Alva Academy - UN Sustainable Development Goals

Social Subjects & RMPS Faculty

A key priority of our Faculty Improvement plan is the inclusion of the UN Sustainable Development Goals in Learning and Teaching  for S1-S6. This includes units of work in Modern Studies and Geography linked to individual goals and targeted lessons across the wider faculty to address themes represented within the 54 Articles of the UNCRC.

Geography

As part of their S3 and Higher course our Geography department promote the teaching of the UN Sustainable Development Goals through a single unit. Young people have a clear outline of what the goals are and what rights they have within these.

#GlobalGoalsWeek

As part of Global Goals week the department organised a series of events promote the goals and share information on the progress of individual goals. Students organised a whole school staff & pupil quiz and demonstrated the impact of  featured goals through the use of visuals and interactive displays in the Hub.

At lunchtimes students circulated around the S4/5/6 year group hubs to teach other students about the global goals. Staff displayed their choice of the most achievable goal by 2030 on class doors as part of a school vote to identify key priorities for Pupil Voice in our School Improvement Voice.

Highlights of our activities were recognised by the UN who praised Alva Academy for our approaches and retweeted us as an example of good practice.

Micro Tyco

• In conjunction with the SDG unit students in S3 Geography participated in this year’s Micro Tyco challenge. Designed to foster creative thinking, teamwork and entrepreneurial skills students used their knowledge of the goals to make a pitch for an idea or initiative that would have social impact. Each group had 4 weeks research and prepare their pitches before presenting them to a panel of judges against criteria shared by WildHearts.
• Our winning group (Tom Lamb and Sophie Carlisle) have been successful in reaching Scotland’s Regional Finals to be held in May with their idea of a community litter pick to raise funds and awareness to support the introduction of more sustainable recycling hubs in our school canteen.

Modern Studies

As part of our BGE course students experience a variety of units which incorporate the themes of the SDGs. In particular our S1 Nuclear Weapons, S2 You Decide and S4 Global Challenges units seek to raise awareness on key issues affecting citizens across the world. Our units explore closely the UN Sustainable Goals and UN Rights of the Child, whilst examining strategies to reach these goals, and our effectiveness in doing so. Our S1 and S3 courses culminate in a mock UN role play exercise debating key current issues to reach a global consensus as members of the United Nations. Modern Studies in Senior Phase aims to build upon the knowledge and skills gained in BGE to explore themes of the goals in more depth and incorporate and draw comparisons internationally.