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The Inenco Award for Education for Sustainable Development


Guidance notes for application form

This year, applicants are invited to complete a bespoke application form for each Beacon Award. This form will give applicants the opportunity to address all the criteria that will be assessed: the Beacon Award criteria, and the bespoke sponsor’s criteria that is tailored for each award.

AoC Beacon Awards Criteria:

The Beacon Awards celebrate exemplary practice. In all applications you should evidence innovation, sustainability and impact, ensuring that you clearly show there are features which promote exemplary teaching and learning, and that the initiative has wider relevance and applicability. The application should demonstrate:

  • Bespoke evaluation/quality assurance to influence continuing development of the initiative
  • Regard to the promotion of equality and diversity in the delivery of the programme.
  • That there is clear evidence of impact and sustainability.
  • That it has features which actively promote exemplary teaching and learning
  • That it is of benefit for one or more groups of students, recipients or trainees
  • That it has wider relevance and applicability which makes it of significant value to other colleges as an example of outstanding practice or innovation.

Inenco Sponsor’s Criteria:

Education for Sustainable Development defines education that encourages changes in attitude, knowledge, skills and values and attitudes to enable a more sustainable and just society for all and for this award is set within the context of climate change. Every aspect of a college has a contribution to make towards these changes.

Colleges have made significant progress over the last 12 months in taking action on climate change, being innovative and responsive with regards to Carbon Reduction and moving to Net Zero. There is still much to do and we appreciate colleges are very much on a journey. Many colleges have adopted the FE Climate Action Roadmap, launched last year and have developed and now implementing many different and complementary actions.

In the context of a whole-college approach to sustainability, we want to hear from colleges about their examples that are integrating critical issues such e.g. climate change, biodiversity, disaster risk reduction (DRR), sustainable consumption and production (SCP), into the culture of the college in order to empower learners of all ages to change themselves and the society they live in. Assessors will be expecting a holistic, strategic approach to sustainability as opposed to narrowly focussed projects or initiatives.

We want to recognise, celebrate and promote examples of colleges that can:

  • Demonstrate the development of a learning culture that empowers learners to change themselves and the society they live in: supporting the transition to greener economies and fairer societies, equipping people with skills needed for ‘green jobs’ and motivating people to adopt sustainable lifestyles.
  • Demonstrate the development of active citizens who engage and assume active roles, both locally and globally on this area
  • Demonstrate examples of curriculum or student activity that integrate critical issues such as climate change, biodiversity, disaster risk reduction (DRR), and sustainable consumption and production (SCP), into the curriculum.

The Inenco Award for Education for Sustainable Development application form