2023-07-31-accounts

National Association for Environmental Education (UK) Department of Education University of Bath Bath BA2 7AY naee.org.uk

Annual Report 2023

This is a report on the work of NAEE from August 2022 to July 2023. It is an overview of key developments and the issues we faced and contains the 2022/23 income / expenditure statement and our auditor’s report. Once approved at the AGM, it will be sent to the Charity Commission as our formal report for the year. We begin with a brief national overview of environmental education .

COP27 came and went seemingly without any significant impact or progress. Although there are projects and initiatives galore, through which NGOs of all kinds are working on the ground with young people, families, schools and communities to offer opportunities to learn about the natural world and our impact upon it, curriculum development at national and devolved levels which might make a difference to what young people experience in schools seems limited. It’s as if everyone is waiting for elections to bring significant change. Meanwhile, in England, it’s clear that sharp divisions remain across the DfE’s various teams about the importance of environmental education (viewed broadly) within schools.

Financial position

As you will see from the financial statement, 2022/23 saw a rise in all income streams, with a notable increase in unrestricted donations. These came from a wide range of sources and we are grateful for the many individuals and organisations who contributed.

	2021	/	22		2022	/	23
Income			Expenditure	Income			Expenditure
£15,058.12			£19,517.91	£17,085.70			£14,919.43

Such incomes make all the difference in determining how much resource we have available to spend on collaborative initiatives.

92% of expenditure went directly on the main ways we deliver our charitable objectives: bursaries, publications, networking, communications, and the website. We should note here that this does not include the considerable, but incalculable, in-kind contribution from members and volunteers to the operation of the Association. It is good to be able to record the Association’s heartfelt thanks to all who give their time freely to what we do. This in-kind contribution never gets represented on a balance sheet but we should be lost without it. Fuller details of the Association’s audited accounts are available in our annual return to the Charity Commission which can be found on the Charity Commission’s website.

Policy work

The lack of commitment from the DfE stimulated the publication of our Young People’s Learning and the Environment Manifesto in 2022. This aimed to build on existing work in schools and colleges to further stimulate change in thinking and practice, and thus help to better prepare young people for the social and environmental challenges they will face through their lives. A year on, it is probably fair to say that this has not had the sort of exposure among policymakers, school leaders, teachers, or the general public that we’d have liked. It is, of course, voluntary guidance and there are many reasons as to why initiatives might not have taken off in a schools sector recovering from the pandemic and beset with issues that are unnecessary to list. It would be good to reflect, however, as to what we might have done differently to change the lack of impact, especially with our new initiatives in mind.

The House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee [EAC] inquiry into Green Jobs agreed with NAEE that all school leavers to have an essential understanding of key environmental issues as this cannot be the responsibility of every employer, just as essential numeracy and literacy are not. The DfE studiously ignored this recommendation. The still pertinent guidance is now published as curriculum guidance on our website.

Trustee changes

At the 2022 AGM we welcomed two new trustees, Sheila Gundry (Froglife) and Paul Vare (University of Gloucestershire) and said farewell to Gabrielle Back who made a huge contribution to the Association both as a trustee and in a range of operational roles over many years. In particular, we note with appreciation her work that determined that NAEE survived its years of very lean funding in the late 1990s.

The Board met four times in 2022/23 with all meetings on line via Zoom. A face-to-face Board was planned but had to be called off because of a rail strike. The first meeting of 23/24 was held face-to-face. Six trustees attended all Board meetings with two attending 75% of them.

Engagement with schools and young people

The Kenrick bursary programme made a swift and successful recovery for the pandemic restrictions and tribute is due to the team who keep it attractive and standards high. Over the eleven years that the scheme has been in operation 119 different schools have been awarded a grant [total value £50,264] to support visits to one of four identified environmental education centres. Some 7,400 children between the ages of 3 and 18 have had an opportunity to experience an environmentally focussed visit led by an experienced teacher which has been related to ongoing curriculum work.

Our work with COBIS – the Council of British Overseas Schools – judging their eco-film-making competition was again successfully completed in April. This year there were 39 entries (23 KS 1-2, 16 KS 3-5) compared to 56 entries last year. These were from 23 countries (as last year) from across the world. The winners and runners up represented schools from South America, Asia, the Middle East and Europe. Once again, successful entries were characterised by a clear account told in an imaginative, engaging way by students, with a focus on projects that made a difference. In the most successful films, music and images were carefully chosen to add to the story, and data were used with precision to illustrate issues and outcomes. We have agreed to work with COBIS again in 2023/24. A consistent aspect of this awards scheme is the valuable insights presented into how schools from across the world are dealing in positive ways with environmental issues; another is being able to see well-informed young people telling their stories. Encouragingly, most films had informative credits noting those involved. We appreciated the creativity and innovation shown by many of the projects, along with the range of approaches taken to film-making. Increasingly sophisticated video-graphic techniques are being used. Although still quite rare, understated humour was always effective at getting across a message. Reducing waste and recycling remained popular themes and dealing with plastic waste again was a prominent focus.

We continue to work with Teach the Future and Students Organising for Sustainability . In particular, we ’ collaborated on Teach the Future’s ‘Trackchange Project . This was launched in September. Its purpose is to review and re-draft sections of the national curriculum framework, statutory programmes of study and attainment targets for key stages 3 and 4 to illustrate what these would need to look like in order to take climate change and the ecological crisis seriously and help young people learn about them and how to take action to address them. The national curriculum revisions (2014/2017) provided the baseline for this. One outcome was a set of 10 guiding principles, to show what a new curriculum for England could look like. The final report shows leaders and policy-makers exactly how and why climate education shouldn’t be siloed into certain subjects like science and geography. Rather, it argues, Instead, climate education should be mandatory and integrated across all subjects. Last year, we suggested that DfE would ignore the project outcomes, and so it did. However, the research has placed a significant marker in the ground for the future development of the national curriculum when times are more propitious.

Project funding

The year saw a number of funded projects come to an end and new ones beginning. Most notable of the completions was Leicester City Council’s carbon literacy project. Outcomes included:

• 77 university students and 79 school staff and governors accredited as Carbon Literate

• 649 school pupils taking part in carbon awareness workshops with 19 sixth form students being formally accredited by the Carbon Literacy Project

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New funded projects were set up with the Green Schools Project (Zero Carbon Schools Taster Sessions), the Big Brum Theatre Company (arts, education and the environment), and Warden Bay Resident’s Association (Growing gardens and communities).

Curriculum development

The Green Steel resource for secondary schools was published in partnership with Midrex Inc. This explores what steel-makers across the globe are doing to find low-carbon and zero-carbon routes to steel in the face of global warming and climate change. Currently, the global steel industry uses 8% of the world’s energy and generates 7% of global CO2 emissions (2020 data). Manufacturing steel without these emissions – to produce 'green steel' – is an important industrial priority and a great challenge if we are to reach net zero. The National STEM Learning Centre has it on file together with other curriculum resources. You can access the resource on our website.

Communications

Our journal Environmental Education has been published continuously since 1971. Three volumes of the journal were published as usual.

Vol 130 (Summer 2022) focused on mammal journeys with key contributions from colleagues in wildlife/conservation charities. There were also articles exploring NAEE’s Young People’s Learning and the Environment Manifesto.

Vol 131 (Autumn 2022) was a print edition that had a circular economy theme with a focus on systems thinking. It was guest edited by Ken Webster with expert contributions from Chelsea McLean, Emma H. E. Fromberg and Evgeniia Postnova.

Vol 132 (Spring 2023) focused on learning about life on Earth with a range of biodiversity-focused articles and a continuation of our featuring of the work of young people.

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Income Expenditure Statement 202212023 Incom M&fj Dividends Membership Oonatlons 8.840.66 2.337.91 5,426.61 220.24 260.28 Royalties Bank Interest Consultancy Total Income 0.00 17JJ85.70 Ewhdliu Kenrlck School Bursarfjes Paym&)ts Kenrick School Bursary Support Joumal Editing F Joumal Printin 5.680.IXI 532.75 aoo.00 S62.39 Journal Olstrfbutlon by Post Website Mana8ernwt Fee Web51t@ Hostin8 by eUKHost Devdopment Project 5pffiding Leics & WCF 6000th StudeTht Cdebration 187.98 156.00 89.64 3.008.50 400.00 Green Sted projeci Consultancy fees Adverti5inB / Publicity Profe55ional Qffice5upport Trustee Board costs 300.IJO 332.87 2.200.1)0 Expanses & Subslstence Room Hire ststionEry & PtsstÈ Audit Fee Informion Commissions OffKe Fe2 18.29 80.IM) 35.00 Company taK rurn Insumce 300.IXJ 227.35 Ptypal Transaction Fees Dropbox costs Zoom costs 30.67 362.8B 115_11 Bank charge5 Caplt purchase5 Purchase of n£vrf M&G share4 Ttstsi Expendltunt 14J19A Funds Hew Balance BIF frotn 21122 Plus income 36.041.95 17.085.70 Less Expenditure 14.919.43 B•l)ce CIF 3820822 BankR•tott¢ifiaiion OlJ)823 Current Account 5.039_SB Trust Account 2.107.70 33.116.97 395.72 Investment Account Old Currwt Account Paypal 62.25 40.72222 Le55 Unpresented Chqeue5: Payment to JG Ilne 17 hool bursay pa¥n￿ts Ilne 16 114.00 2.400.00 2514 Dfftrence oJJo

Auditorfs report I65i￿r MeÈ7dows TrowLYidge BA14 OLF 07725 Z56348 ccomnda1168 oil.com Willlam Scott Chair of Tru5tee5 Natlonal As￿datIOn for Enylronmental Eduratk 24 Pound Lane Semington Wiltshife BA14 6LP 25 September 2023 Dear Dr kott A¢counts Awllt • 3L07.23 23-255e mber 2023 Thank you for sendÈngthmugh the do(ymentstion to enable Me to complete the au(lit lorthe fir￿￿131 year 2022-2023. I can confimi thefollowng.. full and detailed accounts have been maintsiwl forthe pastfinancial year a budget was Set and Income and exFthJEture were mon￿ore¢l agalnst duringthe year there is a 5V5tEm in foF Inviiiie approval prior to pwffl￿￿t I looked at the bookkeeping record5 in detail. Expendrture deueased this year, by £4598. Thlswas primarily accounted for by a fall in bursary paymerrts and project expe1￿lture. Incorne rose by just over £2.000 ag4inst lastyear, with increase5 acro&s all income St￿3rnS with the exceoion of consultancy fees_ Donations were up by43%. with income frorn interest rNn8si￿ificantty as would be expetted. I completed the followin8work on the figu￿. Checked that the broughtforward balantt from the pwious year. r4us irfome, kss expenditure, equaled the combined balance in thÈfour bank accounts and Paypal account at year end. Cornpared the bank balances with ￿ Dnline bank statements. Looked at the bank reconcdla$6on to ched( ot balanced Contraed the tTansfer5 between the dtfferent baTrkaccounts and the Paypal account I wewed the in¥oitss for three payments: Cal Sakter£550.W Admin linv 191, palé 05.05.23 Mail & Print £562.39 Print and mad joumals, pai¢ 04.01.23 Waodcraft Folk £2,EA)O.IKI Project payment, paid 06.06.23 Eaeh of the invoites h&J been marked ès tleared bytwo approvets, with the date of approval rewrded. The cheques raised had been 5*ne(I bytwo swatorie5 who were also noted on the invoice_

l a150 ￿￿ked at the Risk Re8tster and the Certrfjcate of Public Liability insuran(E, and itwas confimied that, as previously, there was no PAYE system in operation noi VAT redaimed. l am confident that the and evidentr submitted to ffle demonstrates that the accounts records have beeTr sK0per￿ maintained and that Sound finanaal control procedures were in place for the financial year 2022-2023. Yours sincere Rebero Slmmons Internal Auditor