Helen Burge draws on past experience to tackle the energy crisis
A
lot of us struggle to adjust from bright summer days to the dark and cold of autumn and winter.
Personally, I really love the start of autumn – the changing colours of the leaves, the crisp frosty mornings and the feeling of cosiness as the evenings get shorter. It’s only by January that I’m completely ‘done’ with winter and waiting with bated breath for spring. This winter is going to be hard due
to the cost of living crisis. I don’t think we need analysts to tell us this: we can see it already in our food bills, when we refuel our cars and in the doubling of our direct debits for energy. Comparisons are being made with the Winter of Discontent (November 1978 – February 1979), which was exacerbated by the coldest winter in 16 years. I remember it because of the snow and the power cuts which used to be regular occurrences when I was growing up. At home, we made sure that candles and matches were easy to find in the dark. I can’t remember there being any fuss at school either, unless a power cut happened when it was my class’s slot in the TV room or when the kitchen was about to fry spam fritters and make mint custard! Certainly, the school office could have continued to function with its typewriter and hand-wound mimeograph.
Technology has moved on a bit
since then. You might have already switched to a cloud-based server, have a sustainability strategy to reduce your carbon footprint, installed LED lights and have the most up-to-date Building Management System to ensure that boilers work at maximum efficiency. You might even be considering whether to apply for a grant to install solar panels, but need to replace or repair your roof first. So how can schools balance the
hit of high energy costs with continuing to create positive opportunities and memories for our students in classrooms? Candlelit assemblies might work in Harry Potter films, but I doubt they are the answer for most schools. How about some practical and
low-cost solutions: n Maximise light by keeping windows clear of displays, choosing backing paper that helps project light into the room (rather than absorbing it), installing some mirrors and curtain or blind holdbacks, fixing blinds that don’t roll up and replacing broken light bulbs. n Reduce energy consumption by monitoring your school’s consumption, turning off lights and projectors when not in use, keeping windows and doors closed (only practical if we’re not trying to
reduce the spread of airborne viruses!). Take a look at
energysparks.uk for more ideas. n Feel comfortable by encouraging everyone to dress appropriately for the weather – good old-fashioned vest and layers. Go for a walk at lunchtime, and have a hot meal from the school kitchen. This autumn and winter will be a
challenge for many reasons, some of them out of our control. We can, however, influence how life is in our schools, which will rub off on others. The way we save, use and talk about energy will influence others in their homes too, saving them money, reducing their carbon footprint and helping them care more about the planet our pupils will inherit.
Helen Burge is deputy chief operations officer at The Priory Learning Trust and SRMA with Cotswold Beacon Academy Trust. @DeputyCOOatTPLT
42 AUTUMN 2022 FundEd
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