{"id":1389,"date":"2025-09-19T13:45:00","date_gmt":"2025-09-19T12:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/education\/?p=1389"},"modified":"2025-09-19T13:53:58","modified_gmt":"2025-09-19T12:53:58","slug":"inclusive-climate-education-additional-learning-needs-and-alternative-provision-settings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/education\/inclusive-climate-education-additional-learning-needs-and-alternative-provision-settings\/","title":{"rendered":"Inclusive climate education: a call to action from additional learning needs and alternative provision settings"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Dr Verity Jones<\/a><\/em>, Associate Professor in Education <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Report launch<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This week sees the publication of the Climate Change and Sustainability Education in Additional Learning Needs and Alternative Provision Settings<\/em><\/strong> report, authored by Shannon O\u2019Connor, Dr Jennifer Rudd, Dr David Thomas, and Bryony Bromley. Drawing on research from 26 additional learning needs (ALN) settings across Wales and a micro-Delphi study, the report highlights urgent gaps in resources, training, and support for educators working with learners who are often excluded from mainstream sustainability discourse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Intersecting with ECRG\u2019s Sustainability Strand<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

As co-leads of the Education and Childhood Research Group\u2019s Sustainability Strand<\/a> at UWE Bristol, myself and Dr Tessa Podpadec<\/a> welcome this report\u2019s publication. It aligns closely with our commitment to embedding climate and sustainability education across diverse educational contexts, and particularly with our work on inclusive pedagogies that centre learner agency, creativity, and justice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The report\u2019s findings reinforce our belief that sustainability education must be differentiated – not diluted. Learners  deserve access to meaningful, age-appropriate content that reflects their lived experiences and capacities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Insights from Sparks, Bristol<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

These themes resonate strongly with the work that Tessa, Dr Jon Mulholland<\/a> and I have been developing at Sparks, Bristol<\/a> with Global Goals Centre<\/a>, a sustainable education hub where we have been working with special educational needs settings. At Sparks, we\u2019ve explored how young people engage with sustainability through sensory-rich, place-based and creative approaches – from growing food and cooking with seasonal produce, to crafting with recycled materials and engaging in community-based environmental action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These activities not only support curriculum goals but also foster a sense of belonging, purpose, and ecological connection among learners who may not otherwise see themselves reflected in climate narratives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What needs to change<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The report calls for:<\/p>\n\n\n\n