By Jaikuran Randhawa, Helen Illingworth at Hemdean House School and Amna Qureshi at CATS Cambridge.
You’d be forgiven for thinking that the landscape for schools would be much smoother to navigate after the disruption caused by the pandemic.
Yet here we stand at the start of 2022/23 and school leaders now have another uphill battle in their quest to inspire and educate young people ─ the energy crisis.
Budget upheaval was already a reality for schools across the UK before energy costs spiralled out of control recently, with long-overdue staff pay rises and the continuing effects of inflation.
Support is available to some now the government has announced a support scheme for households, businesses and public sector organisations that covers schools. But the criteria and initial short-term aspect leave the education sector seeking clarity from policymakers left to operate in a field of uncertainty.
“Budget upheaval was already a reality for schools across the UK before energy costs spiralled.”
Investment in renewable energy sources through solar panels and wind turbines would yield the ultimate in cost reduction, but for most schools this is simply not a feasible course of action.
Applying to those who agreed contracts on or after 1 April 2022, an initial six-month support scheme will offer relief for energy usage from 1 October 2022 to 31 March 2023. This “Government Supported Price” for gas and electricity would offer a saving of £4,000 to an eligible school that uses 22 MWh of gas and 10 MWh of electricity per month, which would currently cost around £10,000 a month.
For fixed contracts, the discount reflects the difference between wholesale prices when deals were agreed and the Government Supported Price that has been set out in the scheme.
“For most schools investment in solar panels and windturbines is simply not a feasible course of action.”
For those on default, deemed or variable tariffs, the discount will reflect the difference between the government’s price and the average expected wholesale price over the period of the scheme, but will be subject to a “maximum discount”.
Investment in renewable energy sources through solar panels and wind turbines would yield the ultimate in cost reduction, but for most schools this is simply not a feasible course of action.
As schools await answers from government, with the help of some members of the Independent Schools Association (ISA), we take a look at practical steps that can be taken to reduce energy consumption and soaring costs.
Hemdean House School
Over at Hemdean House School, a co-educational preparatory school in Caversham, Reading, energy saving initiatives have earned them Green Flag status from Eco-Schools.
“Encouraging pupil involvement has been one of the keys to reducing energy consumption.”
The school engages children in learning about the environment, whether that be participation in Earth Hour or visits to wind turbines, and these activities have inspired solutions for the school.
Encouraging pupil involvement has been one of the keys to Hemdean House reducing energy consumption school-wide and cutting costs.
Dedicated working groups such as an Eco Committee, Energy Team or Eco Club are recommended as driving forces to initiate actions.
So, with a team of sustainability-minded pupils established, what initiatives can your school help get them involved in? Here’s some examples from Hemdean House:
- Audit electricity use. Identify where all the light switches and electronic devices are in school and note those which are commonly left on when not in use. Displaying findings and updates allows successes to be monitored and celebrated.
- Ensure devices are not left on standby, instead turned off whenever possible. Hemdean House share an example of another Eco School from the state sector ─ who label electrical devices with a traffic light system. Red denotes a device that must always be on, amber for those that can only be switched off by an adult and green for devices that can be turned off by anyone. Placing these stickers around the school raised awareness to switching off devices and removing unnecessary consumption.
- Nominate OWLs (Out with Lights monitors) in each class. These energy monitors check that lights and devices are turned off when leaving the classroom.
- Invite ideas. Install an ideas box. With remarkably original ideas, children can inspire inventive solutions.
- Outdoor activities. Some schools, like Hemdean House, are fortunate to run Forest School lessons but implementing outdoor activities more widely across the curriculum can reduce your consumption, as classrooms are used less and therefore require less electricity and heating. Engaging children with the environment also deepens their understanding of nature and offers them the opportunity to approach traditional classroom tasks from a different perspective.
- Nurture in natural light. Where possible, use natural light rather than electric. Not only is this cost saving, but some studies have shown that students work more effectively in natural light.
Hemdean House also offers some operational tips to cut consumption and make your use of energy across school much more efficient. Best of all, these options do not require significant financial outlay:
- Change to energy saving and motion-sensor lights. Hemdean House has done this through part of the school and plans to replace all lighting.
- Do not obstruct windows and radiators. To maximise the use of natural light and heating avoid obstructing windows and radiators.
- Keep classroom doors shut. Particularly when classrooms are not in use, ensure that doors are closed to keep the heat in.
- Use draught strips. Draught strips (or excluders/seals) are devices used to prevent cold air from passing through entry points such as doors and windows.
- Pay attention to energy ratings. When replacing equipment consider the energy ratings to ensure the most efficient purchase, which can result in long-term savings.
- Can thermostats be turned down? Every 1C lower saves money.
CATS Cambridge
Turning to CATS Cambridge, a co-educational college in Cambridge which is part of the CATS Global Schools group, sustainability has become central to the school’s values.
With a mindset that already targeted reducing waste, the transition to smarter or less energy consumption has been much smoother. Like Hemdean, many ideas to save energy at CATS have been come from the students, rather than just the staff, resulting in staff and student buy-in across the institutions, which is essential to successfully implementing change.
“The solution doesn’t have to be extra work for staff.”
With almost all of the pupils at CATS Cambridge boarding, students learning about efficient energy use and understanding the positive impact they can make is crucial. Awareness has been raised through lessons, student-led assemblies, visitors delivering workshops, inter-house competitions and posters created by the student council.
CATS Cambridges shares some of the actions it has taken to save on energy costs:
- Small steps. Heating in classrooms and boarding accommodation is being reviewed with a view to reducing the length of time it is on for, starting with 30 minutes on either side (switching it on 30 minutes later and off 30 minutes earlier), this will make better use of the residual heat in the building and could be a considerable cost-saving measure.
- The solution doesn’t have to be extra work for staff. Given the busy nature of operating a school, actions that would add additional responsibilities for staff are ideally avoided.
- Central control. CATS Cambridge is lucky to have air-conditioning units in all classrooms, however these are currently controlled individually. Plans are now in place to make these centrally operated, making it easier for unused classrooms and blocks to be switched off during times of the day when they are known to be empty.
- Reduce the temperature of hot water. Amna Qureshi, house director, science teacher and PSHE coordinator adds that lowering the temperature of hot water by 1C or 2C can lead to a considerable saving. However, remember that hot water must be over 50C at the point of use to control the risk of legionella.
- Use communal spaces. Where possible and when opportunity arises, this not only saves on energy but has an educational benefit to the students as they have the chance to participate in activities across entire year groups, forms and houses rather than being spread across a number of classrooms. CATS Cambridge is managing to cut consumption and increase collaboration simultaneously.
Collaboration has been crucial to the positive outcomes that CATS Cambridge has reaped so far and within the wider CATS Global Schools group, there is a working party that reviews and promotes best practice based on different schools’ experiences.
Rudolf Eliott Lockhart, chief executive officer of the ISA, welcomes support for schools, but hints that longer-term relief is a must to protect the UK’s educational provision:
“This energy crisis will hit all schools, both in the independent and state sectors. News of the government’s support scheme is promising, but more will be necessary to protect all of the schools across the country.
“Sharing best practice will lead to improved sustainability across all schools.”
“ISA schools have a strong commitment to sustainability. It’s part of their day-to-day management and part of their long-term planning. While every school is different, some of these initiatives will be applicable in other settings. As in so many other contexts, sharing best practice will lead to improved sustainability across all schools.
“To support our schools through the ongoing energy crisis we have joined forces with ISA Gold Supplier U4L to launch ISA Energy, a free resource for independent energy advice. This will provide our Members with clarity on how government support applies to their schools, as well as free and independent consultation on the best contracts available to them.”