Have a look at the examples of different types of action below and then complete the task at the bottom of the page.
| Action | Example | |
|---|---|---|
| RUNG 8 – Youth initiated shared decisions with adults: Youth-led activities, in which decision making is shared between youth and adults working as equal partners. | ➢➢ | A group of pupils want to bring in Meat Free Mondays. The pupils consult with adults in school and together they decide that the group should discuss their ideas with the kitchen staff and also present to the rest of the school the reasons that cutting down on meat will help in the school’s drive to cut greenhouse gas emissions. The whole school then votes and decides to introduce Meat Free Mondays on a trial basis. |
| RUNG 7 – Youth initiated and directed: Youth-led activities with little input from adults. | ➢➢ | A group of pupils have heard of the upcoming Climate Talks and want to tell the rest of the school why they think they are so important. They are given the go-ahead by adults and the pupils plan and deliver the assembly for the rest of the school. |
| RUNG 6 – Adult initiated shared decisions with youth: Adult-led activities, in which decision making is shared with youth. | ➢➢ | A teacher suggests to a group of pupils that they could monitor energy use in school. They discuss the idea and agree how it should be done. Once the monitoring has taken place, the pupils put forward their findings and, jointly with adults, decide on what should be done next to make energy savings in school. |
| RUNG 5 – Consulted and informed: Adult-led activities, in which youth are consulted and informed about how their input will be used and the outcomes of adult decisions. | ➢➢ | An adult in school has found an organisation that will install solar panels for schools. The Student Council is consulted and they in turn consult with the rest of the pupils as to whether the school should go ahead with the installation. The pupils’ feedback is positive and the adults decide to go ahead. The pupils are informed at every stage of the installation process and are involved in monitoring the energy generation subsequently. |
| RUNG 4 – Assigned, but informed: Adult-led activities, in which youth understand purpose, decision-making process, and have a role. | ➢➢ | Adults in school decide to plant a new orchard in an area of the school grounds. The children are told about the many reasons why tree planting is important e.g. for carbon storage, for supporting biodiversity and for producing food locally. The pupils understand why the trees and planting location have been chosen and take part in the planting and care of the young trees. |
| RUNG 3 – Tokenism: Adult-led activities, in which youth may be consulted with minimal opportunities for feedback. | ➢➢ | A teacher brings the student council a plan for an ‘eco-day’ in school and asks their opinion. The students have some opinions on how this could be done better, which the teacher hears – however, there are no different options given so the plans go ahead much as the original suggestion. |
| RUNG 2 – Decoration: Adult-led activities, in which youth understand purpose, but have no input in how they are planned. | ➢➢ | The teacher told the class they were going to run a campaign in school on climate change and showed them a petition. She told them to get other pupils in school to sign it and then she sent it to the Minister for the Environment. |
| RUNG 1 – Manipulation: Adult-led activities, in which youth do as directed without understanding of the purpose for the activities. | ➢➢ | The headteacher told all the pupils to come to school with a green top. He organised a photo of them in the playground with the pupils standing inside letters spelling out the word ‘Earth’. He put the photo on the school website to show the school’s commitment to the environment. Many pupils weren’t sure why they were doing this and couldn’t remember afterwards what the word was. |