THE CHILDREN'S COMMISSIONER TO CHAIR IMPORTANT FED WORK, AS WE SAY A SAD GOODBYE TO A LONG TIME SUPPORTER.

Sustainability and Climate Education?have once again been a focus this week - both across the world and for the FED.??

While the FED?Climate Education?& Sustainability Steering Group met at Windsor Castle, both the Earthshot Prize and Cop-15 convened around the world.

We are absolutely delighted to announce that the Children's Commissioner,?Dame Rachel De Souza, will Chair our?Climate Education?& Sustainability Steering Group, joined by?the CEO of the Chartered College of Teaching,?Dame Alison Peacock, as Vice-Chair.?

The Focus of the FED's work this week has been?developing the content of a Climate Education & Sustainability Toolkit for Schools and Colleges - created by and for school and college practitioners and leaders.

Congratulations to the five winners of the?Earthshot Prize?who were announced this week.?The Earthsot Prize?is designed to?'find and grow the solutions that will repair our planet this decade. We face our greatest challenge?to regenerate the place we all call home in the next ten years'.?This long term focus and thinking to find solutions aligns with how we at the FED think about creating meaningful and long term solutions to seemingly intractable issues.?

This week also sees?Cop15 -?UN Biodiversity Conference,?a focus on that aims to ensure the protection of?30% of the planet by 2030.?The UN secretary general,?António Guterres, opened the summit?with a stark message -?'Without nature, we are nothing. Nature is our life-support system, and yet humanity seems hellbent on destruction.'

Christine ?zden, Global Director, Climate Education, at Cambridge University Press & Assessment,?wrote in her thinkpiece?following the event that:

This?echoes all the positive conversations I’m party to with educators around the world who really want to get this right. We all know that this is a significant journey and that most important within that are those first steps … and a brilliant action plan!

We were?joined by members of the following organisations to help shape our thinking:?Students Organising for Sustainability, Burton and South Derbyshire College, Pearson, Twin Science & Robotics UK, EngineeringUK, Cognition Education UK Ltd, Leeds Trinity University, Royal Meteorological Society, National Governance Association, Woodland Trust, Chamerion, Cambridge University Press & Assessment, Chartered College of Teaching, Caister Primary Federation, Pathways Education, Natural History Museum, Barrowford Primary School?and the?University of Gloucestershire.

It is with great sadness that we have learned of the passing of one of the FED's long-time supporters - Lord David Young of Graffham.?He was a prolific contributor to public life and his contribution and support to the work of the FED will not be forgotten.?Our thoughts are with his family at this sad time.?