planet but also what needs to be done about it.”

Letter to the Department for Education

Teachers for Climate Truth sent a letter to the Department for Education on 6th February asking for three changes to the curriculum:

• That the ecological and climate crisis is immediately announced as an educational priority.
• That well-founded and evidence-based training is provided for teachers to convey this message, including the scientific and economic causes of the crisis, what governments and society need to do about it, and also on how to support young people when taking on this information. This should be implemented by no later than September 2019.
• An immediate overhaul of the current curriculum, in the light of scientific evidence and without political interference, aimed at preparing children for the realities of their future on this planet.

The Department for Education response notes that there is coverage of the science and processes involved in changing weather patterns and they mention a new Environmental Science A-level. This is not good enough: it comes nowhere near providing students with an understanding of the realities and implications of the climate and ecological crisis.

“It is incredibly important: if there are only 10 lessons on climate change, that is awful,” said Scarlett Possnett, 15, from Suffolk. “And there’s not a single lesson telling us how to address it. Our government knows the solutions and yet will not take steps to implement them.”

200 academics sign letter of support for Youth Strike 4 Climate

Last week over 200 academics signed a letter in support of the Youth 4 Climate Strike. [2] Noting some of devastating impacts of climate change, the letter states, “It is with these tragic and desperate events in mind that we offer our full support to the students – some of whom may well aspire to be the academics of the future – who bravely plan to strike on 15 February to demand that the UK government takes climate action.”

There are no better words than those of Greta Thunberg – the 16 year old Swedish climate activist who created the School Strike for Climate movement that’s rapidly expanding around the world:

 “What is the point of learning facts when the most important facts clearly mean nothing to our society?” (More here.)

Alex Forbes, nursery teacher and Extinction Rebellion supporter believes:

 “The government has failed our children, not only is there so little on the climate and ecological climate crisis, there is nothing on how to stop it, about the impacts of increasing consumerism and our throwaway society.

“Schools are increasingly pressured to prepare students for exams, with little about the challenges of the real world. Due to government policy staff and students have to focus on tests and results, there is little rounded education.” 

Dr Alison Green of Extinction Rebellion:

“Children should be taught about the connection between our way of life – including the economic and political factors – and the impact it has on the ecosystem in which we live, the consequences of this way of life for us and the planet. Climate and Ecology should be taught as a discrete subject and embedded throughout the curriculum.

“Students should be taught, with adequate support, to think critically about the very real and significant ecological and societal problems of our times, and the possible futures that might ensue. Lessons in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics and the Social Sciences need to be based on up-to-date evidence from reliable sources. While the curriculum needs to reflect the concerns raised in the IPCC reports, it must acknowledge that the IPCC, as a consensual body (including both scientists and politicians), has consistently underestimated the rate at which climate change is happening.”

Text of Extinction Rebellion’s Letter to the Department for Education

“To the Ministers and Employees of the Department for Education

6th Feb 2019

“The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) told us last October that we have 12 years to radically change every aspect of society if we are to avoid disaster. Highly regarded scientists, like Peter Wadhams, have highlighted the political restrictedness of the IPCC and the glaring omissions and over-simplifications of its report. We must accept the likelihood that 12 years is a vastly over- generous window of opportunity. We have killed 60% of mammals, birds, reptiles and fish since 1970. Insect populations are collapsing, coral reefs are bleached and dead, natural disasters are worsening, crops are failing, forests are being felled or burning and forced migration is beginning.

“If we keep this information out of the public domain – out of schools, for example – perhaps we might avoid some awkward conversations in the years to come. We could say we never knew. After all, who wants to tell a child that, unless we make unprecedented changes to how we live, we are heading for societal collapse, famine, war and the increasing likelihood of human extinction? Telling the truth exposes us to the responsibility of facing it ourselves. Which is exactly why we must tell our children: not simply to inform them (many are far better informed than older generations) but also so that we can be held to account for our own actions. We must follow the example of the brave young people who will, on coming Fridays, be striking from school to demand truth and action.

“When we have had the evidence for decades, why does it amount to little more than a footnote in our national curriculum – a vague and marginal concern? Geography lessons cover the basic theory but in the national curriculum for Science the evidence for anthropogenic climate change is described as ‘uncertain’. The issue could be mentioned in as few as four Science lessons in the entire course of secondary education. In academies there may be no mention at all. If not in schools, where should the public learn about where our way of life is taking us? Power knows the value of ignorance. Our Government is increasing subsidies for fossil fuels while presiding over an educational system that effectively denies the consequences of such a policy.

“Imagine if we had the courage to make our schools places where students learned how to repair the damage we have caused. If we have the courage to act now they could be the ones to revive our dying soil, regenerate biodiversity and rebuild the ecosystems that sustain us. But we must act now. We must teach students more than just how to pass tests. We must give them the opportunity to discover what is wonderful and life-giving. And we must urgently equip them with the skills, insight and courage to face what is coming. To do otherwise is an act of criminal negligence.

The evidence tells us that any imagined future for which we are currently preparing our young people is a dream that will never be realised. The lives of every one of our children will be defined by the effects of climate and ecological breakdown. We therefore make the following demands:

“1. The ecological and climate crisis is immediately announced as an educational priority.

“2. Well-founded and evidence-based training is provided for teachers to convey this message,

including the scientific and economic causes of the crisis, what governments and society need to

do about it and also on how to support young people when taking on this information. This

should be implemented by no later than September 2019.

“3. An immediate overhaul of the current curriculum, in the light of scientific evidence and without

political interference, aimed at preparing children for the realities of their future on this planet.

“Please – because we love our children so much – let’s teach them the truth.

We await your response with due impatience and loving rage: schoolsforclimatetruth@gmail.com”

How you can support the YOUTH STRIKE 4 CLIMATE FRIDAY FEBRUARY 15TH



Starting with Greta Thunberg, a 15 year old student, holding a vigil every Friday at the Swedish parliament, in the last six months tens of thousands of school students from Australia to Nairobi to Belgium, Holland and Germany have gone on strike calling for urgent action to avert climate change. This growing global movement deserves the full support of teaching unions. Here’s a video for the first UK strike this Friday - 15^th February.  Just scroll down to the pinned post below the event info and pass it on as widely as you can.  https://www.facebook.com/Strike4Youth/videos/353417158581705/

A representative of the NAHT (heads union) said:

 “Society takes leaps forward when people are prepared to take action. Schools encourage students to develop a wider understanding of the world about them. A day of action like this could be an important and valuable life experience.”

There will be a further global day of action and school students strike on March 15^th. So, while this will start with the most concerned and dedicated young people, it is not going away and all of us have an interest in helping it grow. 

They have also called for a day of action at the DfE between 11am and 3pm on Feb 22^nd - during half term  see below for details and letter to DfE calling on them to urgently overhaul our education system so that it can play its part in creating a sustainable society. Also see below draft resolution for National Education Union districts aiming to amplify student demands.

XR London Action: Climate Truth for Schools February 22^nd (Half-term)

When was the last time you heard school students discussing their lesson on climate change? Exactly, it doesn’t happen.

So, on the 22^nd February, we’re taking this issue right to the heart of the UK school system: the Department of Education. We will demand that those in a position of responsibility face the truth and allow educators to teach it. Please join us. Everyone is very welcome, especially families. 

We have sent them this letter outlining our demands: https://goo.gl/hJY2un. (Also below)

You can help by printing it and sending a copy yourself. If you have children in your family, please add their handprints to the letter (in paint) before you send it. The postal address is: Department for Education, 20 Great Smith St, Westminster, London, SW1P 3BT. Thank you. 



Why are we doing this? 

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) just told the world what our future looks like. Yet the science and economics to explain this catastrophe are completely ignored by UK curricula.

While a few independent and specialist schools do address the reality of climate change, most state schools don’t. It might be covered briefly in Geography and touched upon in RE lessons, but most worryingly, the Science curriculum could mention the topic as little as four times across the entire course of secondary education. The message is that climate change and climate science are peripheral and undecided issues. What students are principally taught, by the time they have finished their GCSE courses, is that education is a process of acquiring qualifications for the purpose of some future utility - a future that now looks increasingly damned. 

We believe young people have the right to know how their planet has been poisoned; we believe they should be empowered to face reality. 

Whether you are a student, parent, grandparent, teacher or just someone who cares about education, come and join us on what promises to be a fun day in which we take our concerns to those in power. Families are very, very welcome.

- Schedule for the day to follow.
- If you can make banners/art work/music/sing/wish to speak etc then please make yourself known (post in the discussion). We’ll be organising some artwork sessions nearer to the date.

To the Ministers and Employees of the Department for Education

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) told us last October that we have 12 years to radically change every aspect of society if we are to avoid disaster. Highly regarded scientists, like Peter Wadhams, have highlighted the political restrictedness of the IPCC and the glaring omissions and over-simplifications of its report. We must accept the likelihood that 12 years is a vastly over-generous window of opportunity. We have killed 60% of mammals, birds, reptiles and fish since 1970. Insect populations are collapsing, coral reefs are bleached and dead, natural disasters are worsening, crops are failing, forests are being felled or burning and forced migration is beginning.

If we keep this information out of the public domain – out of schools, for example – perhaps we might avoid some awkward conversations in the years to come. We could say we never knew. After all, who wants to tell a child that, unless we make unprecedented changes to how we live, we are heading for societal collapse, famine, war and the increasing likelihood of human extinction? Telling the truth exposes us to the responsibility of facing it ourselves. Which is exactly why we must tell our children: not simply to inform them (many are far better informed than older generations) but also so that we can be held to account for our own actions. We must follow the example of the brave young people who will, on coming Fridays, be striking from school to demand truth and action.

When we have had the evidence for decades, why does it amount to little more than a footnote in our national curriculum – a vague and marginal concern? Geography lessons cover the basic theory but in the national curriculum for Science the evidence for anthropogenic climate change is described as ‘uncertain’. The issue could be mentioned in as few as four Science lessons in the entire course of secondary education. In academies there may be no mention at all. If not in schools, where should the public learn about where our way of life is taking us? Power knows the value of ignorance. Our Government is increasing subsidies for fossil fuels while presiding over an educational system that effectively denies the consequences of such a policy.

Imagine if we had the courage to make our schools places where students learned how to repair the damage we have caused. If we have the courage to act now they could be the ones to revive our dying soil, regenerate biodiversity and rebuild the ecosystems that sustain us.But we must act now. We must teach students more than just how to pass tests. We must give them the opportunity to discover what is wonderful and life-giving. And we must urgently equip them with the skills, insight and courage to face what is coming. To do otherwise is an act of criminal negligence.

The evidence tells us that any imagined future for which we are currently preparing our young people is a dream that will never be realised. The lives of every one of our children will be defined by the effects of climate and ecological breakdown. We therefore make the following demands:

1.  The ecological and climate crisis is immediately announced as an educational priority.

2.  Well-founded and evidence-based training is provided for teachers to convey this message, including the scientific and economic causes of the crisis, what governments and society need to do about it and also on how to support young people when taking on this information. This should be implemented by no later than September 2019.

3.  An immediate overhaul of the current curriculum, in the light of scientific evidence and without political interference, aimed at preparing children for the realities of their future on this planet.

Please – because we love our children so much – let’s teach them the truth. We await your response with due impatience and loving rage: schoolsforclimatetruth@gmail.com

NEU Resolutions

(Insert name of District here) NEU notes:

1.  The IPCC report of 2018 which identified the urgent need to limit global warming below 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels and the urgency of taking accelerated action within the next 12 years.

2.  The IPCC have identified that currently global emissions put us on track for potentially catastrophic increases of up to 4-5 degrees warming by the ended of the century.

3.  The action taken by Greta Thunberg, a Swedish school student who initiated school student strikes and protest outside the Swedish Parliament to demand urgent action on climate change - #FridaysforFuture. 

4.  Other students strikes including in Australian on Friday 30^th Nov which saw 10,000s of school students strike to demand urgent action on climate change; which are now spreading globally.

5.  That young people in schools and colleges will be in their old age by the end of this century so have a huge stake in what happens to our climate and the actions or otherwise that are taken to urgently reduce emissions to limit warming to 1.5 degrees

6.  The call for a UK school students climate strike on Friday Feb 15^th to coincide with the next #FridaysforFuture school strike called by Greta Thunberg. and the further call for a day of global action on March 15^th.

(insert name of District) NEU resolves to;

1.  Recognise the significance of the school student strikes and support the student demands for the UK government to take urgent action on climate change. 

2.  To ask Head Teachers to take a sympathetic attitude to school student strikes to allow those who want to participate in the protests to attend and to organise assemblies, tutor time, themed learning weeks and other extra-curricular initiatives to discuss the issue of climate change and solutions to it in the weeks leading up to such strikes. 

3.  To call for government to make changes to the school curriculum to ensure that climate change is taught to ensure a deeper understanding of the problem and the solutions to it; thereby meeting their obligations under Article 12 of the Paris Agreement and for the national union to take this matter up in our discussions with the Shadow Education team.

4) To send this resolution to our national executive members with the request that it is discussed at the JEC.