12th December 2025
HEADLINES
By Mr Saunders Headteacher
That is why we have created a Climate Action Team here at Honywood, consisting of a range of staff members and learners. Having the support of Essex County Council apparently makes us the envy of many schools in other counties, as the expertise and resources that they offer schools in this topic is very highly thought of. We made some brilliant links with educators and leaders from a range of locations and are really excited to find out how we can use their knowledge to Mrs Harris and Mrs Paternoster improve sustainability at Honywood and beyond. Climate Action Team and Sustainability Leads Already, our Climate Action Team has met and Climate Action Team discussed some key actions that we’d like to take and planned some initiatives that we would like We recently had the opportunity to go to to begin immediately. One of these is a challenge Colchester Zoo to find out about climate education for you as families each week that we will set on and sustainability in schools. As educators who the Headlines. Some will be competitions, with are passionate about the natural world and how winners announced, whereas others will, we we, as humans, can live more sustainably, this hope, be fun and interesting little challenges that was a really exciting opportunity to find out how you can do together. we can do more as a school to promote positive changes and incorporate this into our curriculum A recent publication from Climate & Nature and school culture. Action in Education East reports that, “According to the Department for Education, the national As a society, we are all aware of the climate crisis curriculum should ensure that ‘young people facing our planet and most of us appreciate the leave compulsory education ready for life and need to make changes to how we live. Some work’. To achieve this aim in the context of the of the messages we heard at our training were climate crisis, climate change education should that young people understand the severity of go beyond abstract, scientific content and relate this climate crisis and know that urgent action is to young people’s everyday lives. It should give needed but there is growing concern around the young people the confidence to take meaningful rise of ‘climate’ anxiety in young people and their action now, engage them with what climate frustration that the adults around them seem to change means for their future careers, and be doing little to address the problems facing our imbue them with the knowledge and skills they planet. However, the exciting truth is that our need to engage with climate change as citizens.” young people are well placed to be the champions We believe that our Climate Action Group at that we need for sustainability and many already Honywood will make positive steps forward in have the desire to take meaningful action now. enabling this to happen. xx