We’re delighted to announce the launch of our new energy efficiency programme Action on Carbon and Energy in Schools (ACES) that will help schools across Oxfordshire cut their energy use, carbon emissions and help them save money on their energy bills.

We’re in the early stages of the project and we’ll be adding more information and resources to the website over the coming weeks so keep coming back to see what’s on offer.

Our survey

In order to find out what sort of support schools really need, we put out a survey asking people directly. The results are in and, from the people who responded, it’s clear that what most schools need is:

• Help developing carbon and energy reduction actions specific to their school
• Training and examples on financing and implementing actions
• Training and examples to help heads, governors, and staff decide and act.

Further to this, we asked schools how they’d like this new programme delivered to be the most beneficial. It was found that people liked the idea of short how-to videos and case studies that really tell the story of how energy efficiency improvements can be made in a school. We’re working on adding these resources to the website over the coming weeks.

There was a strong preference for our content to be delivered via online meetings and recordings. We have listened and launched a series of online workshops designed to help people navigate this energy efficiency journey.

As for the topics people felt they particularly needed to know more about, there was strong interest in all our suggestions, with a particular keenness for:

• Saving energy through improved energy monitoring, management and control.
• Saving energy through improved technologies such as insulation, lighting, and heating.
• Planning for renewable energy, battery storage, or heat pump technology (for business managers).
• Engaging staff and students on carbon and energy.
• Opportunities for grant funding and financing energy improvements.

As you can see in our upcoming event schedule, we’re already planning to run online workshops covering some of these topics and we plan to schedule more into next year so do keep an eye on the website. We will also continue to engage schools for input on the programme and its contents to ensure a wide range of relevant energy and carbon reduction support is provided.

To be the first to hear about our events and other opportunities, you can also sign up to our newsletter.

What’s next?

In addition to our events, we are going to soon launch the rest of the programme that will include energy assessments for schools, a thermal imaging service and access to a boiler room insulation fund.